This is the awareness of breath meditation.
Begin by getting settled in a dignified and yet relaxed posture.
With the spine long and upright,
Shoulders lifted up and then back so that the shoulder blades drop down the back.
The chest area open to facilitate free and deep breathing as much as possible.
Try to imagine here that the posture is about balance,
Alert and awake and aware while at the same time not overly tense.
The eyes can be closed if that's the preference.
It's also possible to keep the eyes open.
For the next little while it's not really necessary to use the eyes.
So feel free to let the gaze just go downwards and imagine that all those little muscles around the eyes can relax even if it's just a bit.
Our eyes do so much work for us every day.
And just start with feeling the weight of the body right now.
Feeling the body in space impacted by gravity.
So the connection of the body to the seat.
The invitation here is to try to let go as much as possible of any extra things.
Anything that doesn't need to be here right now.
When it's on the other side of the door,
Not ignored altogether,
Simply put aside for a bit of time.
The invitation is to be present with whatever is happening right now.
There's not an expectation to be calm and relaxed or to have an empty mind.
The expectation is simply to be here now.
So here we are.
The body is sitting and the body is breathing.
Gently turn the attention to the breath.
Realizing what that is like.
The breath comes in and the breath goes out.
Where in the body can the breath be experienced and felt?
Where there is a physical sense of the breath?
Perhaps in the belly area.
The ribcage.
Perhaps also in the chest.
By feeling into this area of the body,
The trunk of the body and around the abdomen,
Can there be a sense of the expansion and the contraction of the breath?
Expanding on the breath in.
Expanding on the breath out.
This is like a movement of the belly button with the breath.
It expands out when we breathe in and comes back in towards the spine when we breathe out.
There's this ongoing movement here.
And this is the body breathing.
Is there anywhere else where there's a sense of the breath?
Movement in the shoulders?
Even if it's very subtle.
Any sense in the area of the back?
What about the air coming in and out of the nostrils?
What's the mind doing right now?
Is the mind floating off thinking about other things as our minds can often tend to do?
If so,
This is an opportunity to be gentle and patient with the mind.
The mind is simply doing what minds do,
Which is thinking.
Gently bring the attention back to the breath.
The breath is the anchor to the present moment,
Meaning that the attention on the breath is anchoring us to the present.
And the breath isn't going anywhere.
Anytime the attention goes away from the breath to something else,
Just gently bring it back.
Breath in and breath out.
Breath in and out.
Breathing in words or counting with the parts of the breath can actually give the mind a task and it can be helpful at times when the mind is feeling really busy.
Often times our minds want a little job to do.
So you can count with the breath.
Counting with inhales and exhales,
For example,
Counting one on the exhale and two on the next exhale.
Counting three on the next exhale.
And so on,
Counting all the way up to ten.
A new number with each exhale.
If at any time the count is lost,
The mind wanders,
No biggie,
Start back over at one.
Bringing a number to each exhale,
Counting all the way up to ten and then starting back over at one.
Any other thoughts or distractions,
The volume can just be turned down on those.
Simply turn the volume up on the counting.
If counting doesn't resonate right now,
Combining words and phrases with the breath can also be helpful.
From the poem by Thich Nhat Hanh,
We can try these words.
Breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I am home.
Breathing out,
Breathing in,
Into here.
Breathe out and in the now.
So we're simply combining the words with the parts of the breath.
I have arrived.
I am home.
In the here and in the now.
I have arrived.
I am home.
In the here and in the now.
I have arrived.
I am home.
In the here and in the now.
Any words here can be used,
Even simply inhale and exhale or feel free to use the words from Thich Nhat Hanh's poem.
Take a few minutes here to consider these different approaches to awareness of breath.
There's the overall observation of the breath in the body.
There's counting.
And there's also combining the breath with the recitation of a poem or words.
Sometimes this is called gatha.
Go ahead and pick one of those.
Take a little bit of time to just stick with that.
Don't worry about which one you pick.
You can always try another one later.
These options are not going anywhere.
The breath is not going anywhere.
Okay.
Again,
If the mind wanders,
Simply and gently bring it back to the anchor.
Awareness of the breath in the body,
Counting,
Or the words.
The breath in the body,
Counting,
Or the words.
Every time we sit down to practice meditation,
It's an opportunity to tune in to the present moment experience.
And it's also an opportunity to be patient and kind to ourselves.
Not every moment is serene.
We don't always feel calm and relaxed.
In fact,
Sometimes we might feel quite the opposite.
Whatever has arisen today is okay.
Whatever it was,
We were present with it and observed it.
Remember that at any time the mind can come back to these anchor points noticing the breath and bringing awareness to the breath.
Thank you for your practice and may we all be well.
