This is a five minute breath meditation.
Start by taking a comfortable position,
Whether sitting,
Standing,
Lying down.
It may be helpful to close your eyes or lower your gaze so that you can begin to tune your attention inward to the body and especially to the breath moving through your body.
You may give yourself a nice deep breath or two to help you connect to the sensations of breathing.
You've been breathing all day and might not have given it a second thought.
So now give yourself the gift of a nice deep inhale.
Resting at the top and then exhaling slowly and completely.
While you do,
See if you can notice a place in your body where you can feel the breath most clearly,
Most readily.
This will be your anchor.
This will be the place where you focus your attention.
And then after being pulled away by a thought,
A feeling,
Or another sensation,
This is the place you'll come back to.
It might be in your stomach expanding or contracting.
It might be in your chest rising and falling,
Around your nostrils,
Or in your throat,
Wherever you can feel your breath.
Rest your attention there and begin to get curious about the sensations that are associated with the breath moving through.
We'll follow the breath one at a time,
In and out,
Up and down.
And before very long,
The mind will start to wander.
We can count on it.
This is what it's supposed to do,
So everything is going according to plan.
When you find that your mind has wandered,
When you notice that you are thinking instead of focusing on the breath,
That in and of itself is a moment of mindfulness.
That is the mind seeing itself at work.
So you can celebrate that moment and you can,
In your mind,
Label it thinking or planning and then make the choice to come back to your breath.
And when we're focused on the breath,
We can simply know that we are breathing in and know that we're breathing out.
For these few minutes,
There is nothing else that we need to do or be but breathing.
And when you find that your mind has wandered,
Simply notice what's taken it away,
Maybe a familiar thought,
Maybe a new one,
Maybe a memory or an emotion,
Like worry.
Whatever it is,
Give it a little label.
Give yourself a little high five.
And then when you're ready,
You can let that thought go and come back to your anchor,
Back to the sensations of breath in your body.
I invite you to practice silently for a few more moments,
Focusing on the breath,
Wandering away and gently bringing it back.
