Hello,
This is Colin from the Bell Center.
Today we are going to do a meditation that's revolving around the breath.
Before we get into that,
Let's just make sure that,
As always,
We are in a nice,
Stable,
Seated,
Meditative posture.
Spine extending upwards towards the ceiling.
Shoulders and face relaxed.
Lower body relaxed and stable.
Then we're just going to begin to become aware of this process of breathing.
So in every moment of our lives,
We're breathing.
It's literally keeping us alive.
And remember,
Mindfulness practice,
It's all about becoming aware of the present moment.
So the breath is a very valuable tool for this because it's constantly changing and it's constantly there.
It's always in your present moment experience.
Unlike something like a sound,
Which could be somewhere actually very quiet,
Sounds are external.
But breathing,
It's coming from within you all of the time.
So beginning to tune into the breath,
There's many different ways to do this,
But we'll start with just a very simple,
Singular focus on noticing the breath as it comes in and out through the nose.
So if your mouth is closed and you're breathing through your nose,
You should be able to detect some sensation,
Maybe around the nostrils where the air is entering on the inhales.
As the air is exiting through those nostrils,
What does it feel like?
Can you bring your attention to that area fully?
Just rest in the observation of the breath as it begins and as it ends.
Constantly flowing in and out of the body and all you have to do is watch.
That is the task with this mindfulness practice.
Now it doesn't matter if this is your first meditation or if you're a monk,
At some point the mind will wander.
This is very normal.
The key is catching it as it begins to wander or later in the wandering process.
Just bringing it back,
Bringing the attention,
The awareness back to your object of focus,
Which for us right now is the breath.
Right around that area in the nostrils to be specific,
Feeling the air coming in and feeling the air going out.
Now as you're doing this,
You might actually notice that your breathing has changed a little bit.
Maybe it's slowed down,
Maybe it's sped up.
This is totally okay.
What I want you to try doing is not placing any control over the breath as you watch it.
Even if the process of watching it makes some kind of change to the character of the breath,
See if you can not try to exert any control influence over the breath.
Once again,
This is what mindfulness is all about.
Watching without control,
Becoming a passive observer.
In and out,
Just watching.
Good,
And now we're going to take our focus away from just the nostrils.
I want you to feel this process of breathing on a little bit more of a complete level.
As we breathe and the air goes in through the nose,
It passes through many parts of the body all the way down to the lower belly.
It's probably the lowest point where you can feel that air.
There's many different sensations occurring as you're breathing because your body is moving and you have nerves all over your body.
So what I want you to do is see if you can watch this process of breathing and notice where in your body can you feel the breath.
Maybe it's more in the throat,
Maybe the chest,
Maybe the belly rising and falling,
And just choosing one point where you can really feel that process of breathing very clearly and focusing on it.
Watching it as it slowly,
Subtly changes.
Becoming curious about this process of breathing from a physical sense.
Watching the body without expectation or reaction.
Seeing how the body is moving.
Good.
A few more breaths here.
Really bringing the focus in for this final part of the meditation.
Very nice.
And then you can gently let that focus on the breath go.
Maybe coming back a little bit into the room around you.
And then we'll finish as we always do,
Taking the hands,
Placing them together somewhere near the heart,
The chest,
And giving a bit of gratitude.
And today let's give gratitude to the breath,
To this very simple yet complex process that's keeping us alive in every moment.
How often do we actually think about that,
Actually appreciate it?
It's amazing.
Just sending a bit of appreciative energy in the direction of the breath.
Thank you for practicing today.
