Hello and welcome.
In this next meditation we are going to cultivate stillness through the awareness of the breath.
Since the breath is always with us no matter where we go it's a very handy,
Portable and familiar object of meditation to use.
Its constant movement makes it easy to keep attending to.
Traditionally in the eight limb practice of Raja Yoga this process of meditation belongs to the continuum starting from Pratyahara or sense withdrawal moving through Tarana,
Focused concentration,
Then Dhyana or meditative absorption usually after some time of developing the practice and culminating in Samadhi or super consciousness.
I'll be guiding you through the process so feel free to relax into the moment as we hang out with the breath.
It'll be a 15 minute meditation after the intro.
In preparation sit in a comfortable position so that your head,
Neck and spine are in a straight line without making you feel uncomfortable.
You can sit in a chair,
Cross-legged,
Kneeling,
Whatever you prefer.
Part of the goal is to sit still but if you feel yourself experiencing discomfort or pain in any way shift gently in order to alleviate that discomfort.
You can lie down if you feel it necessary but keep your spine straight and note that the tendency when lying down is to fall asleep so you may have to work against that tendency if you decide to lie down.
I'll say from the onset that this will be a kind of choose your own adventure.
You can either choose to train your attention on the inside of the tip of the nose or the abdomen where the breath rises and falls.
The idea here is to practice one-pointedness,
That is training our attention on a single object of perception,
The breath,
And focusing our mind on one point in the body where we can experience the ever-changing flow of our own breathing.
So right now I invite you to place your attention on the inside of your nostrils near the tip of your nose.
You should feel the sensation of breathing on the upper lip or the inside of the nostril as you breathe.
Your role will be to act as a kind of gatekeeper here with nearly pinpoint accuracy keeping your attention on that spot where you can feel the breath but not following it as you inhale in or exhale out.
The alternative is in the belly.
There are several points where you can focus your attention.
One is the diaphragm which is the bladder-like muscle below your lungs in the upper abdomen or lower rib cage that expands and contracts with each breath.
Another is the lower belly.
Some people like to focus on the belly button.
Either way it's the experience of the breath rising and falling that you would focus on here.
Choose a point that speaks to you in order to maintain your attention on abdominal breathing.
Feel free to place a hand on your belly in order to tune into the rhythm of your own breathing.
Locate those two areas and choose which one you prefer to place your attention on and then maintain that focus for the duration of the practice.
Most importantly try not to take yourself too seriously.
Feel free to have fun,
Stay light and enjoy your breath.
Let's begin by getting settled into the here and now.
Keeping your spine straight in your chosen position and becoming aware of the weight of your body.
The sensation of your feet on the ground or your backside on a chair.
Take a few slow deep intentional breaths bringing your attention to its rhythm,
The in and out or up and down motion of the breath.
We're not going to zero in on our chosen spot just yet.
Simply allow yourself to experience the breath.
Find the spaciousness in every inhale and feel the sensation of release as you exhale.
If you sense that your breath feels uneven as you watch it,
Don't worry just let it be.
Can you become aware of the qualities of your breath?
What is its tone or feeling?
Is it shallow or deep?
Does it feel moist or dry,
Hard or soft?
What is the shape of your breath?
Straight or round,
Short or long?
Does it have another appearance?
Become aware of not just the breath but the spaces between between the in breath and the out breath and vice versa.
Is there a pattern?
What does your breath wrap around?
If you could fill your breath with more breath,
What would that look like?
Take a deep inhale and gently return to the experience of the breath itself.
Now let's narrow the focus from the entire breath to just a section of it.
Train your attention on that part of the body which you chose during the introduction,
Either the nose area or the abdomen.
You'll keep bringing your attention back to that spot.
If you like to keep your mind on the practice,
If your attention is on the nose,
You can mentally say to yourself,
Breathing in and breathing out.
If it's on the belly,
You would say to yourself,
Rising and falling.
If you do that however,
Be careful not to make the word the object.
Instead,
Keep your awareness on the location you've chosen.
The intention is to be like a gatekeeper.
Don't follow the breath in or out,
Just stay at the gate watching the in and out breath.
You may notice that if you focus on the abdomen,
It keeps the energy in the middle of the body.
While if your awareness is on the nose,
It stays more on the upper body.
Let your awareness rest on your chosen spot.
There's nothing else you have to do now but watch the breath.
Notice how a thought or sensation arises and draws your attention away from the breath.
Notice it and gently come back to the breath.
If you're uncomfortable,
Notice that sensation and go back to the breath.
If the discomfort persists,
Move your body and note how the awareness is caught in moving the body and then go back to the breath.
If sounds arise or you feel air on your skin,
Anything,
Just note how your awareness gets yanked from your focal point of concentration and then return softly to the breath.
Instead of feeling guilty or argumentative or upset,
Just go back to the breath.
Be with each breath as precisely as you're able to be.
Tip of the nose or the abdomen.
Be aware of the qualities of the breath.
Its duration,
The changes,
As if you were studying the breathing intimately or riding the breath like a wave in the ocean.
What happens if we no longer attach any judgment or label about how the breath feels to the simple experience of breathing?
Just allowing the breath to be.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Whether you think this is good or bad or you're performing this exercise well or poorly,
Any model of whether this is hard or easy is just another thought.
All the metaphors I've suggested are just more thought forms.
Let them arise,
Notice them,
And go back to the breath.
If you find yourself fatigued,
Take a few deep intentional breaths and then quiet back into your normal uncontrolled rhythm of breathing.
Each time your mind wanders,
Note it and then gently,
Happily,
Lightly return to the breath.
Keep your awareness alert,
Precise,
And at the same moment relaxed.
There are two more minutes left in this meditation.
In those two minutes,
Try to renew your attention to the details of your breath.
As Ram Dass would say,
The breath,
Don't forget the breath.
I invite you to loosen your attention from this exercise and become aware of the sounds around you,
Entering into presence with whatever space you find yourself in and taking a few seconds to thank yourself for sitting down and experiencing your breath.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoy making these recordings.
Cheers and namaskar.
