Brief Mindfulness Of Breathing For Beginners

Begin by settling into a comfortable position,

Feet flat on the floor,

Shoulders relaxed.

You can either soften your gaze or close your eyes,

Whatever is most comfortable for you.

Take a moment to take a deep breath and as you exhale,

Release tension from your body.

Whatever tension remains at this point,

Simply observe and allow.

Begin by noticing the breath,

Watching each inhalation and each exhalation.

Notice the sensations of breathing,

The movement of the belly,

Rise and fall of the chest,

Air passing through the throat,

Maybe even noticing how the air leaving your nose with each exhalation is just a bit warmer than each inhalation.

There's nothing here to be fixed,

There's no need to change anything,

Simply observe.

You may find yourself pretty quickly entering into judgment.

I'm breathing too fast,

Too slow,

I'm not doing this right.

If you notice judgment,

Simply acknowledge there's been judgment and gently return the attention back to the breath exactly as it is,

Simply allowing the breath to breathe itself.

You may find as you continue sitting that your mind wanders to the past,

To the future.

Whenever you notice your mind wandering,

That's okay.

This is what minds do.

Your mind is a bit like an overexcited puppy on a walk,

Running here,

Sniffing there,

Easily distracted.

There's no need to be angry with the puppy.

This is what puppies do,

Just gently returning the puppy to the path as often as needed,

Gently bringing the attention back to your breath.

Whenever your attention wanders,

As many times as you need to,

Even if it's a hundred times a minute,

This is the practice of mindfulness,

Simply coming back,

Coming back.

Now,

Whenever you're ready,

Gently bringing your attention back to the room,

Stretch,

Wiggle if you need to,

And opening your eyes,

Bringing the sense of gentle observation and presence with you into the rest of your day.