Welcome to this awareness of breathing seated meditation.
You begin checking into the body if you're seated on a chair,
Noticing the weight of your body on the seat bones of your chair,
The feet on the floor.
And if you're seated in a cushion,
Again noticing your seat bones settling into the cushion and allowing your legs to release onto the floor.
Seeing awareness to the position of the body and torso,
Feeling the spine reach upwards,
Trying to find a balance between a supported upright posture that has a sense of ease and balance.
Not too tight,
Not too loose,
An upright posture that supports dignity in the body and can support being awake during our focused practice.
Noticing if there's extra tension in the body.
Is it possible for the shoulders to release,
For the arms to rest comfortably on your lap or wherever?
Noticing your face,
Is there tension in the forehead or jaw that can be released?
And then settling in to bringing your awareness and focus on the sensations of the body breathing.
In this practice,
We're not trying to manipulate the breath,
But to just simply observe it best you can,
Letting the body breathe itself.
As you breathe in,
Maybe noticing the sensations of the air coming in through your nose or your chest rising,
Belly releasing.
And as you breathe out,
Noticing the belly soften and the chest relax,
The air leaving the body through the nose.
Finding for you the sensation that is most clear or vivid and allowing your awareness to settle on these sensations.
As you breathe in,
Is it possible to stay with the entire in-breath?
And as you breathe out,
Is it possible to stay with every moment of the out-breath?
Observing the body breathe.
As you breathe out,
Notice the sensation of the air coming in through your nose or your chest rising.
When you find yourself lost in a thought,
It's no problem.
With kindness and knowing that this is what the brain does,
What the mind does,
Gently bring yourself back to the sensations of the next breath.
Recognizing that that's your mindful moment,
Acknowledging when you're lost in the thought stream and coming back to this present moment.
Knowing ease and support in the natural rhythm of the body breathing.
Okay.
And again,
Coming back to the breath,
Letting that breath anchor the present moment.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Settling in again to the next breath.
Noticing if there is a sense of striving for the perfect meditation experience.
So possible to just let your experience be what it is.
Maybe there's a feeling of calm.
Or maybe you're somewhere on the spectrum between calm and irritated and agitated.
It's no problem.
It is just what your experience is today in this practice.
And can you just be with that experience.
Some patience,
Some trust to this process of awareness of breathing practice and settle in again to the next breath.
No place to go.
Just to be right here.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Again,
Coming back to your next breath.
Next breath.
Finding ease and support in the rhythm of the body breathing.
This next breath ground you in this present moment and the truth of this present moment right here,
Right now.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
