Hi,
Today we're going to practice anchoring our attention to our breath.
And when we anchor our attention to our breath,
We simply bring our attention to the sensation of breathing like we've done in a previous meditation.
And then when thoughts arise,
Instead of trying to manage them or stop them from happening,
We simply acknowledge them and we could label them thinking,
Planning,
Remembering,
And then we allow them to pass in their own time without striving to manage or do something about them.
So it's a very important practice for our focus and just cultivating attention.
So for this practice,
We'll find our comfortable seated position.
So that's having your feet flat against the floor and feeling your hands resting on your legs and then feeling a lengthening in your spine.
So from the tailbone all the way up through the top of the head.
And when you feel comfortable in your posture,
Just allowing your eyes to gently close.
Just allowing yourself to land here.
You might be in the middle of a busy day.
Instead of trying to push that busyness away,
Just notice what it's like to be amidst the environment you're in.
You might notice it's noisy or quiet.
Just listening to sounds one at a time.
You might notice it's noisy in your mind.
You might have thoughts already racing through.
You might be sleepy or alert.
Just noticing your internal state,
How you feel in this moment without judgment but with curiosity.
And then just bringing our awareness into our bodies.
So noticing the soles of your feet resting upon the floor.
And noticing maybe if there's more pressure felt toward the front of the feet and the toes or the heels.
Maybe our toes or feet feel tingly or warm or cool.
And from your feet,
Just noticing your legs,
If there are any sensations in your legs.
And then noticing where your hands are making contact with your knees or your thighs.
Just feeling that point of contact.
And feeling the support of the chair or the surface underneath you.
And feeling a length in your spine.
And then checking in with your shoulders,
Noticing if there's any tension or holding.
We tend to carry it unconsciously.
Imagining you have warm cloths resting upon the tops of your shoulders,
Just inviting them to relax down away from your ears.
And then checking in with your jaw,
Noticing if you're holding any tension in your jaw or your teeth.
And then noticing that delicate eye area,
Allowing the eyes,
The corners of the eyes to relax.
Noticing your forehead and your temples,
Imagining a smoothness across your forehead as you soften your features,
Your facial features.
And then we can bring our attention slowly to our breath today.
Taking a few longer,
Deeper breaths in and out through the nose.
And then slowly allow your breath to find its own natural easy rhythm,
As if your breath is breathing you,
Letting go of any striving or control.
Notice which area you're drawn to today.
If you're drawn to the belly or the chest or the sensation of breath at your nose.
And then allow yourself to be curious and interested in your breath,
Maybe even grateful for your body's ability to breathe without effort.
And you might find it helpful to think of the words in as you breathe in and think of the word out as you breathe out.
Just trying that for a few breaths.
As you're paying attention to your breath,
You might notice that thoughts arise,
Feelings arise.
See if you can imagine that your mind is like a wide open sky that extends out in all directions with plenty of space for thoughts and feelings and images to come and go.
Just floating,
Flowing through the mind like clouds moving through this wide open sky.
When a thought or a feeling arises,
You might try labeling it,
Thinking or planning or remembering.
And the act of acknowledging a thought or a feeling often allows it to pass on its own without any effort on our part.
When you've acknowledged a thought or a feeling or whatever is arising,
In your own time,
Slowly make your way back to your breath,
The sensation of breath,
Curiosity about it and maybe even the words in and out.
So we'll try this for a few minutes,
Anchoring to our breath,
Acknowledging thoughts and feelings and then eventually making our way back to our breath.
Deeper breath in through the nose,
Out through the nose.
And then bringing your environment back into focus as you notice sounds.
Maybe noticing the temperature in the room,
If it's cool or warm.
And again,
Feeling your body upon the chair,
The surface you're on.
And as you feel ready,
Slowly,
Without any rush,
Allowing your eyes to open and bringing that calm focus back into the rest of your day.
Thank you for practicing.
