Welcome.
This is a 15 minute breath meditation practice.
So beginning by coming into a posture that will support you in being both alert and at ease.
Whether you're sitting in a chair or on a cushion on the floor,
It's helpful for the upper body to be straight but not rigid with the head level and balanced.
And now allowing your eyes to close or using a soft downward gaze.
So as we begin,
Just taking a moment to notice what it's like right now in the body.
Checking in with whatever sensations are most obvious.
Perhaps noticing touch points with the floor or the chair or feeling your hands or just noticing the posture of the body.
Not needing to change anything,
Aware of this body just as it is right now.
And checking in with the mind and heart.
Perhaps just first noticing whatever emotional tone might be here.
Bored,
Excited,
Worried,
Calm,
Not judging or trying to change to something better.
Just taking note of what's here now.
And checking in with thoughts.
Noticing if there's a lot of energy and rapid thinking or maybe there's relatively few thoughts.
Aware of how it is right now.
At the start of a meditation session,
It's very helpful to remind yourself of your intention in setting aside this time for practice.
If you're clear with yourself about why you value doing this training right now,
Your mind and heart is more likely to follow through on that intention.
So let yourself know that whatever items are on your to-do list can wait until later.
It's okay to put them aside and pick them back up when this meditation session is finished.
Perhaps this training will allow you to tackle them more effectively when the time comes.
We're going to be using the sensations of the breath as our object of meditation for this session.
So right now noticing where in the body you feel the breath most prominently.
It's often at the tips of the nostrils or the upper lip.
Or it could be the rising and falling of the chest or abdomen.
So just choosing one of those spots for your attention for this session.
Opening to whatever physical sensations are there.
Not needing to change the breath in any way or improve it.
Aware of the sensations of the out-breath.
Aware of the in-breath.
And aware of any gaps between the breaths that may be there.
In this practice we're inviting the sensations of the breath to be in the center of our awareness while we're allowing all other experience to be in the background.
So we're not trying to shut out sounds,
Other sensations or even thoughts.
Our only job is to direct the attention to the breath and allow everything else we are experiencing to just be there in the background.
Not quarreling with anything or trying to make it better.
All right.
At some point,
You're likely to notice that the attention is no longer on the sensations of the breath.
If so,
It's very likely to have gotten absorbed into thinking.
This doesn't mean you're failing or even that there's a problem.
This is just how the mind works.
So as soon as you recognize your attention has moved away from the object of meditation,
You want to first congratulate yourself for now waking up.
You are no longer absorbed in thought and you can now choose where to put the attention.
It's an amazing thing.
So you redirect the attention back to the sensations of the breath gently and clearly and perhaps even encouraging a sense of interest and curiosity about the breath sensations.
What are they really like right now?
Deep,
Shallow,
Long,
Short,
Smooth,
Rough.
See what you can notice.
As the novelty of directing the attention to the breath begins to wear off,
It can be helpful to give the mind a little more to work with to keep it interested.
We can do this by attending a bit closer to these ever-changing sensations.
See if you notice the very beginning of the out-breath,
The middle of the out-breath,
And the very end of the out-breath.
And notice the very beginning of the in-breath,
The middle of the in-breath,
And the very end of the in-breath.
Aware of each breath as it happens.
As we near the close of this meditation period,
You may want to feel appreciation for the opportunity you've taken in putting time aside for this practice,
Reminding yourself of the benefits to be gained for you and everyone you will come in contact with.
