Mindfulness meditation can be thought of as a no-technique technique.
Here,
We're limiting the tricks,
The to-dos,
And instead using an open focus to better understand ourselves in the moment.
It's important to become aware of patterns of thinking without judgment.
For this practice,
You are welcome to be in any position that works for you.
You might habitually go right into a seated,
Cross-legged position with eyes closed,
And if that feels right for today,
Go for it.
But if there's something else that would be more supportive,
Like lying down,
Even beginning with a little bit of movement,
I really invite you to practice meeting your own needs in the moment,
Right now.
See if you can hold this practice lightly,
Not grasping,
Not striving,
Rather inviting a sense of gentle awareness.
You may start by observing your breath right now,
As if it's the very first time you've noticed your breath.
Savor the inhalation and follow the exhalation all the way out.
Notice how just that level of awareness begins to create a shift in your state of being.
When your mind begins to wander,
Know that that is okay and an expected part of this practice.
When you observe a thought,
Pause for a moment.
Instead of following that thought through,
Just let it pass on by,
Returning to awareness of your body right now.
There's no way to do this wrong,
And even if you're having an experience of thinking a lot,
Of feeling a little distracted,
That is part of the practice too.
When you continue to show up,
Even in moments of challenge,
You're building your meditation muscle.
You're building your ability to be present,
Even with a little bit of discomfort.
So keep coming back again and again,
Feeling your breath and your body,
Becoming aware,
Staying attentive.
You may notice now that your attention has gone somewhere else,
Maybe to the past or to the future.
This is natural.
The mind's job is to think,
And it's pretty good at it.
So again,
Lighten your grip,
Not expecting the thoughts to stop.
They won't.
But what if you inserted a little pause after a thought,
Changing your pattern of following one thought with another,
With another?
If it feels okay to you,
Begin to bring the awareness into the body for a moment.
You may do this by accessing a more conscious breath.
You may let your awareness just scan through the body,
Noting any places of interest,
Any places where you feel a sense of ease and openness or a sense of discomfort or tension,
Not assigning good or bad labels.
Just observe whatever you're observing in the body.
What if this was enough?
No matter how this is going for you,
No matter what else is happening outside of this practice right now,
What if it was enough to just be here for this moment?
As your next inhale comes through the nose,
Notice the sensation of the breath expanding the body slightly.
And as you exhale,
Connect again to that feeling of enough.
See if you can do just a little bit less.
The inhale holds expansiveness.
And the exhale is an invitation to soften.
You're welcome to continue this practice for as long as you'd like if you're not quite ready to come back.
When you decide that you're ready to complete this practice of mindfulness meditation,
The no technique technique,
Feel free to enjoy some gentle conscious movements,
A deepening of the breath,
Perhaps even a loving touch,
Hands stroking down your arms or along the thighs or hands to the heart.
Feel yourself here right now and feel the impact of making this time to practice.
What might you take with you into the rest of your day?
Whenever you feel ready,
You can begin to reorient to your space.
Again,
If you're choosing to remain,
Stay as long as you like.
As you're reorienting to your space,
Take in the colors and the shapes of the room around you,
Noticing light and shadow,
Noticing details you may not have observed before.
And shift the awareness once more to your state inside,
Feeling what's happening within you as a result of this practice.
And then oscillate your awareness back and forth from your senses,
The external perception of the space you're in,
To the internal sense of being you,
Back and forth,
Feeling both a heightening of awareness and a deepening of the ease you've created.
Thank you so much for practicing,
And I'll look forward to being with you again soon.
