Sitting Practice - Working With Difficulty

This practice begins with grounding and settling through the breath and body, and then invites you to bring into your mind a difficulty that is ok to work with - not the most intense difficulty in your life right now. It is an opporunity to explore working with difficulty through the body; dropping out of the storyline and into physical sensation in the body, bringing a kindly awareness and breath to this experience without needing to solve the problem through further thinking or problem solving. The guidance reminds you that you can ground yourself through an anchor such as the breath, sounds or feet on the floor at any point. This practice is usually introduced in week 5 of an MBCT course. It shares similar intention with Tara Brach's RAIN / RAIN of compassion meditation which some people may find preferable.

Transcript

Working with difficulty practice. So finding a posture which is comfortable for you to sustain for about the next 15 or 20 minutes. Becoming aware of the posture that you have chosen. Noticing the weight of your body going down, The height of the body going up. Aware of the ground beneath you that's supporting and holding the weight of your body. Also inviting you to soften, To let go of any tension that you might be holding that you can let go of. Perhaps around the face, Shoulders and arms, In the belly. Softening through the legs. Sitting with a sense of dignity. And at some point becoming aware of the breath, Breathing itself. Following the sensations of your breathing, Breath by breath. And as you do this, Inviting you to bring into your mind and perhaps into your heart your intention for this practice as you sit today. So again, Bringing the awareness to rest in the sensations of breathing. No need to change the breathing in any way. Simply following the sensations. Perhaps to begin with the full duration of each in-breath and each out-breath. And if and when the mind leaves the breath, Then no need to be judgmental. Simply noticing where the mind goes to. And when you've acknowledged this, Letting the practice be very simple and gently escorting the attention back to the breath. Nothing else to be achieved, To be fixed. Seeing if you can allow the attention to be light and kindly. Breath breathing itself. And if you choose to, Moving in more closely to an aspect of the breath that you feel most clearly today. Doesn't matter where it is in the body but perhaps around the nostrils or the back of the throat, The chest or the belly. Bringing a kindly interest to the sensations of the breath in the place you've chosen. Exploring and becoming familiar in a more intimate way with the sensations of the breath. Inviting you now to expand your awareness around the breath to include a sense of the body as a whole. Perhaps you can notice echoes of the breath throughout the whole body.

Reviews

Lovely Meditation!