TMI Meditation 3: Counting, Less Guidance (Stage 2)

Once you’re familiar with the method of counting the breath, you can use this guided practice, which contains sparser instructions.
Part of the skill of meditation is learning to direct and sustain attention wherever you want it to go. To train this skill, the breath is used as the anchor for attention. Breath sensations change all the time, which makes them easier to pay attention to.

This meditation is based on the book The Mind Illuminated, by Culdasa (AKA John Yates, PhD.)

Transcript

So starting off,

Just taking a few deep breaths,

Allowing the body to relax on the out-breath.

If there are any areas of tension or tightness in the body,

Just see if you can allow them to relax.

And as you do that,

Just savoring the sensations of relaxing in the body.

So now bringing your attention to the sensations of the breath at the nose,

And beginning counting the breath.

So noticing the sensations of the in-breath,

Sensations of the out-breath,

And then counting one.

Sensations of the in-breath,

Sensations of the out-breath,

Two,

And so on.

Counting up to 10,

And then starting again at one.

Dropping the count after the out-breath,

And before the in-breath.

And using the counting to support attention on the breath.

Just getting interested in the breath sensations.

What does the breath actually feel like?

How do you know that you're breathing?

And if distractions arise,

If thoughts arise,

Just letting them come,

Letting them be,

And letting them go.

And if they've pulled attention away from the breath,

Just gently bringing it back,

Resting attention again on the sensations of the breath,

And starting the count back at one.

And you could imagine that you've never taken a breath before.

And what might you find interesting about this experience of the breath sensations at the nose?

Seeing if you can just let your attention be guided by a gentle curiosity.

So not straining to find more detail in the breath sensations,

Just enjoying the experience of noticing the breath a little more clearly than you usually do.

And again,

If you notice the mind has wandered,

Just relaxing,

Celebrating that moment of noticing,

And then gently bringing the attention back to the sensations of the breath.

And if you're finding it difficult to reach 10 without getting distracted,

You can start off just aiming for five.

So you can continue this practice for as long as you'd like,

Or when you're ready,

You can gradually bring it to a close.