Welcome to the Mindful Agility Meditations podcast.
I am your guide,
Mirela Petali.
Mindfulness is the skill of paying attention to what is happening without judgment.
It allows us to be aware of the present,
Moment after moment.
When we are sitting,
We know we are sitting.
When we are walking,
We know we are walking.
When we are eating,
We know we are eating.
And so on.
When we are mindful,
We can pause and respond skillfully instead of reacting.
Regular mindfulness practice helps us cultivate calmness,
Peace,
Resilience,
Clarity,
Insight,
Awareness,
And happiness.
In today's meditation,
We will use our breath to calm and relax our bodies and minds.
Practice of breathing is a simple yet powerful tool.
If you are not familiar with this practice,
You'll discover that it is very difficult to maintain your attention on the breath,
Especially in the beginning.
This is perfectly natural and it happens to all of us.
The practice is about noticing that we have been distracted,
Being gentle with ourselves,
And bringing our attention back to the breath over and over again.
With time,
We train our mind to notice when it has been pulled away by thoughts,
Emotions,
And sensations and come back to the present.
We then take this new skill off the meditation and may notice that we are being more mindful and present throughout the day.
We might feel a sense of presence,
Clarity,
Awareness,
And calmness that benefits us and everyone around us.
You can find the corresponding discussion in episode 14 of the Mindful Agility podcast at mindfulagility.
Com.
And now let's begin.
Find a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down.
You can close your eyes or keep them slightly open.
Focus downward in front of you.
Let's start by taking a few deep,
Long,
Slow breaths to settle in our bodies and relax.
Now allow your breath to return to normal.
Bring your attention to your body.
Relax your jaw,
Your shoulders.
Let your arms and legs feel heavy.
Relax your back,
Your chest,
And belly.
Let your whole body rest.
There is nothing to do right now.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Notice the body breathing,
The air coming in through the nose,
The movements of your chest and belly.
In this meditation,
We are going to be curious about the breath without trying to change it,
Without judgment.
It can be slow,
Fast,
Shallow,
Deep.
That's okay.
We just notice and follow the breath.
Breathing in,
We know we are breathing in.
Breathing out,
We know we are breathing out.
Let's spend some time following the breath from the beginning to end and try to bring some relaxation with each out breath.
If you get distracted by thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions,
Or sounds,
Just notice that you have been distracted and gently bring your attention back to the breath.
Breathing in,
We know we are breathing in.
Breathing out,
We know we are breathing out.
Now bring your attention to where you feel the breath the most,
The tip of your nose,
The back of your throat,
Your chest,
Or your belly.
Try and keep your attention there lightly as you allow the breath to happen naturally.
This way we cultivate focus and awareness.
If you get distracted by thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions,
Or sounds,
Just notice that you have been distracted and gently bring your attention back to the breath.
Now expand your attention to include your whole body in your awareness.
Now we are going to slowly get out of meditation.
Bring your attention back to your whole body,
The room.
Start slowly moving your fingers and toes.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Thank you for taking the time to meditate with us today.
