Settling into a seated position where you feel comfortable and supported.
Taking a few moments just to adjust,
To find a balanced position.
Straightening your back in an upright and dignified posture,
So it sets the intention of the practice to be alert and awake.
Gently closing your eyes or dropping your gaze downward,
And bringing your awareness to physical sensations.
It might help to draw your attention to the sensation of touch and pressure,
Where your body comes into contact with whatever you're resting on.
Spending a few moments here,
Just curiously exploring those sensations,
And then briefly scanning the body for other sensations,
Becoming aware of them,
Noticing how these sensations might change,
And then releasing them from your attention,
Creating space for the next sensation that might arise in your consciousness.
Now bringing your awareness to the changing patterns of physical sensation as you breathe in and out.
It may be helpful to place one of your hands on your abdomen and the other on your chest,
Becoming aware of the changing patterns of sensations where your hand makes contact with your abdomen,
Noticing the rising and falling of your hand as you breathe in and out.
And once you feel tuned into your breath,
You can always rest your hands back on your lap or by your side.
You may have noticed already that your mind has begun to wander.
If it does,
Just as best you can gently bringing your attention to the feeling of your mind,
If it does,
Just as best you can gently bringing your attention back to the breath.
Simply resume following the changing patterns as you breathe in and out,
Bringing a quality of kindness to your awareness,
Seeing the wandering mind as an opportunity to be patient with yourself and gently curious about your experience,
Focusing your awareness on the sensation as the abdomen rises with each in-breath and the gentle deflation as it falls with each out-breath.
As best you can,
Trying to follow your awareness from the changing physical sensations,
From the in-breath all the way through as the breath enters your body,
Perhaps even noticing the slight pause in between the in-breath and the out-breath,
And then as you exhale and noticing the pause then between the out-breath and the following in-breath.
You may notice at some point that you're trying to control the breath in some way.
If this happens,
Letting your attention rest softly on the breath,
Reminding yourself that there's no need to try to control the breath in any way,
Simply letting the body breathe by itself.
And as best you can,
Bringing this attitude of allowing an acceptance to the rest of your experience,
There is nothing that needs to be fixed,
No problem you need to solve right now,
Or no particular state to be achieved,
Just being here observing and noticing the sensations of the breath,
Bringing your awareness to the breath cycle where it's the most vivid.
This might be at your nose where the breath enters,
Your chest or shoulders or the abdomen,
Just watching these sensations and noticing the entirety of the breath,
From the movement of the air coming in,
The slight pause and the movement of the out-breath.
You may even follow the breath as it goes down,
Expanding the chest,
The abdomen,
And then slowly pushing out and exiting through the nostrils,
Recognizing that each part of the breath is different from the other part,
There may be different experiences or different sensations that you notice,
Each breath is unique from the last one,
And sooner or later your mind may begin to wander yet again,
And that's okay,
It's what minds do,
If you found that you were planning the day,
Daydreaming,
Worrying or thinking about the past,
Just acknowledge briefly where your mind has been,
It might be helpful to say that's thinking or this is an emotion and experiencing this story,
This memory,
And then just gently bringing it back,
Back to focusing on the changing patterns of the breath,
Renewing your intention to pay attention to the ongoing in-breath and the out-breath,
You may also notice that there are sounds,
Sounds either coming from this recording,
Sounds in the room or sounds outside,
Just noticing when these come into awareness that your attention has moved to the perception of sound,
Staying with it long enough to notice that you're observing this,
Being aware of the mind's desire to label sounds,
Creating stories for them,
Bringing your attention back once again to breathing,
Letting your breath be the anchor of your awareness,
So that each time your awareness goes to something else,
Whether it be a thought or a sound,
Just gently coming back without judgment,
Just noticing that your attention has gone somewhere else and returning back to your breath,
As you breathe,
Just reminding yourself from time to time that the intention is to simply be aware of your experience in each moment,
Using the breath as your anchor to reconnect with the here and now,
To reconnect with the here and now,
Noticing when your mind has wandered and then returning,
Going back to the breath,
Spending the next few moments just watching the breath,
Observing your mind where it is in the present moment and staying with the breath as best you can,
You're welcome to continue to practice,
But as this meditation comes to an end,
Recognizing that you spent this time intentionally aware of your moment-to-moment experience,
You may even want to congratulate yourself for each time that you notice that your mind wandered and acknowledge the times that you were able to bring back,
Practicing mindfulness strengthens your ability to be with whatever may come your way,
Building your capacity for openness to experiences,
Curiosity and non-judgmental awareness
