Mindfulness of the Breath Meditation.
Find a position that allows you to be comfortable and relaxed.
You may either sit in a chair or lie down.
Allow your hands to either rest easily on your knees or in your lap or down by your side.
Let your eyes close gently or if you prefer them to be open,
Just hold a soft gaze focusing on an object.
At the end of the meditation,
A bell will sound to close this mindfulness practice.
We're going to start with three deep breaths.
As you take a breath in,
I'd like you to feel your lungs and your belly fill up and as you release,
To try and allow that breath to release in a long,
Slow breath out.
Slowly enough that you can feel the sensation of the exhale as your breath moves through your chest,
Your throat and through your nostrils.
So we will begin with the first breath in,
Breathing in and gently exhaling out.
Breathing in and releasing a long,
Slow breath out.
And breathing in again and gently exhaling with a long,
Slow breath out.
And allow your breath to now resume its natural rhythm and pace.
As your breathing settles,
Sense your body slowly beginning to soften.
Feel that your muscles are starting to ease and that the stress is just starting to melt away.
And I invite you to scan your body.
Scanning from the top of your head down to your toes and just looking to see if you can notice if there's any tension or pain or any uncomfortable feeling in any part of your body.
It can be difficult for people to connect to their bodies.
Some of us spend a lot of time and energy ignoring how we feel or disconnecting to how we feel in our body.
So just notice without judgement.
There's no right or wrong way here.
If you find this difficult,
You can just start with noticing how your body feels even with the temperature around you.
Does it feel warm?
Does it feel cool?
Does my body feel relaxed or does it feel a little bit tense?
And just allowing your breath as you breathe in and breathe out naturally just to sort of flow through your body.
Or you can focus on noticing the state of your mind and your heart just as it is.
Does it feel a bit racy or does it feel quiet and slow,
Joyful or sad?
Simply be aware that you are here,
Feeling the sensation of being either seated or lying down in this present moment.
And if any thoughts come up and there may be a lot of different thoughts,
It's okay.
The idea is to acknowledge the thought and then just let it go.
A bit like seeing cars passing by on the road.
Your thoughts will keep coming just like cars do on the road and you don't really need to pay much attention to them.
They will pass.
And turning your attention to your breath.
Notice how the breath moves through your nostrils into your throat,
How your lungs start to expand and how your belly starts to rise.
And as you breathe out,
Notice how your belly flattens,
How your chest subsides and whether you can feel the air on the back of your throat or out through your nostrils.
Just notice the breathing moving in and moving out of your nostrils.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And now I invite you to fix your attention onto one of these parts of your body.
Either the breath moving through the nostrils,
Through your throat,
If your chest starts to expand or your belly.
Just follow the breath as it comes and goes into this area as you inhale and exhale.
Just notice if any of the new sensations arise or change or whether things just feel the same.
Again,
There is no right or wrong here.
And notice that you become present in whatever is going on for you.
Whether it feels a little bit unpleasant or whether it feels pleasant or whether there is some tension or worry.
And as each breath comes in and each breath flows out,
Just allow your body to just relax into it.
Allow your body to let go of the stress and any tension or worry that you're holding.
However,
If your mind starts to wander,
Simply acknowledge the thought and let it go.
Just like cars driving past on the road,
So too can the thoughts pass through your mind.
Thoughts may continue to arise and you may also experience judgment.
Judgment that you're not doing this properly.
Judgment that you can't relax your mind.
Or you may have a thought about something you need to do after this.
Whatever the thought,
Just acknowledge its presence.
No need to get caught up in it,
To struggle with it or wrestle with it.
Just let that thought go.
Then bring your mind back to the breath.
Focusing on the breath coming in and the breath going out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just notice whatever is present for you right now and take a moment to relax with it all.
No matter how much your thoughts distract you and your attention will wander,
Just gently bring your focus back to the breath.
It's okay.
No matter how frustrated you get,
Know that this happens to all of us.
Even Buddhist monks who practice regularly,
Their mind will wander too.
So be kind to yourself.
The fact that you are taking time out to do this exercise shows that you have taken time for yourself.
That you are working on calming your mind and this in turn will also calm your nervous system and your body.
No matter how small or large,
This practice is of benefit to you.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Let your intention be to carry this simple presence and the feeling that you may have after this with you today as you enter into your daily activity or routine.
Know that you can just stop and breathe at any time.
And as we close this practice,
I invite you to start to become aware of any noise around you.
Feeling the seat or the ground beneath you.
And just to wiggle your toes and fingers,
Start to feel yourself back in your body.
And to slowly start to come back to the room.
