Practicing With Mental Noting

In this accessible meditation for all levels, you'll be introduced to the practice of mental noting, a simple yet powerful mindfulness technique that keeps you present, engaged, and grounded in the here and now. Learn how noting serves as an anchor, a way to label and recognize your experience, and a gentle task for the thinking mind.

Using the breath as your guide, you'll practice noting the inhale and exhale through in and out, rise and fall, or expand and release, bringing soft, curious awareness to each moment as it unfolds. Whether you're brand new to meditation or deepening an existing practice, mental noting offers a clear and steady path back to the present moment, again and again.

Transcript

Hello, And welcome to this meditation on mental noting. Go ahead and find a comfortable seat for yourself, Whether that would be seated in a comfortable position on the ground, Sitting on a chair, Or also lying down. So today's meditation on mental noting is going to cover some basics, But before we jump into the meditation, I wanted to share a little bit about the different types of mental noting. So there's a few different ways that noting is used in meditation. One of the first ways is to keep the meditator present. So sometimes that's used as an anchor, So you may just keep coming back to your breath or to a place on your body, And that helps to keep you centered and anchored in your practice and also helps you, As your mind may wander, To continue to come back to your anchor. Another way that noting is used in meditation is to recognize what is occurring. So this might be that you may be hearing a lot of sounds, So you may label them and note them as hearing, Or you may label or note the specific sound, For instance, A train, And just noting train, Train, Or hearing, Hearing. The same thing can be happening for thoughts, So just thoughts are happening and you're noting thoughts, Thoughts. And with this, It can help one notice patterns in their experience. So through your different meditations in both one sitting and multiple sittings, You can begin to notice any patterns that may be taking place. Another way that mental noting can support a meditator is by giving the thinking mind something to do rather than just leaving it to be there, Which can feel very anxiety provoking for a lot of folks and at times can connect to the label of, I'm not a good meditator. So if you give your thinking mind something to do, To focus on, That can help to train your brain and your thinking mind to become more mindful on its own rather than distracted. And the last way, And the way that we're going to focus on today, Is by noting your breath or what's happening in your body. So as you're breathing in, You're noting the breath in, And as you're breathing out, You're noting the breath out. You can also use the words rising or falling. And even one of my favorites is expand and release with a hand on the belly. So as your breath is expanding and your belly is expanding, You're noting expand and then releasing as you breathe out and the breath is being released. So those are some different ways that noting can be used and we will go ahead and get started. So if you'd like to close your eyes, Go ahead. And if you would like to leave them open, Just take your gaze down to an angle in front of you into a spot that won't distract you with thoughts. And you can close your eyelids a little bit, Leaving some light open. Again, You can also fully close your eyes. And then just begin to notice your breath in your body. As you're arriving in this meditation, What's going on for you? What are you bringing to your seat or to the position that you're in? Do you feel as if you have a lot of energy and maybe your thoughts are feeling scattered or full or you might just feel some vibes throughout your body as if you're just energetically moving and there's a lot of energy carrying through your body? Are you feeling kind of in the opposite end of that spectrum? Are you feeling calm and relaxed and settled with a quiet mind? Wherever you are at as you arrive is exactly where you should be. And so honoring that arrival for yourself and then bringing your attention back to your breath. Just noticing the natural in and out of your breath. If you'd like, You can bring a hand to the belly. Otherwise, You can leave your hands at your side. And then on your next inhale, Noting the breath in and as you breathe out, Noting the breath out, In and out with each breath, Moving at your own pace. If you're feeling high energy, Trying to slow your in and out breath down and if you're feeling tired and in search of an increased level of energy, You can increase the rate of your in and out breath. Breathing in and noting in. Breathing out, Noting out. And you can stay with the in and out noting of the breath if that's working for you. Or you can also try expand and release if you have your hand on your belly. So as you're breathing in, Breathing in deeply, Drawing that breath into the belly as your belly expands, Noting expand. And then as you exhale, Noting release. You can also use rising and falling, Which can connect to the feeling at your nostrils. We'll stay here for another minute or two, Choosing one of those three options of noting, Either in and out, Expand and release, Or rising and falling. And if you get distracted, Just come back and start again, Beginning to note again if you've drifted away. And then as we bring this practice to a close, Honoring this practice for yourself, Noticing how your body is feeling, And then slowly open your eyes if they've been closed, Beginning to look around the space you're in, Letting your breath come into its natural state. And as you continue on in your day, Try to bring this practice with you. Find a moment or two to try to revisit your noting. Thank you for your practice.