The instructions for the sitting meditation are simple.
To notice the ever-changing qualities of the breath.
What does it feel like to breathe from moment to moment?
Although the instructions are simple,
You may find that it's quite difficult to do.
Especially because we get bored of just observing the breath.
And then we're easily distracted.
Because we have a mind and the mind is designed to wander and to think thoughts.
When the mind inevitably begins to wander during our sitting practice,
First noticing that it has wandered away from the breath.
And then labeling where the mind has wandered to by saying to yourself,
Thinking,
Thinking,
Hearing,
Hearing,
Or feeling,
Feeling.
And then moving the content of the mind to the background of your awareness.
And then returning the sensations of the breath to the forefront of your awareness.
This moving the breath back into the forefront of your awareness when other things take its place,
Is part of training mindfulness.
It will happen over and over again.
And the idea is to see this as a kind of dance.
Gently moving back and forth from foreground to background.
And not seeing this as a failure or a strenuous exercise of suppression and focus.
To make this exercise more manageable,
You may want to turn off any distractions,
Such as alarms or cell phones.
And letting others know that you will be unavailable for the duration of the exercise.
So if you haven't done so,
Please do so now.
In terms of the posture,
You may find it best to sit on a chair,
A cushion,
Or a bench.
In a posture that's comfortable and at the same time that embodies alertness and stability.
You can also lie down if this is better for you.
It's the quality of your awareness that matters most.
Remember that the purpose of this exercise is to become aware and awake.
And not to fall asleep or relax.
Let's begin by closing your eyes and becoming aware of the fact that we have a body.
And that right now,
This body is sitting.
Feeling the weight of the body.
The pull of gravity on the body towards the ground.
Noticing where your body makes contact with the surface that you're sitting on.
And becoming aware of our posture.
Making an effort to embody dignity and wakefulness.
Imagining a string attached to the crown of the head.
And that someone is pulling on that string gently upwards.
So the spine lengthening.
The chin slightly tucking in.
And at the same time opening up the shoulders and letting gravity naturally pull the arms to the ground.
Softening the shoulders and the jaw.
And then just taking a moment to find your center.
So gently rocking side to side until we arrive at the point of equilibrium in the middle.
And now rocking front and back.
Again finding your center.
Feeling the body as a whole just sitting stable and majestic like a mountain.
And whether we are aware of it or not,
Right now our body is breathing without us having to do anything.
It just breathes on its own.
So see if you can peek in and see what this breathing feels like.
Just observing the breath.
Where do you feel the breath most vividly?
Maybe the nostrils?
The throat?
The rise and fall of the chest or the abdomen?
Take a moment now to pick an area where you feel the breath most vividly and then sticking to that region.
Following the inhalation for its whole duration.
Maybe saying to yourself in as you inhale.
And then following the exhalation for its whole duration.
Maybe saying to yourself out as you exhale.
And noticing that in between each inhalation and exhalation there is a transition period.
Maybe even a pause.
Or noticing that transition period occurring naturally without controlling anything.
And you may notice how although there is a pattern to breathing in,
Pause,
Out,
Pause and so on,
No two breaths are actually alike.
Taking a moment now to notice the uniqueness of every breath.
Noticing all the subtleties that we don't usually take the time to notice.
Taking the time now to do so.
And then when attention wanders away into the past,
The future,
Somewhere else.
Just taking a moment to acknowledge where the mind is at.
And then perhaps labeling it.
Thinking,
Thinking.
Feeling,
Feeling.
Hearing,
Hearing.
And so on.
And then reminding yourself that while your mind was wandering,
Your body was still here and breathing.
And in fact is still here and breathing now.
See if you can bring the sensations of breathing that are going on now to the forefront of your awareness.
While the mental activity naturally just recedes to the background of your awareness.
Not pushing thoughts away,
But letting them be there in the background as you bring the breath back to the foreground.
And knowing that the more you dance with awareness this way with the foreground and the background,
The more you're developing your mindfulness.
So what's in the forefront of your awareness now?
See if you can bring the breath back to the forefront and then becoming curious about how the breath changes from moment to moment.
Take your time and explore.
The mind wanders if you hear that voice in your head.
And just gently bringing breathing back to the front.
Over and over again.
Being patient and kind.
If you notice yourself getting annoyed by distractions,
Sounds,
Discomfort,
Restlessness,
Boredom,
Pain or other sensations.
See if you can just for now open up,
Welcome and kind of make room for them to be here with you now.
Just breathing with them.
Noticing if there are any thoughts and just allowing them in also.
Breathing with it all.
Know that as you're doing this,
You're developing a valuable skill.
Checking in with the posture from time to time.
And remembering to embody alertness and openness.
So noticing what's going on and at the same time welcoming what you notice.
And then breathing with and around what you notice.
Becoming aware of this breath.
And this one.
Just resting in stillness.
Nothing to change.
Nothing to do.
Nowhere to be.
Just being.
Take your time.
Savoring just being.
Just noticing what it's like to be you right now.
Sitting.
Breathing.
And everything that comes along with it.
It's all part of your present moment experience.
Thank you.
And as this meditation comes to an end.
You may want to congratulate yourself for the discipline and effort it takes to practice in this way.
And as you gently make the transition back into your everyday life.
Making the commitment to bring this kind of mindful awareness with you as you go about your day.
Thank you.
