The Breathe in Anchor Meditation with Counting.
This practice is particularly useful if you've got a busy mind as we'll be giving the mind a little job to do by counting the breaths.
So begin in as we always do by choosing a comfortable position.
You might like to do this practice sitting upright so you're alert and yet comfortable and at ease.
Closing the eyes if you'd like to.
And beginning by settling into our position.
Settling into the feeling of body sitting here.
Resting down into gravity.
Supported by the chair or the floor.
And gently taking your awareness to the breath.
Natural rhythm of the breath.
We're not trying to breathe in any particular way so there's no need to change anything.
And noticing where you feel the breath most strongly.
It might be at the tips of the nostrils.
It might be at the belly.
The slight rise and fall as we breathe in and out.
And now we're going to introduce the counting.
So we breathe in,
We breathe out.
We count one silently.
We breathe in,
We breathe out.
We count two.
And we do this until we get to ten.
And then we begin again.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
One.
And if you notice your mind has wandered,
You're thinking about something else,
Or you've lost count,
Just noticing this.
Gently and kindly inviting your attention back.
Back to the sensations of the breath.
And beginning the counting once again.
You might explore the possibility of dropping in the count at this still point.
That moment of pause after the out-breath ends and just before the in-breath begins again.
You might notice that you've gone past ten.
And that's okay.
Again,
Just noticing patiently and kindly inviting the awareness back.
Back to the breath in the body.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
One.
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Two.
And now gently letting go of the counting.
Allowing the counting to fade away.
And just resting the awareness in the natural,
Already happening rhythm of the breath.
Perhaps you're having some thoughts about the breath.
And not to make that wrong,
It's normal to think.
Just perhaps exploring the possibility of giving yourself permission to just breathe.
To just be sitting here,
Now,
Breathing.
And beginning to broaden your awareness now.
To become aware of the whole body once again,
Sitting here.
Supported,
Grounded.
Perhaps noticing sounds around you.
Temperature of the room.
And slowly starting to release this practice.
Introducing some small movements.
Maybe wiggling your fingers,
Your toes.
Opening the eyes if you've had them closed.
Perhaps introducing some bigger movements.
Your body might want to stretch.
And noticing how you're feeling now.
As we bring the plaque practice to a close.
