Mindfulness of Breath: Exercise 1

A simple Mindfulness of breath exercise, as taught on WorkplaceMT Mindfulness training courses. Practice sitting upright where you won’t be disturbed.

11th January update: Introduction edited down and start and end sound 'bells' added as suggested.

Transcript

Mindfulness of breath. Settle yourself into your chair. Adopt a comfortable, Upright, Confident position that embodies your intention to practice mindfulness. If you're happy to do so close your eyes or if you prefer just hold them in soft focus, Gazing downwards. Starting off this exercise spend a few moments detecting and releasing any tension that you may be holding. And now direct the focus of your attention to your body. How does your body feel in this moment in time? What can you notice about how your feet feel in contact with the floor? What sensations are present in the rest of your body? Exploring your bodily sensations with openness and curiosity? No rights or wrongs, Just the sensations that you're experiencing in this moment in time. No need to change or fix anything. And now redirect the spotlight of your attention to your abdomen and see if it's possible to tune into the present moment sensations of breathing. Feeling the breath coming in and the breath going out. Remembering there's no need to change your breathing in any way because your body knows exactly how to breathe. Just rest your attention on your natural rhythm of breath as the breath enters your body and the breath leaves your body. And if your mind wanders that's fine it's just what minds do. Just kindly and gently redirect the focus of your attention back to focusing on the breath. Feeling the breath coming in and the breath going out. And if you wish to, And this is optional, Place your hand on your abdomen and use your hand to help you detect the sensations of the chest rising and falling with the in breath and the out breath. Focus your full attention on the sensations of your abdomen rising and falling with the in breath and the out breath. And if your mind wanders that's fine it's just what minds do. Just congratulate yourself on having noticed that the mind has wandered and kindly and gently redirect it back to focusing on the sensations of your abdomen rising with the in breath and falling with the out breath. And now seeing if it's possible to focus your attention on the short pause that naturally occurs between each in and out breath. So focusing on the sensation of the breath coming in, Noticing the short pause and the breath going out and noticing the short pause and using this little naturally occurring pause as an anchor for your present moment awareness. This is so important. And now with a sense of openness, Curiosity and fun, Seeing if it's possible to notice the sensations of the breath entering your nostrils right at the tip of your nose and exiting your nostrils. Tuning into the sensations of the air entering your nostrils on the in-breath and exiting your nostrils on the out-breath. Can you notice anything different about the temperature of the air as it enters your nostrils on the in-breath and it leaves your nostrils on the out-breath? You may notice something, You may notice nothing. The important thing is just looking to see what you can notice, Just exploring what occurs. And now redirecting the focus of your attention into your body as a whole. How do your feet feel in contact with the floor? What sensations can you detect in the rest of your body as you sit in this chair, In this room, In this moment in time? And when you're ready to do so, Open your eyes, Ready for the rest of the day.

Reviews

Thank you!

Very nice meditation Juliet. Deeply appreciate it 🙏