Body & Breath – MBSR Practice

A foundational MBSR meditation inviting awareness of the body sensations and the natural rhythm of the breath. This practice supports grounding, stabilizing attention, and gently returning to the present moment whenever the mind wanders.
Guidance & Silence: Longer periods of silence.

Transcript

This meditation can be followed either sitting on a cushion or on a mat, On a chair, Or lying on a comfortable surface, Closing the eyes gently or adopting a soft gaze so that the attention can now go inwards. So whichever your position, Just feeling the touch points between your body and the surface below, Feeling the ground holding, Holding the body, Can you feel these points of contact vividly? Maybe not so vividly. Taking a deep in-breath and out-breath and gently but firmly bringing the attention on the breath, This steady companion, Very much driven by automatic pilot. Luckily, Our body does not leave that to chance. Nonetheless, Can we pay attention to it now as if our life depended on it? Which it does. Each breath a unique cycle. Paying attention to the breath maybe at the nostrils. Can we feel the air as it comes by? Maybe following it further into the throat and into the chest. Maybe feeling the expansion of the torso and the belly. Maybe feeling movements throughout the body. And if we are sitting or lying, Can this position be that of awakeness? So with a body which is quite erect if we are sitting in particular, And at the same time embodying care for ourselves. And can each breath bringing life to this body be like a caress, A drinking-in of goodness? And a release of what we do not need anymore. And if our mind wanders off to some other place, The past or the future, Or judgments, Likes, Dislikes, That's what the mind does. So if possible, Gently but firmly bringing to the forefront of our attention this breath and this breath. And now expanding the awareness to the body, To the hands. Can these hands be softer? And maybe even softer. Can I feel the pulsing in the hands or any small movements? Or maybe nothing at all, Which is also perfectly fine. That is the experience. And bringing the attention to the area of the face. Am I holding a mask? Do I need to? Is there a dance of sensations? In which areas? Is it a funny dance? Or is it a difficult dance? Can I be okay with it? And observing any micro-tensions in the rest of the head, Eyebrows, The eyes, The scalp, The top of the head, The back of the head. And observing the body as a whole. This body that I wear, How is it? Any sensations of cold, Of heat, Or of both in different parts, Simultaneously, Any particular smell, Any particular sound, Sound without interpretation. And just staying with this body, This one body that we have. All sensations. Welcoming all sensations. And the breath. And slowly moving towards the end of this meditation and just feeling the touch points again. And noticing if the body wants to move a bit. And taking that ever so gently if needed. Maybe stretching. Noticing the light coming in the eyes or through the eyelids. And in our own time, Opening the eyes gently and bringing awareness back to seeing. And maybe taking a moment just to thank ourselves for taking this small but yet radical step to take care of ourselves and thus also be more present to those around us.