I'm Ruth Lerman,
Welcoming you to this awareness of breath meditation.
So starting with taking a comfortable seat,
Allowing the spine to be erect but not rigid.
Using the eyes or finding a soft,
Steady,
Downward gaze and noticing how things are in the mind and the body in this moment.
Not trying to change anything,
But just noticing.
Now feeling into the contact points between the feet and the supporting surface.
Not so much thinking about this contact,
But feeling into it.
And feeling into the contact at the seat.
Feeling the contact at the hands or forearms.
Good.
Now bringing awareness to the breath,
Wherever it is felt most vividly in the body.
It might be at the belly,
The chest,
Back of the throat,
Nostrils,
Tip of the nose.
Not trying to change the breath in any way,
Just noticing.
Is the breath slow or fast or somewhere in between?
And slow is not good,
Fast is not bad.
Mindfulness can be defined as the awareness that arises when we pay attention on purpose to what's happening in the present moment non-judgmentally.
The breath may be deep or shallow,
Just noticing,
Not judging that one is better than the other.
The breath may be regular or irregular.
Almost certainly the mind has wandered multiple times during this session,
And that is not a failure in meditation.
It is normal for the mind to wander.
So just breathing in and breathing out.
Realizing that the wandering mind offers two challenges to work with.
First,
Noticing the wandering.
Second,
Non-judgmentally,
With determination and compassion,
Bringing the focus back to the breath.
Again and again and again,
Returning the focus to the inhale,
The exhale,
And the little spaces that come at the end of every inhale and the end of every exhale.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Soon you will hear a bell signaling the end of this awareness of breath meditation.
I wish you warm congratulations on having taken this time to practice.
