Hello and welcome to today's Awareness of Breath Mindfulness Meditation.
One of the very basic ways to practice mindfulness is simply focus on your breath.
So bring your attention to your inhales and exhales.
So that's what we're going to do today.
To get started,
Just come to a comfortable seat,
Whatever that means to you,
So you can sit cross-legged on the floor,
Maybe sitting on a pillow or cushion to tilt your hips forward a little bit,
Just so you can keep your spine tall.
You can lean against the wall if that feels better.
You can sit on a chair.
If you are sitting on a chair,
Make sure your spine is tall and you have your feet flat either on the floor or on something so you feel supported.
Wherever you are,
Just take the next few moments to really get comfortable and settled in your seat,
Just so you can sit comfortably for a little while here.
You want to make sure our body is comfortable so we can focus on our breath.
So sitting tall,
It's like tuck of the chin,
So the back of your neck is long,
And you can soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels comfortable for you.
Bring your hands to your thighs or your lap.
Roll your shoulders all the way up towards your ears and down your back.
And just bring your attention to your body and do a scan from the crown of your head all the way down to your toes and just notice if there's any part of your body that's maybe a little tight or sore or any part of your body that you're holding onto and see if you can softly and gently let it go and soften.
Notice how your body is supported by the floor underneath and whatever sensation is there,
Maybe it's pressure,
Maybe it's warmth or coolness,
Just notice it.
And when you're ready,
Becoming aware of the fact that you're breathing.
Shift your attention to your breath and just notice your breath,
Notice the quality of your breath,
If it's fast or slow,
Deep or shallow.
And don't try to change it right now,
Just notice it and see how it feels in your body.
Be really kind and gentle,
No labelling.
We'll just take the next few moments to start to slow down your breath.
So we're going to start by taking three cleansing breaths here.
So take a deep breath in through your nose and then open your mouth inside out.
Let's do two more like that.
So deep breath in through the nose and exhale through your mouth.
Last one like that,
Deep breath in and a long breath out.
Good.
Now if it feels comfortable for you,
Continue breathing in and out of your nose and see if you can send your breath all the way down to your belly.
So deep abdominal breaths,
Noticing the air as it enters your nostrils,
Moves all the way down,
Filling up your chest,
Your abdominal,
Your belly.
And then noticing the breath as you exhale,
Coming all the way back out through your nostrils.
Breathing here,
Becoming aware of the movement of the breath in your body and noticing how your body moves as you breathe here.
Simply start to feel the breath as it comes into your body and as it leaves.
Simply remaining aware of the breath,
Flowing in and flowing out.
A few more breaths here,
Deep breath in through the nose and a long breath out through the nose.
Now start to let go of the control of your breath.
Just let your body breathe naturally and continue to follow your breath as it moves in through your body and as it moves out.
As you breathe here,
Notice if you start to get distracted,
If your mind starts to wander,
And it will,
It's completely normal.
Just notice it and be really gentle and kind to yourself.
Just know that this is completely normal and there's nothing you're doing wrong here.
Just notice it and see if you can bring your attention back to your breath.
No commentary,
No judgement.
Just really gently and kindly bringing your attention back to your breath.
Allow yourself to just be with the flow of your breath,
Coming in and going out.
Notice the feeling of your breath as it fills up your lungs with air.
Notice your lungs deflate as you breathe out.
Your chest expanding and collapsing.
When your mind starts to become distracted,
Just allow your attention to gently come back to the sensations of each breath.
Simply watching the breath.
Observe the full cycle of each breath,
Locating the very beginning as air starts to enter your nostrils and then follow it as it fills up your lungs and expands your chest and the abdomen.
And then follow it all the way out.
After a short time,
You may notice that the mind wanders off to thoughts in the past,
Memories,
Fantasies,
Or it moves to anticipation of the future,
Planning for the rest of your day or evening.
And as you notice this,
Kindly and gently see if you can bring your attention back to your breath.
As soon as you become aware that your attention has moved off the breath,
Guide it back to your next inhale with a gentle and firm awareness.
No need to give yourself a hard time.
Don't tell yourself how you became distracted or whether you're doing this wrong.
Just know that as long as you come back to your breath,
You're doing the practice.
Bring your attention back to your breath to this moment,
Using your breath as an anchor to stay here in this moment right now.
Make your next inhale a little bit deeper and your next exhale a little bit longer.
Deep breath in through the nose and a long breath out.
Good.
Slowly start to open your eyes if they're closed.
Maybe wiggle your fingers,
Your toes,
Gently rock your head from side to side and start to bring yourself out of the practice.
Thank you so much for practicing this mindfulness meditation with me.
I hope you took something away from it and I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day.
Thank you.
