Hey,
Welcome.
It's Doug.
I've got a nice one for you today,
A nice simple focus exercise.
Before we get into that though,
Get yourself into a nice comfortable seat.
Begin to breathe in and out nice and slow.
Just enjoying this place and this time that you've carved out for yourself.
Now the world is full of distractions.
As you sit there quietly,
You've probably become aware of a few already.
No,
It's not totally our fault.
We have technological giants that have dedicated their industry to capture our attention and never let it go.
Our attention is the currency of our brain.
And most of us waste it on other people's products instead of investing it in our own dreams.
We need to take control of our attention.
And in this simple practice,
I'm going to help you do exactly that.
In doing so,
You're going to practice controlling your focus and saving your cognitive currency.
Let's do it together now.
This meditation is as simple as it is powerful.
All you're going to do is count each exhale.
When you get to 10,
You will simply reset.
Start again at 1 and count all the way to 10.
If you lose count or become distracted,
Then you just start again.
Now this may surprise you.
Sounds super easy,
But requires a lot of focus.
You'd be surprised how often you lose count before you get to 10.
Let's do one round together and you'll get the idea.
So wherever you are on your breath cycle,
Exhale out fully now.
Inhale.
And as you exhale,
Just think the number 1.
Another inhale in.
This time as you exhale,
You think the number 2.
Inhale.
Exhale 3.
Inhale.
Exhale 4.
Inhale.
Exhale 5.
Inhale.
Exhale 6.
Inhale.
Exhale 7.
Inhale.
Exhale 8.
Inhale.
Exhale 9.
Inhale.
Exhale 10.
Alright,
Quick break from that.
Now here comes the tricky part.
Now it's your turn.
Now you can change how long the breaths take.
It's totally fine.
Make them your own.
All you've got to do is count those exhales,
Alright?
Keep nice and calm.
Just notice your concentration.
Notice your focus.
I know this will be different from day to day.
So be kind to yourself.
Just enjoy.
Observe.
Notice what happens.
So over to you.
Whenever you're ready,
Begin to breathe in and count each exhale.
Just focusing on that breath and on the numbers.
Enjoying each inhale and counting each exhale.
All that exists is you and your breath.
If you lose count,
Simply start again at 1.
If your attention drifts off,
Simply become aware and come back to your breath.
Each number,
Each retraining of your attention,
Each noticing of your mind wandering,
An act of focus.
A strengthening of focus.
You can bring this to an end now with the counting.
Just enjoy sitting with your breath without the pressure of the numbers or the focus.
And just notice how you feel.
Come back to this practice whenever you need to sharpen that focus and know that with each round,
With each session,
You train that all-important part of the brain that allows you to sustain focus and concentration.
Until next time,
Namaste.
