This will be an awareness of breath practice.
Finding a comfortable seat and closing your eyes or lowering your gaze.
And taking a deeper than normal in-breath with an audible exhale.
To mark the transition into formal practice.
And allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Remembering what brings you here to practice today.
And committing to bringing a curious,
Good-natured awareness to the present moment.
Using your breath as an anchor.
Stretching up with the next in-breath.
And settling in on the out-breath.
As you settle into stillness,
Noticing the experience you're having.
What is it like to be you right now?
Perhaps scanning the body,
Allowing it to be how it is.
No need to fix anything.
Now gathering up your attention and placing it on the direct experience of the body breathing.
Feeling each breath as it enters and leaves.
Simply being aware of the raw sensations of breathing.
Feeling into the breath at the tip of the nose.
And feeling the breath as it enters and leaves.
And feeling the breath as it enters and leaves.
Now shifting attention to the chest.
Moving attention to the belly now.
And feeling the breath as it enters and leaves.
And feeling the breath as it enters and leaves.
Finally resting your attention wherever you feel the breath most easily today.
And staying here.
Now experimenting with the practice of counting breaths.
Softly mentally labeling one after the next inhale.
And two on the exhale.
All the way up to ten.
If you reach ten,
Beginning again at one.
If you find your mind has wandered,
Which will almost certainly happen.
Noticing this opportunity to practice returning your attention to the breath with a small smile.
And starting again at one with the next breath.
We'll continue to practice in silence for a little while now.
Now we'll continue to practice in silence for a little while now.
Now we'll continue to practice in silence for a little while now.
Continue feeling and counting each inhale and exhale.
Now continuing to practice in silence for a little while.
And feeling the breath as it enters and leaves.
Now continuing to practice in silence for a little while.
Now dropping the mental counting practice,
But continuing to stay with the sensations of the breath throughout the body.
Now continuing to practice in silence for a little while.
Now continuing to practice in silence for a little while.
As the practice begins to draw to a close,
Taking a moment to acknowledge yourself for having spent this time cultivating greater ease,
Focus,
And concentration.
And taking one deeper than normal in-breath.
And on the exhale,
Opening the eyes,
Raising the gaze,
And orienting to the room around you.
Nice work.
See you back here tomorrow.
