Welcome to session eight,
Focusing on your breath edges.
In this session,
You'll learn to tighten up your attention on the breath by focusing on the very small pause between the in breath and the out breath and vice versa.
In doing so,
The hope is that your concentration will increase and instances of mind wandering will become slightly less frequent.
So beginning with your eyes open,
Take a moment to get comfortable.
Sit with a relaxed but alert posture,
Keeping your back straight if possible.
And then just take a moment to briefly check in with yourself,
See how your mind is feeling,
See how your body is feeling,
Just acknowledging it before we start the session.
And then when you're ready,
Just starting with three deep in breaths through the nose and out through the mouth.
In and out.
In and out.
In and then just gently closing your eyes on the out breath.
Start by feeling the weight of the body,
The heaviness of the legs,
Your arms,
Your torso and your head.
Feeling the pull of gravity as it pulls you down towards the ground.
And start to notice any sounds that might be present right now,
Allowing the sounds to come to you rather than you straining to hear them.
And then start to focus your attention on the breath.
Again,
You can focus at your nose or chest or your belly,
Wherever you feel that it's most comfortable for the practice today.
Again,
You can count or repeat the word calm if it helps to anchor your attention on the breath.
And this time paying especially close attention to the breath edges,
Noticing the exact moment that the out breath turns into an in breath and the in breath turns into an out breath.
You might notice that there's a short pause between the in breath and the out breath and vice versa.
It's as if in that moment everything just briefly stops.
See if you can really notice this moment,
This pause between the breaths as precisely as you possibly can.
As always,
Try not to get frustrated or angry if the mind has wandered.
Just putting the smile on your mouth and in your mind,
Congratulating yourself and reverting your attention back to the breath.
And again,
Paying extra special attention to that pause,
The breath edges between the in breath and the out breath and the out breath and the in breath.
If you do manage to feel the breath edges more clearly,
The chances are that your concentration on the breath will be stronger.
The mind is really very busy and it's often in the little gap between the breaths that thoughts will find a way to arise in consciousness and distract you.
So by making an extra effort to focus on the breath edges,
You're reducing the chance of your mind wandering and hopefully this will allow you to increase mindfulness as you practice meditation today.
And then when you're ready,
Just gently releasing all effort entirely,
Allowing your mind to do whatever it wants to do for a moment.
And start to notice any smells or sounds in the room,
Becoming aware of the sensations of sitting.
And again,
Before you open your eyes,
Just taking a moment to check in with your mind and your body,
How do you feel compared to how you felt at the start of the session.
And then when you're ready,
Just gently opening your eyes.
And as always before rushing off,
Just take a moment to become aware of your surroundings and taking a second to congratulate yourself for taking the time to practice today.
Have a great day.
