Welcome to this guided meditation called Shamatha,
Calm abiding meditation.
In this practice we will use the breath to anchor us into this present moment,
Creating a more calm and peaceful state of mind.
You will find that the more that you practice this type of meditation,
The more present you feel,
Grounded and focused.
Let us begin the practice.
Feel a strong connection with the ground beneath you.
Feel the weight of your sit bones and your feet touching the earth.
Take a deep breath in,
Elongating up through your spine,
Imagining a string at the top of your head pulling you straight up towards the sky.
As you exhale,
Allow for a natural skeletal framework,
Naturally releasing any efforts in your shoulders and your lower back.
Take another inhale,
Lengthening up through the entire body.
And as you exhale,
Let your hands rest on your knees or folded in your lap,
Naturally supporting your lower back.
Continue to breathe at your own pace and slightly tuck your chin in towards your chest,
Allowing an open channel from the crown of your head all the way down to your sit bones.
This channel allows the breath to move up and down freely through the spine.
If you generally don't sit in a straight upright posture,
Such as this,
This might feel awkward or uncomfortable.
But try to remain in this position unless the discomfort becomes too great,
And then make the necessary adjustments you need.
Now relax your face,
Uncrease the wrinkles in your forehead,
Soften the muscles around your eyes,
The cheeks,
Your jaw.
Rest your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth,
Breathing naturally,
Unaltered.
There are two options for your eyes here.
First,
You can try this meditation with your eyes open,
Which is nice if you're quite tired.
You would look at the floor two to three feet in front of you with a soft,
Relaxed gaze.
The second option is to close the eyes as we have practiced before.
Now let's move back into the awareness of our breath.
Without changing or altering the breath,
Just allow it to flow as it always naturally does.
The only difference between now and the rest of our day is the fact that we are fully present with the movement of the breath in and out.
Bring your awareness into the sensations of the nose as you inhale.
Does the air feel quite cold?
Do you feel a tingling?
Your nose hairs moving?
And then as you exhale,
What sensations do you feel?
And note,
Is there a natural space between the two?
A space between the inhale and the exhale.
Feel the breath as it enters your body,
As your chest rises.
And then as you exhale,
Watch the breath as it cycles through your body without analyzing or judging,
Without making any attempt to change.
Let's watch what is happening as the breath moves in and out.
Continue watching your breath and feeling the sensations.
If at any time you find it difficult to concentrate,
You can revisit the breath counting until you're ready to come back to this practice.
Sometimes your mind might drift off.
Perhaps you began to plan the future or remember the past or just daydream creatively.
Breathing is not a problem or a sign of doing meditation wrong.
It's just the natural way the mind works.
Meditation is not about turning off our mind but becoming more familiar with it and then redirecting our awareness back to the breath,
Back to this present moment.
Okay,
After 1000 years everybody stands clean and awakeony when the mind goes as it,
Like this bodyGo,
To be Alive,
One and If you If the thoughts become thick and hard to ignore,
You can mentally say,
Thinking,
And then return back to the breath.
This is the time for focusing on the inhale and the exhale of the breath in this present moment.
By stating thinking,
You are bringing mindfulness to your distractions,
And then continuing on with the practice.
So continue focusing on the breath as it moves in and out.
If you find yourself getting frustrated because you're having difficulty staying with the breath,
Be gentle with yourself.
It's not a big deal.
At any time during any meditation practice,
You can return to the counting to focus the mind.
And then just return back here whenever you're ready.
Focus on the inhale and the exhale.
It sounds simple,
But in the beginning it's quite challenging.
Just stay with it.
Focus on the inhale and the exhale.
Focus on the inhale and the exhale.
You you And no matter how many cycles of distraction and refocus you have gone through it's not important The fact that you are here practicing is what matters So be gentle on yourself and Continue training the mind to concentrate to become calmer and more peaceful By staying in this present moment with each inhale and exhale and you you Inhale and exhale I encourage you to continue with this practice even after this recording is finished Feel free to set a timer Either take a break or stay right where you are And continue practicing And whenever you're ready to end the practice Slowly you can open your eyes Or lift your gaze from the spots ahead of you Welcome back the sounds around you Allowing your awareness to open to the room you're in to sounds,
Sights,
Smells,
Feelings And continue to bring your awareness back to the breath as often as you can Whenever you get a chance throughout the day Just take a moment to be with your breath The more time we spend focusing on the present moment Observing our inhale and our exhale We're giving less power to the thoughts of the mind And creating more space and freedom
