Hi,
It's Mandy here.
Welcome to the Breathing Anchor practice.
This is a practice where we attend to the movement and sensations of breathing in our body as a way of anchoring to the present moment.
So to begin with,
Take a few moments to settle into the posture you've chosen.
You can do this meditation sitting,
Standing,
Lying or even walking.
There's no perfect posture.
Just do whatever suits your body today.
You want to aim for a posture that helps you feel alert yet relaxed.
And something that you can comfortably sustain for the next 10 minutes or so.
So let's start by taking a few deep breaths.
Stretching up on the in-breath and allowing your body to settle on the out-breath.
Keeping the weight of your body up to gravity.
Breathing into the surface of your body where it meets the surface below you.
Allowing the earth to come up and meet you.
You're supported here.
Maybe making any final movements or adjustments.
The point of this breathing anchor practice is to give us an opportunity to practice resting our awareness in the movements and sensations of the breath.
We use this as a way of strengthening our concentration muscle.
Practicing focusing our attention on a single thing.
Breathing.
Just allowing our awareness to settle into this breath.
You don't need to change or alter anything.
Just noticing the way breathing happens in your body.
Opening up to the direct experience of the breaths flowing in and out of your body.
We're not trying to get anywhere with this practice.
Not aiming for relaxation or a blank mind.
Just opening to the experience.
Resting our awareness on breath as a way to anchor into the present moment.
I invite you to bring a sense of curiosity and friendliness to this practice as best you can.
So becoming aware of the breath in your body now.
Where do you feel this process most strongly?
It might be in the rise and fall of the belly.
The expansion and contraction of the chest.
Or perhaps you can feel the wind of the breath at the nose.
Wherever you feel the breath most strongly.
Allowing your attention to settle there.
And it may be somewhere else in your body.
Perhaps your shoulders.
Or if your hands are resting on your body somewhere,
Perhaps you can feel into the movements of the breath through your hands.
Just noticing the rhythm of the breath.
The rise and the fall.
This effortless process.
Trusting your body knows how to breathe.
Being careful not to force or strain the breath.
Just noticing how each breath is new.
Always arising and passing away.
Moment by moment.
And if you notice your mind has wandered away from the breath,
Don't worry.
This is normal.
This is what our minds do.
You might have noticed your thoughts coming up around perhaps planning,
Remembering,
Even a fantasy.
Just try as best you can to call your mind back to the movements and sensations of the breaths in your body.
Remembering to bring a sense of gentleness to this practice.
Our minds can be a little bit like a brand new puppy.
Full of energy.
Always wanting to follow the next thing that comes into their sense of sight or and the next thing they hear.
But when we're teaching a puppy to sit,
We bring a sense of gentleness to the process.
Maybe we take hold of their collar and push their bottom down on the ground and just ask them to sit and stay.
But it's not long before that puppy will take off.
Noticing something that's got its attention.
And we just bring a sense of patience and kindness.
Collect the puppy up.
Bring it back next to us and ask us it to sit and stay once more.
And that's what we're doing here.
Whatever bubbles up,
We notice and we call our mind back.
Back home to the body.
To the breath.
This breath.
And this breath.
Noticing that your mind's wandered is not an opportunity to beat yourself up.
No time for judgment.
Just bringing a sense of calm,
Patience and kindness.
When you notice your mind has wandered,
It's actually a magic moment of awareness.
A moment of success in your practice.
You've woken up and noticed that your mind has become distracted.
So perhaps it's an opportunity to congratulate yourself for noticing.
And then returning to the movements and sensations of the breath in the body.
Using the breath as an anchor to this moment.
Can you become curious and interested in the breath in the body?
What's the nature of your breath?
Is it rough or smooth?
Deep or shallow?
Does the pattern change at all?
Can you get a sense of how the body is rocked and cradled by the movements of breath?
This nourishing,
Life-giving process.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And as we begin to bring this practice to a close,
Just taking a moment to remind yourself that this breath is a is the only one that matters.
This breath.
Moving and stretching in whatever way feels comfortable to you.
Thank you.
See you next time.
