Mindfulness of Breath

A guided mindfulness of breath meditation, with time reminders at 10, 15, 20 and 25 minutes.
The breath is a marvelous anchor for many reasons, but primarily it's always just perfect, and it's always available.

Transcript

Get comfortable in your sitting position and allow your awareness to gently fall onto the breath.

Set your awareness on where the breath feels most prominent,

Whether that's the air at the nostrils or the rising and falling of the chest or stomach.

Set your awareness with a full embrace around the breath for every sensation that the breath has as we breathe in and we breathe out.

We will soon have a thought as we always do that will be strong enough to pull our awareness away from the breath.

We just note it and gently and forgivingly bring our attention back to the breath.

This will occur often.

We shouldn't be too surprised by it.

This is the way the mind works and this is the practice of meditation.

If our mind pulls us away a thousand times we gently bring it back a thousand times.

If we find our mind is particularly active we can take two or three intentionally deep breaths to bring our attention back.

Otherwise we just leave the breath as it is,

As it functions normally.

We aren't here to change the breath at all.

We're just here to change the way we relate to the breath and also changing the way we relate to thoughts.

We also may find that we have a bodily sensation that pulls our attention away.

It may be a pain or an itch somewhere in the body.

Again we just note it and gently and forgivingly bring our attention back to the breath.

These continued distractions are as common for very experienced meditators as they are for people who are just starting the practice.

Please allow your body to relax into this posture.

If you're holding your shoulders tight allow them to relax.

Allow your entire body to relax into this experience.

They're asked to get on with their day but anybody who doesn't can continue sitting.

We're now at ten minutes.

One other hazard of sitting meditation or lying down meditation if that's the way you're positioning yourself is that we may become groggy and fall asleep.

If you're wishing to stay sharp of mind and fall awake instead you can adjust your position to sit more upright.

And if more is needed you can open your eyes and instead of shutting them have them transfixed on a stationary object in the room.

Important not to give that object a story and initiate a narrative in the mind.

We're just here to be in the moment.

If you're opening your eyes your gaze should be soft and gentle.

All the while keeping your awareness on the breath as we breathe in and we breathe out.

All the while keeping your awareness on the breath as we breathe in and we breathe out.

All the while keeping your awareness on the breath as we breathe in and we breathe out.

All the while keeping your awareness on the breath as we breathe in and we breathe out.

All the while keeping your awareness on the breath as we breathe in and we breathe out.

We are now at 15 minutes.

We also may find that we're we've been distracted by sound.

Again it's important that we not assign a story to it.

The sounds,

Sensations,

And thoughts are a little like buses passing in the street.

We can watch them go by.

It's just unbeneficial for us to get on them and take them for a ride.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

Unnecessary and counterproductive to the practice of meditation.

We are now at 20 minutes.

See if you can expand the field of your awareness slightly to the sensations around those that you're focusing on.

So if you're setting your awareness on the sensation of the air at the nostrils,

See if you can include in that sensation of the rising and falling of the chest and stomach.

Or maybe even include the sensations of the air as it enters through the nostrils,

The nasal cavity,

And into the lungs.

See if you can even feel the air-like structures in your body waving back and forth,

And even the alveoli in your lungs moving back and forth.

Feel the sensation of breathing in its fullest,

In everything it has to offer as we breathe in and we breathe out.

Great.

We are now at 25 minutes.

Welcome to Delight Life Triangle.

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Reviews

I love this one! For me, the perfect balance of guidance and silence. A really lovely offering, thank you. I look forward to trying out your other track too 🙏🏻

Appreciated both the calm and gentle guidance and long spaces of quiet. Time checks every 5 minutes make this a flexible practice. Suited for those with some experience.

Perfect. I like you make me aware of time.

I love this. Just the right balance between talking and silence, calm soothing voice. I find the timing notes very encouraging, seems to make time pass quicker

Nice and relaxing I liked the spaces

Very calming, thank you!

Wonderful. Brings notice of one's flickering attention and consciously learn to control it.

Nice job...top notch!

This was really useful to me. It felt like someone was meditating with me, which was very reassuring.

Very nice. Just enough instruction, lots of good silence. I could have gone on longer so I did. Many thanks.

So simple and spacious. I really like this one, but the bell at the end is far too loud.

Awesome, I love the silence inbetween thgoughts, staying focused on breather and the time reminders... stayed another 10 minutes after in a peaceful state!! Loved it..

Humble and helpful

Awareness of breath.

Just what I like. A lot of silence.

This was very enjoyable. Thank you