Find a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down,
And gently close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Notice the contact that your body is making with the ground beneath,
However you sense that in your body,
And allow your body to rest into that support.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Air coming in,
And air going out.
See if you can notice the different sensations as the air moves in and out of your body.
There's no need to change the rate or depth of your breath for this practice,
Just allow your breath to be as it is.
Start with your nostrils,
Noticing how it feels as the air comes in and out.
Even if you have your mouth open,
You may still notice some air movement in the nostrils.
Notice any temperature changes between the air that comes in and the air that goes out.
Just noticing how it feels to have air moving through your nose in that way.
Perhaps the air moves more freely on one side rather than the other.
For now,
Allowing the air movement to be just as it is for you in this moment.
You may find that your mind wanders off,
And your attention keeps getting distracted by your thoughts.
This is normal and to be expected.
Don't judge yourself or feel like you aren't doing it right.
There's no right or wrong here.
The most important part of this practice is to gently bring your focus back to the breath whenever you notice that your mind has wandered.
Just keep turning back to the breath every time you get distracted.
This process of turning back is the central and essential part of all mindfulness practice.
The more your mind wanders,
The more chance you get to practice.
So welcome the mind wandering as another opportunity to practice turning back and focusing your attention.
At the moment,
Focusing on the sensation of the breath in the nostrils.
Now slightly open your mouth if it's not already open.
And again notice the different sensations that arise as the air moves through your mouth.
Noticing changes in temperature,
Pressure,
Movement,
Dryness.
Noticing any difference in the sensations between the air coming in and going out.
And now shifting your attention a little deeper to the throat.
Becoming aware of any feelings or sensations that arise there.
See if you can spend a few moments noticing how it feels to have air coming in and out through your throat.
And perhaps notice how the air movement has a different quality to it here compared with the nostrils or the mouth.
Again notice your mind wandering repeatedly.
Acknowledge the distraction and allow my voice to guide your attention back to the breath.
Now notice how the breath feels in the chest.
The rise and fall of the chest as the air moves in and out.
An expansion on the inhale.
And a contraction on the exhale.
Spend a few moments noticing the changes in this part of the body as the breaths come and go.
You could place one hand on your chest to track the movement up and down.
Now you could place your other hand on your abdomen and notice whether any slight movements are present as the breath goes in and out.
You may notice a slight rise on the inhale and a fall on the exhale.
Even though the air is not going into your abdomen,
The muscles there are also moving rhythmically with the breath.
Supporting the breathing process deeper in your body.
Now bring your attention to your whole body.
Expanding your awareness down into your pelvis,
Hips and legs.
Your shoulders and arms.
Your head and neck.
See if there is any subtle sensation of rhythm in your whole body as your breath moves in and out.
For a few moments you could imagine that the air that you are breathing in really is flowing right through your whole body as you breathe in.
And then all back out again as you breathe out.
Allowing your imagination to create a sensation of your whole body breathing.
If this doesn't work for you then just go back to sensing the breath in the chest as fully as you can.
Notice when your mind wanders and gently bring it back to the breath again and again.
Now allow your attention to rest on any aspect of the breath.
On any particular sensation or part of the body.
And spend a few moments noticing the air coming in and out from that perspective.
Remember your breath is always there.
You keep breathing whether you think about it or not.
So whenever you do need to make contact with your breath it will always be there.
Your breath has a constant presence in your body.
Like the waves of the ocean.
Always there to guide your attention to the experience of the present moment whenever you need to do so.
Whenever you are ready bring your attention back to the room around you and open your eyes.
End of exercise.
