Beginner's Breath Meditation

If you're new to meditation, this practice is for you. Learn to follow the breath, at the belly, chest, nostrils, or in the whole body. And most importantly, remember that mind wanderings are normal and natural. Notice them, then gently return to the breath. That's it!

Transcript

Kasana. You you Going to practice a breath anchoring meditation and You're welcome to do this sitting standing or lying down So choose whatever posture supports you to find some easefulness and some wakefulness in this moment You might want to give yourself a few big breaths in Do big breaths in And out Just to clear out any stale energy and breath that might be lagging from the rest of your day Then let the rhythm the depth of the breath Be as it is not making it deep or shallow Fast or slow just letting the breath breathe itself as best you can And there are a few places That tend to be easier to tune into the sensation the felt experience in the body of breathing so we aren't imagining or Visualizing the body breathing. We're actually tuning into what it feels like So one place you could tune into is your belly and If you like you can even put one or two hands on your belly To feel the movement the rising of the inhalation The lowering of the exhalation or any other sort of movement that happens when the body breathes And you're welcome to leave your hands there or remove them and just keep attention in that space of the belly For others tuning into the chest a sternum area Can be a helpful place to feel Breathing happening and again, You can put a hand or two over your heart If that helps you to tune into the sensation Hold it there for a bit or let go of the hand And just stay with the sensations as best you can Others find it helpful to tune into the nostrils The slight coolness of air moving in the slight warmth of air moving out and Brushing the upper lip And to tune in here some people find it helpful to place a finger under the nostrils to feel the breath And finally others tune into the breath in the whole body This gentle expansion with the inhalation and release with the exhalation Having tried these four locations you might notice that one is more accessible is more enjoyable For the rest of our practice today we're gonna stay at one of the most beautiful places in the world So choose that spot and can you let that place become an anchor or a cushion that you rest upon So it's there's no need to squeeze and hold on tightly to that spot but to have a place That you can feel the breath in your body Cushion that you rest upon so it's there's no need to squeeze and hold on tightly to that spot but to have a place To settle into And thoughts are going to come emotions will come sometimes discomfort in other parts of the body will come We don't need to ignore those but in meditation practice especially when we're focusing on a particular spot We don't get wrapped up we don't explore all the other thoughts and sounds that that arise and pass The moment we notice that attention has wandered away mindfulness is re-established And then with this gentle invitation we can bring our awareness back to the spot that has been chosen The spot that has been chosen So we're going to do this for five more minutes And I'll drop in from time to time to offer this invitation and if at any point it feels Stressful then let your area of focus be wider And if you're feeling very lost and kind of swaying and in fantasies and very dispersed You might want to let your focus be a little more concise and if at any point this brings up a sense Of panic and dysregulation then you can drop the breath all together and simply practice listening meditation Listen to the sounds around you Listen to the sounds around you In and out In and out In and out In and out Appreciating the breath that gives us life by offering our attention to the in-breath and the out-breath In and out In and out In and out In and out In and out

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