MBSR Sitting Meditation (32 min)

The Sitting Meditation is a core practice of the 100% free 8-week MBSR course.

Transcript

This segment guides you through a sitting meditation with breath as the primary object of awareness.

Arranging to spend this time in a comfortable but attentive posture,

Preferably sitting up without leaning back for support if that's possible for you,

And at a time and in a place where you won't be disturbed.

Sitting in a dignified posture,

Head balanced on shoulders,

Arms and hands resting in a comfortable position.

This is a time for allowing ourselves to switch from our normal mode of doing and moving and reacting to one of simply being.

Just being attentive to what is happening within your own awareness right here and right now.

As you sit,

Just noticing sensations of breath.

Just noticing how your abdomen moves on each in-breath and out-breath.

The movement of air through your nostrils.

The slight movement of chest and shoulders.

Just bringing awareness to whichever part of the breath cycle and wherever in your body it is most vivid,

Whether it be your tummy or your chest or your shoulders or the movement of air through your nostrils.

Noticing the entire cycle of breath.

From the movement of the air coming in and filling the lungs and extending the abdomen slightly.

The movement of air going out.

Being aware of the pause,

The stopping point in between the in-breath and the out-breath and the out-breath and the next in-breath.

It's all one movement.

Even through the changing of direction,

Just noticing where that pause is.

Seeing to what degree you can be aware of the whole entire cycle.

Noticing that each part of the cycle is different than another part.

And this time through may be different than the last time through.

And each one is absolutely unique in its own way,

If you pay attention.

You'll notice your attention from time to time shifting away from breath.

The mind may wander into fantasies or memories,

Thoughts of the day,

Worries that you might have,

Things you need to do.

And without giving yourself a hard time,

When you notice that that's happened,

Just gently but firmly bring your awareness back to the sensations of breathing.

The actual physical sensations of breath as it moves through your body.

One,

Adding and tasting one breath into the own projector.

Thank you.

Being aware of where the mind goes.

Simply shifting your awareness to sensations of breath.

Noticing the tendency to want to control your breathing.

Letting the quality of attention be light and easy.

Just as if you were on a float on a gently undulating sea.

Where you go up with one wave and down with the next.

You don't control the duration of the waves or the depth between the waves.

You're just riding.

Just as if you were on a float on a gently undulating sea.

Just as if you were on a float on a gently undulating sea.

Just gently coming back to sensations of breathing.

Just as if you were on a float on a gently undulating sea.

You may notice that there are sounds in addition to the sounds that come from this recording.

Sounds of traffic or movement or something else going on.

Just noticing that your attention has moved to that perception of sound.

And staying with it just long enough to notice the quality of the sound.

Sound is vibration,

Tone,

Volume or intensity.

Being aware of the tendency of the mind to label sound as traffic or as voices or as music.

And coming closer to the actual experience of the sounds that hit your eardrums.

Realize of pitch or rhythm or intensity.

Separating out the actual reception of sound from the labels we put on it.

And if you've been paying attention to sound or notice that you've gone off to be noticing the perceptions of sound,

Bringing your attention once again back to breath.

Letting your breath be your anchor of awareness.

So that each time your awareness goes somewhere else,

Just gently coming back to breath without judgment or any upset if you can do that.

And the tendency to have an opinion about things,

About liking the way things are going right now.

Not liking it,

Finding it uncomfortable.

That too can be an object of awareness.

Just noticing that you have an opinion about things often.

So that's my liking mind,

Liking this.

Here's my critical mind saying I would rather have things be different than they are.

And that too can be noticed.

Building the capacity to notice liking or disliking and not to have to do anything about it,

How freeing that is.

And as you notice that happening is bringing your awareness to the physical sensations of breath wherever is most vivid for you.

Just riding the entire cycle,

One cycle after another.

Sugar on it.

You may notice your attention shifting to body sensations,

Sensations of achiness or discomfort,

Of tension.

As you notice these sensations of discomfort,

If that happens for you,

There are several things that can be done with such a sensation.

And one is to simply,

If it's one that can be remedied by shifting a little bit,

One way to deal with the sensation is to allow yourself to shift.

But in doing that,

First becoming aware of the sensation,

Noticing precisely where the achiness or the tension might be.

And once you're aware of where that is,

Developing an intention to move and moving mindfully and with full intent to make that motion.

That's one way to deal with a strong sensation.

A second way,

And neither one is better than the other as long as full awareness is brought to all parts,

Is to notice that sensation,

Noticing in its fullness,

Being curious about the extent of it,

How your experience of it is at the moment,

The actual physical sensations of tension or of throbbing or of tightness or of pulling or tingling.

And the second way of dealing with it is just to notice that it's possible to stay for a moment longer with that sensation and experience this pure sensation without the labels of discomfort or tension or achiness.

Just noticing just where it is.

Noticing the experience of it and staying with it without having to react to it,

At least for the moment.

And if your attention keeps getting pulled back to that area of intense sensation,

Knowing you have those two choices of forming an intention to do something about it and mindfully doing it but forming the intention first,

Or bringing your intention and attention right into it,

Being curious about it.

How big is it?

How long is it?

What quality does it have?

How is it changing over time?

And then,

The third way of dealing with it is just to notice that it's possible to stay for a moment longer with that sensation and experience it without the labels of discomfort or achiness.

And wherever the mind goes,

In terms of thoughts or liking or disliking perceptions of sensation or hearing a sound or feelings of peace or of sadness or of frustration or of anticipation,

Just noticing these are all thought forms and bringing awareness to sensations,

To the movement of breath.

And then,

The fourth way of dealing with it is just to notice that it's possible to stay for a moment longer with that sensation or achiness.

And wherever the mind goes,

In terms of thoughts or feeling or feeling of sadness or of disappointment or of disappointment or of disappointment or of disappointment or of disappointment or of disappointment or of disappointment,

Just being curious about breath,

Observing that no two breaths are exactly the same.

I'm seeing if it's possible to have a friendly attitude towards whatever comes into your awareness.

If your mind has gone off on a fantasy or a thought or a judgment or a worry or a sensation or a sound,

There's no friendly way noticing that this happening and coming back to breath,

Recognizing the entire cycle of awareness is important to this experience including the movement from breath and including the coming back.

You you seeing if it's possible at those moments when your awareness has gone somewhere else,

Noticing how that flicker of attention happens,

That moment when you realize it is somewhere else and somewhere other than breath and at that moment seeing if it's possible to have an attitude of celebration,

Of congratulation,

Of recognition that this is a moment of awareness,

You acknowledge yourself for noticing you've gone somewhere else and just easily bring your attention back to breath in a friendly and a non-judgmental way.

You you as this meditation comes to an end,

Recognizing that you've spent this time intentionally aware of your moment-to-moment experience,

Nourishing and strengthening your ability to be with whatever comes your way,

Building the capacity for opening the senses to the vividness,

To the aliveness of the present moment,

Expanding your skill to be curious and available about whatever presents itself without judgment.

When you're ready,

Allowing the eyes to let some light in if you've had them closed,

And permitting yourself now to shift or to stretch in whatever way feels comfortable as the sitting meditation ends.

Reviews

These sitting meditations are so great! Just enough explanation, pauses, and guidance.

Angenehme Stimme, leicht verständliche Sprache , gut gesetzte Sprechpausen.
Sehr, sehr schön

Very measured and exsperienced guidance, I can hear the practice in his voice, really brought me back to my practice , excellent

Love your meditations, they are giving me so much. And your voice and where you are coming from is so balanced - it really supports a mindful approach and state. Thank you 🙏

As a graduate of the Palouse Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, I have come to appreciate the quality of this sitting meditation, as well as the other practices that Dave conducts. They all have unique approaches and goals. Initially, I found the sitting meditation one of the more difficult, but the more I practice it, the more I value its quiet, unhurried pace that never fails to leave me with greater peace and gratitude than when I began. I am so thankful for Dave’s skillful dedication to MBSR. It came to me at a time in my life when it was sorely needed, and I am profoundly grateful.

Just wonderful. So grounded, lovely, peaceful, anchoring pace. Very grateful.

Thank you for your gentle persistent encouragement.

I love your calming experienced voice. The meditation was over all too quickly

A foundation of the classic Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practice. I appreciate that Dave Potter makes the entire course free and available to all.

Thank you! I wish I could save your tracks on my playlist, but for some reason I can't ✨️

So grateful for this guided practice, thank you 🙏

Great voice. A little more talking than I’d prefer but that might be perfect for a beginner, so I went with five stars. I will definitely bookmark! Thanks.

This one is tough as a new practitioner of meditation/mindfulness. To sit that long and keep bringing attention back to breath is challenging yet very worth the time and effort. I will be practicing this often.

I appreciate that there was no more talking than was necessary.

Great basic practice with soothing voice and guidance. Thank you !

Amazing
I love pauses
Enough guidance
My daily meditation now

Thanks for sharing the MBSR course with everyone. I find the sound of your voice very soothing in your guided meditations.

Nice and quiet pace. I come back to this meditation regularly

Absolutely love specific attention to unlabeled direct experience, great coaching for my gold mind, sifting of gravels of attention on purpose. Meditating, smiling. Being. Thank you Dave

I love this meditation because it’s unlike others I do and reminds me to be non-judgmental about all my feelings, reactions, and bodily sensations. I must remember, though, to have the volume very VERY low so, when Dave returns after a time of silence, I’m not startled by his voice! Thank you Dave!