Mindfulness Of Breathing

The simple, ancient practice of mindfulness of breathing. Following the physical sensations of breathing, breath by breath, returning again and again to the present moment, with a sense of kindness towards ourselves. We are cultivating our capacity to direct our awareness, so that - with time - we are not dominated by thoughts or emotions.

Our intention is just to be present with our experience, moment to moment. It may well be that, over time, we experience thoughts and emotions calming, and a growing sense of peace. But - paradoxically - that is not our aim! As much as possible, just being with whatever is present, allowing it, even if it is unpleasant. Letting go of needing things to be a particular way.

This is a powerful practice. It needs time and commitment - it's not a quick fix. But with time, you can experience that sense of peace that we all need too much, especially in our frantic world.

Transcript

This is a mindfulness of breathing practice with some guidance and some silent spaces. So to begin. . . Just settling into your posture. Getting as comfortable as you can. Making any last minute adjustments. The sense of the firm base of your posture, Where your weight is supported by the cushion and underneath that by the earth. And then your posture rising up from this firm base. Up your spine. Up to your head. So the sense of the posture is. . . Bit like a mountain. With this firm base. Strong and stable. Rising up. To the peak at your head. This quality of stability. And a feeling of unshakable. So our posture embodies our intention to be relaxed. And alert. And just allowing the sense of the body becoming stiller. As you begin sitting in this stable, Relaxed state. Alert posture. And it can be helpful if you like to take three deeper breaths, Just to help us arrive and settle. And perhaps inviting a sense of letting go on the out-breath. And having a clear intention as you start the practice. To be present to be awake. And being very clear. As we begin the practice, That we are not striving to attain any particular state. We're not trying to become calm. And nor are we trying to clear our mind of thoughts. Our intention is simply to be present with our experience. Moment to moment. And inviting a sense of kindness towards yourself. So that the awareness is not neutral. But has this warmth of kindness. Towards yourself. A sense of welcoming and embracing your experience. Whether that's positive. Or neutral, Or difficult, Or a mixture. Just an intention to. Welcome and embrace whatever you experience during the practice. Not grasping at positive experience. And not pushing away. Difficult experience. So just beginning with a sense of the body. And the breath coming and going. Maybe just allowing your attention to rest on the places where your weight is supported. Feet on the floor. The weight on the cushions or chair Just letting your attention rest on those places and having that sense of the support. And feeding the physical sensations in the body. Now inviting you to move the attention up to your face. Just noticing the sensations in your face. Around your eyes. The forehead. Your mouth and jaw. Not trying to change anything. Just noticing. The felt sense of your face. And now. Moving the attention. Torchbeam of awareness. To the sense of breathing. So that may be in the belly. Or the chest. Or the nostrils where the breath is. Comes in and goes out. Just choosing whichever is. . . Best for you at this moment. And gently with a sense of a light touch of awareness. Being aware of the breath coming in and going out. And we're not thinking about the breath it's the physical sensations. So the belly, That slight expansion as the breath comes in. Little pause. And then the belly folding again as the breath goes out. And then the pause before the next in-breath. Without trying to change the breathing, Just following the changing patterns of sensations. As the breath comes in and goes out. And of course at some point your mind will wander off. And of course that's completely natural, It's just what our minds do, And this is simply the practice, It's not a mistake. This is simply the practice. So when we notice that we've got lost in thinking, Just notice where the mind had gone. And then gently and with this sense of kindness. Towards yourself. Bringing the awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing. And as well as the attitude of kindness towards yourself. We can always bring in. . . We can also bring in. . . A sense of beginner's mind. A sense of open curiosity about our experience. And sense that this breath is not like any other breath. That we are breathed. Just remembering this sense of non-striving, That we're not trying to achieve anything. Not trying to achieve calmness or any kind of breathing. With just being with the breath as it is, And with our experience as it is, With a sense of a relaxed welcoming. Sense of being with our experience. With this sense of kindness. Just this breath coming in. Just this breath. Going out. And when the mind wanders off into thinking, That's fine. Just noticing that. And this sense of waking up. Out of the daydream, Out of the thinking. Just gently bringing the awareness Back to the breathing. This breath, Now. And as we come towards the end of the practice, Perhaps having a sense of. . . Gratitude towards yourself. For making the time. To do this practice. And inviting a sense of May I be well. As I go into the rest of my day. May I be well. May I live with a sense of peace and ease. Just having a sense of soaking up, Or perhaps enjoying any sense of stillness or calmness or any positive experience that's come. As we come towards the end of the practice.