This mindfulness practice is your breathing anchor practice,
Where you root your awareness into the present moment,
Like an anchor that roots a ship to one place.
This practice will help you to dissolve anxiety,
Decrease stress,
And allow the body to heal in a relaxed,
Peaceful state.
For this guided practice,
Please find a comfortable place to sit with your back upright,
Yet relaxed,
With your spine following its natural curves.
See if you can establish a position that feels dignified,
Alert,
And yet relaxed.
Allow your body to settle,
To rest down into gravity,
Letting it be supported by the floor or the chair beneath you.
Allow the eyes to close.
Let's begin with three cleansing breaths.
To settle the energy in the body,
Take a nice,
Deep inhale through the nose and a gentle sigh out the mouth.
Again,
Inhaling deeply,
With a gentle sigh.
Last time.
Now,
Gradually allow your awareness to gather around the natural flow of the breath in the body,
Feeling the natural inhales and exhales.
Where do you feel the breath most in the body?
Is it in the belly,
The chest,
The throat,
Or somewhere else?
Be curious about your actual experience,
Letting go of what you think should be happening,
And being with your experience without judgment.
Now,
Very gently,
Rest your awareness within the whole torso.
Can you feel the expansion of the belly on the in-breath and the contraction on the out-breath?
Can you feel any movement and sensations with the breath in the sides or the back of the body?
Gradually,
Inhabit your body a little more deeply,
With a sense of kind curiosity towards whatever you're experiencing as you breathe.
Remember to be accepting of whatever's happening.
See if you can cultivate a precise awareness of the sensations and movement of the breath in the body as they happen,
Moment by moment.
Release any effort,
Any trying to make anything happen.
Allow your awareness to be utterly receptive as it rests upon the natural movement of the breath,
Breathing the body.
Allow the breath to be saturated with kindness as it rocks and cradles the body,
Soothing any stress,
Pain,
Or discomfort that you might feel.
Now,
Become aware of any thoughts or emotions.
Remember that mindfulness isn't about having a blink mind.
It's normal to think.
Simply notice the thoughts as they rise and come back lovingly to the breath,
Using awareness of the movement and sensations of the breath in your body as an anchor for the mind over and over again.
Follow the breath all the way in and all the way out.
Each time your awareness wanders as it will,
Simply notice and return to the breath again and again.
Be kind and patient with yourself.
Even if you have to start again 100 times,
It's okay.
This is what the training is all about.
Just breathe and be.
Notice where the mind has gone without judgment or criticism and guide your awareness back to the sensation of the breath in the body over and over again.
Take a nice deep inhale through the nose and gently sigh it out the mouth,
Bringing this practice to a close.
Allow the eyes to open and take in your surroundings.
Each time that you sit and practice,
You are building your muscle of awareness and each time it will get easier and easier.
Give yourself grace and love.
All is well.
