Breath Awareness Meditation Place your body in a comfortable position that you can stay in for the duration of this meditation.
You can stand,
Sit in a chair,
Or on the floor,
Or lie down.
Once you're settled,
Begin to notice the places where your body contacts the surface under you.
If you're in a chair,
Feel your feet resting on the floor and your hips.
If you're lying down,
Feel the back of your body contacting the floor or bed beneath you.
Let your face relax and your shoulders drop down a bit.
As much as possible,
Allow your body to deeply rest and be supported by the chair,
Cushion,
Bed,
Or floor.
Notice the places your body contacts the support and release into that support.
Trust that you are held and supported,
Not only by the chair or the bed or the cushion,
But by the earth.
Resting onto Mother Earth.
Deep rest.
Now begin to notice that you are breathing.
You don't have to breathe in any special way.
Simply observe that breathing is happening.
You might sense the way your belly stretches as you breathe in and releases as you breathe out.
Or perhaps your attention settles on the expansion and release of your ribs with the in and out breath.
Or the coolness of the air as it enters your mouth or nose.
Choose a spot where you feel that you can connect to the breath most easily today.
Allow your mind to rest on the experience of the in and out breath.
When you notice you're breathing in,
You might say to yourself silently,
In.
When you notice you're breathing out,
You might silently notice,
Out.
In.
Out.
Just this.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Let yourself grow curious about the breath.
How does it feel in each moment?
You can even allow yourself to enjoy breathing.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
What are the qualities of your breath?
Does the breath feel shallow or is it deep?
Is it rapid or slow?
Is it smooth or are there catches?
It doesn't really matter how the breath is.
What's most important is simply that you notice it.
Connecting to the qualities of the breath can be a way to be certain we're connecting to each breath as it happens.
You can apply one word to each breath in your mind saying short or long.
Smooth.
Fast.
Slow.
This is just a tool to really connect to each breath as it happens.
Just breathing in and out.
Returning to that spot where you connect to the breath most easily today,
Right now.
The expansion and release of the belly.
The ribs as they broaden with each in-breath and release with each out-breath.
Or the tip of the nose or the coolness of the air crossing the lips.
In.
You might feel the whole body breathing in,
A gentle expansion.
The whole body breathing out,
A gentle release.
If you feel tension building up in your body,
See if you can rest a little more onto the chair or the bed or the floor.
Letting your body soften and rest into the contact.
Allowing yourself to be supported.
Let go of extra effort.
Remember to keep your upper and lower teeth separated inside your mouth.
Simply opening your mouth and letting your jaw hang down can allow this to happen.
Just rest.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
In.
If you find that you're getting lost in thought,
You might say to yourself,
Thinking.
And then return to the experience of breathing.
There's nothing wrong with thinking,
Actually.
We don't need to make it go away.
However,
It's useful to notice thinking.
Try and have a little bit more attention on your breath than on your thoughts.
When thinking becomes a problem is when we're not aware of it.
And then we're off and running.
We're believing our stories our mind's telling us and we're getting into planning.
So just come back right now to the experience of the breath.
In.
Out.
It's fine to let thoughts be there in the background.
And let your primary focus be on the awareness of the breath.
A gentle expansion and release.
In.
Out.
Finding that spot where you can most easily connect to the breath.
Today,
Right now.
And letting your mind rest there.
It can be one specific small area.
Or it can be your whole body breathing.
Knowing the breath as it occurs.
In.
Out.
Take a moment to notice how you're feeling even as you observe the breath.
Are there emotions present?
Do you feel happy or sad?
Calm or agitated?
Similar to thinking,
There's not a problem with emotions arising as we meditate.
Leaving space for your emotions to come and go.
Keep the primary focus on the experience of breathing.
In.
Out.
A gentle expansion and release of your belly or your ribs.
Coolness at the tip of the nose or crossing the lips.
Just this breath.
Staying right here,
Right now.
As you're observing the breath,
You might notice sensations arise in the body.
Leaving space for your experience.
You can notice tightness in the knee,
The low back,
Whatever it is that's arising.
Continuing to return to the breath.
Allowing sensations to come and go.
If making small adjustments to your posture can bring relief,
It's fine to do that.
Setting the intention before you move to stay mindful and present with your movements.
It's entirely possible to attend to the breath even as you adjust your posture.
In.
Out.
Noticing the qualities of the breath.
Smooth or rough.
Are there catches?
Is it short or long?
Just this breath.
In.
Letting go of unnecessary effort.
Allowing yourself to rest with the breath.
Returning to that experience at your belly,
Your ribs,
Or your nose.
Coolness of the air as it enters your body,
Crossing the lips.
Or the whole body.
Expansion and release of the in and out breath.
Letting all experiences come and go as you sit and breathe.
This is how we build mindful awareness.
Continuing to return to the breath again and again.
Not pushing anything away and not leaning into anything in particular.
All of life comes and goes as we sit and breathe.
In.
Out.
Letting that steadiness of mind develop just one breath at a time.
Through breath awareness practice we learn how to be present with just about anything.
And it's always there for you.
Wherever you go,
Whatever you're doing,
You can always turn to the breath.
So our practice of stillness,
Of just sitting or lying down and breathing,
Is helping us to be present wherever we are and whatever we're doing.
Just this breath in.
Just this breath out.
When you're ready to end this meditation today,
Take a moment to consider how you feel now.
And how is that different from how you felt when you began this practice?
What has changed?
And then gently,
Slowly,
Get up and go about your day.
