Awareness Of Breathing

The Awareness Of Breath allows you to step out of automatic pilot and reconnect with the present moment. This practice can be effective when negative thought patterns arise. By taking time to stop and attend to the present moment, with acceptance and compassion, this exercise can help you respond more skillfully to stressful situations. Practicing this meditation trains your attention to cultivating awareness to help cope with stress.

This meditation is led by The Centre for Mindfulness Studies' facilitator: Patricia Rockman MD

Transcript

So,

Taking a few moments to settle into this awareness of breathing practice,

Closing the eyes if that's comfortable,

Or taking a soft,

Half-open and receptive gaze a few feet in front of you on the floor,

And then bringing attention to the body sitting,

To the points of contact,

To the base of the body,

To the pubic bone descending,

The chest rising,

The chin in line with the navel,

And the hands at rest,

On the thighs or folded in the lap,

Attending to sensations inside the body and outside the body on the surface of the skin,

And then allowing the attention to include the sensations of breathing wherever they're most available to you,

Whether at the nostrils,

The chest,

Or the abdomen,

And attending to the movement of the breath here,

If at the belly,

To the sensations of the abdomen expanding and deflating,

If at the chest,

To the movement of the ribs,

Expanding with the in-breath,

Contracting with the out-breath,

Or if at the nostrils,

To the cool air as it enters,

And the warm air as it exits,

Picking one place and abiding here as best you can,

Knowing that the attention will be pulled into thinking or other sensations,

And that this is perfectly normal,

And that your job is to simply wake up to this and then gently return the attention to the physical sensations of breathing,

Breathing in and breathing out,

Attending to the full length of the inhalation and the full length of the exhalation,

Not needing to manipulate the breath in any way,

Being with the breath as it is,

As it is moving in and out of the body.

Sound,

Thought,

And other sensations are part of the meditative field,

But in this moment,

As best we can,

Keeping them in the background,

The intended focus of attention in this practice is on the physical sensations of breathing.

As it comes and goes,

The attention moves and we gently bring it back.

It moves again,

And we bring it back again,

Over and over.

Waking up to this movement of attention is as much a part of the practice as attending to the breath itself,

And now on an out-breath,

Allowing the attention to include the physical sensations coming and going in the body,

In addition to the breath,

To the entirety of bodily sensations,

Bringing a kind of expansiveness to attention in this moment,

Not seeking or scanning,

Rather,

As best you can,

Resting in a kind of open awareness of breath and body.

In a few moments,

We will be transitioning out of this formal practice of awareness of breathing,

And so listening to the entire length of the bell as it rises and fades,

And then opening the eyes and moving the body in any way that is needed.

Reviews

Wonderfully calming, gentle. Time to sit with suggestions. Bookmarking and following for more.