This is the simple breath meditation.
This meditation should be done seated upright in a chair.
Your back more or less straight,
But not tense.
Just bringing some poise into the body as you sit here.
And then when you're ready,
Just allowing the body to just settle into this position of sitting.
And as the body begins to settle,
Seeing if you can feel the breath somewhere in the body.
Some people feel it in their nose,
Right in the nostrils,
Or further up into the sinuses.
Some feel it deeper in their body,
In their chest,
Or in their belly.
There's no wrong way to feel the breath.
It's just wherever you're feeling it most easily and vividly.
And now just seeing if you can rest the mind on this feeling of breath.
It's not thinking about the breath or visualizing the breath.
It's literally feeling the breath as it moves in and out the body.
And when the mind wanders off into thought,
Which it will,
It's no problem.
Simply practicing bringing the mind back to the breath,
Back to the feeling of the breath rising and falling in the body.
And it's not struggling against thoughts or creating a battlefield in the mind against thinking,
Simply becoming aware of when the mind has left the breath and moved off into thought and practicing this movement of mind back again,
Back into the breath,
Back into the body as it breathes.
And there's no good or bad here.
There's no right and no wrong.
Those exist in thought.
There's simply this feeling of breath rising and falling in the body as you breathe,
Seeing if you can let it be that simple,
Becoming present for this feeling of breath right here,
Right now,
Feeling the breath lifting and lowering,
Just flowing through the body,
Practicing allowing the mind to just flow with this sensation of breath,
Riding the wave of sensation of the in-breath,
Riding the wave of sensation of the out-breath,
Not becoming frustrated with the thoughts in the mind.
They're a part of things.
They're a part of the practice.
So simply noticing when the mind has left the breath and practicing gently bringing the mind back again to where we want it to be,
When we want it to be there,
Which for right now is on this feeling of breath.
Simply resting the mind on the experience of the body as it breathes in this moment.
Not worrying about staying present for all your breaths.
Simply becoming present and aware for this breath that you're actually already having right here and now.
Fully present for the in-breath,
Fully present for the out-breath,
Mixing the mind with these sensations of breath as they're happening.
What does it feel like to breathe?
What do you have to let go of to allow the mind to become fully present for the breath?
And then just doing it,
Just letting it go,
Fully supported by the feeling of the breath just rising and falling through the body as you breathe.
And if you notice yourself trying to force the mind to stay on the breath,
Seeing if you can ease back on that effort a little bit,
Merely allowing the experience of breathing to rise to the forefront of your awareness.
Knowing how to rest the mind a little bit on this feeling of the body as it breathes.
And if you notice yourself becoming too drowsy,
At any time you can open the eyes,
Reclaim some of the poise in the body,
And then simply begin again,
Finding that place in the body that you most easily and vividly feel your breath.
Meaning noticing when the mind has left the breath,
Wandering off into thoughts about whatever it is,
And then gently letting go of whatever it is we're thinking about by moving the mind back again into the subtle sensation of just breathing.
And just as the body learns how to fully release into the support of the chair and the feet on the floor,
So we can train the mind to fully release into the support of the breath.
And then for the last few moments of this particular practice,
I want you to open your eyes and seeing if you can stay with the sensations of breath,
Even with the eyes open.
So just allowing the eyes to settle at a point somewhere comfortable on the floor or on your hands in your lap.
Just practicing staying connected to these feelings of breath with the eyes now open.
This will help you learn how to take your breathing meditation out with you into the world.
So just staying with it for a few moments longer.
Eyes open,
Softly focused somewhere in front of you.
The body's still more or less relaxed and yet poised,
And the mind still fully present in the feeling of the breath just rising and falling through the body as we breathe.
And then as the formal guidance of this particular meditation ends,
Seeing if you can stay connected to the feelings of your breath as you move out and into your day.
