Hello and welcome.
I'm glad you're here today.
If this is your first time trying meditation,
You're in the right place.
This is a beginner-friendly meditation,
And you can think of it as an introduction to the practice of mindfulness and concentration.
We are going to start with the basics,
So no pressure.
Just try to bring a little curiosity and a willingness to try.
You're simply here to practice something new.
We'll be exploring a form of meditation called concentration meditation,
Where we'll gently focus on a single point of attention,
Usually the breath,
Which can help quiet the mind and bring us back to the present moment.
At its core,
Meditation is a practice of training your attention.
So just like we train our muscles with physical exercise,
Meditation is a mental exercise of sorts.
We'll be working to pay attention on purpose,
So we can strengthen our ability to focus,
Stay present,
And relate more kindly to our thoughts and emotions.
Please note that your mind will wander during this practice.
That's completely normal.
Don't get too discouraged.
The practice isn't about stopping your thoughts.
It's about learning to notice when your attention drifts,
And gently bringing it back to your point of focus,
Which will be the breath in our case today.
And ultimately,
That is the practice.
All right,
Let's get started.
First,
Just find a spot where you can sit comfortably and where you can be as free from distractions as possible.
You're welcome to sit on a chair,
A couch,
The floor with a cushion,
Whatever really works for you and allows you to be comfortable and take some time for yourself.
You're trying to sit in a way where you feel both relaxed and supported,
And you can think of it as being upright,
But not rigid.
As if your body's alert,
But you're not experiencing tension and strain to maintain that posture.
Let your hands rest on your lap or your legs,
Somewhere that feels natural.
You can also close your eyes if that feels safe and calming,
Or just soften your gaze and look down toward the floor.
The idea is to gently turn your attention inward,
As the environment around you can be distracting.
Okay,
Now take a nice deep breath in through the nose,
And slowly and naturally breathe it out.
Let's do that one more time.
Deep breath in through your nose,
And slowly let it out.
Now try to keep your attention on your breath as you breathe in and breathe out.
You can do this by noticing the flow of air coming in and exiting through the nostrils.
You might notice the rise and fall of your chest and belly as you breathe in and breathe out.
We're trying to get acquainted with the experience and feeling of breathing.
Breathing is something we do all the time,
Unconsciously without thinking,
And so we're trying to pay attention to it on purpose,
And notice how it can become a resource to help us calm the nervous system and center the mind.
The idea is to provide an anchor for your attention,
Something steady to come back to when we're lost in a wandering mind or on autopilot in our day-to-day life.
If it helped,
You can always pair a verbal anchor to the breath by counting each cycle of breath,
Or repeating in your mind something verbal such as breathing in and breathing out.
So experiment a bit in terms of what works best for you,
But try to just continue to notice the breath just as it is,
However it's showing up.
Just seeing if you can be present with the sensations of breathing.
At some point your mind is going to wander,
And that's totally normal and actually expected.
The nature of the mind is to wander off into thought,
And you might notice you start thinking about what you're going to have for dinner,
Or a conversation you had early in your day,
Something on your to-do list,
Whatever it is,
It's okay.
When you notice your mind has drifted,
Gently say to yourself something like thinking,
Or there's a thought,
I noticed I was thinking,
And try to bring your attention back to the breath.
Do your best to stay curious,
Try not to judge or get too frustrated with the experience,
Just notice that you're breathing in,
And notice you're breathing out,
Bringing your attention back to the rhythm of your breath each time you notice you're lost in thought or the mind wanders off.
And each time you're able to do this,
You're building focus,
Awareness,
And a greater sense of patience that you might notice translates into your day-to-day life if you stick with this practice.
Okay,
So now I'm going to let you sit quietly for a while,
You don't have to do anything,
Just let your breath be your home base.
If your attention drifts,
Gently guide it back to that point of focus with as much compassion and kindness as you can.
So I'll pause for now,
And allow you to continue this meditation for the next two minutes on your own.
All right,
Good work.
We'll start to bring this meditation to a close now.
You're welcome to bring your awareness back to the room around you,
Notice any sound you hear,
Maybe move your body by wiggling your fingers and toes or rolling your shoulders a bit.
And if it feels right,
Go ahead and open your eyes and just take a moment to check in with yourself and notice how you feel.
Maybe you feel a little more grounded,
A little more at ease,
Maybe you even feel a little confused or frustrated,
Or maybe not much has changed,
And really that's totally okay,
The goal wasn't to feel a certain way from this,
It was to practice awareness and train our attention to become more familiar with our consciousness and our mind.
And more importantly,
Meditation is like any new skill,
It takes time and repetition.
What matters most is that you gave yourself a few minutes to pause and be present today,
And so thank yourself for taking time to do that.
Remember that the more you practice,
The more natural it can begin to feel,
And the more you'll notice the benefits.
So great work showing up and meditating today.
Take care.
