The Mindfulness Of Breathing

The mindfulness of breathing.

Sit in a comfortable upright posture and spend a little time becoming aware of your body.

The sensations of contact with the chair or cushion or the floor.

Just feel that contact.

Can you feel your clothes resting on your skin?

Can you feel the air temperature on your skin?

Notice all sensations and allow them to be just as they are.

Whether the sensations are pleasant or unpleasant or somewhere in between.

Now rest your awareness on the sensations of your breathing.

Your chest expanding and contracting.

Your belly swelling and subsiding.

Whenever your mind wanders,

Once you notice that,

Bring it back to your breath.

Gently and patiently.

Now take your attention to your back.

The back also moves as we breathe.

These movements are quite difficult to notice if you're sitting with your back supported.

Perhaps by the back of a chair.

You may notice how the feeling of contact with that support changes as you breathe in and out.

Stay with the movements in your back for a while.

How about your shoulders?

Can you feel any movement there?

Now broaden your awareness.

So that you're aware of the whole of your torso moving gently with the breath.

Now take your awareness to the place where you feel the air first entering your body.

If you're breathing through your nose,

That will be the tip of your nose.

Or perhaps your upper lip or just inside the nostrils.

If you're breathing through your mouth,

That will be the lips,

The tongue or the roof of your mouth.

You might not notice these sensations there at first.

However,

If you continue to pay attention to them,

You'll begin to feel them.

Allow your attention to be light.

Light,

Like a butterfly resting on a flower.

Now broaden your awareness once again to include the whole of your body.

And for a few moments,

Letting go of all effort.

Bring your attention back to the sounds.

And when you're ready,

Open your eyes and see if you can retain some of the awareness of your breath as you go about your day.