Welcome to this 20-minute awareness of breath and body meditation,
Allowing ourselves to settle into a comfortable sitting position,
Either on a chair with the back straight and the feet flat on the ground,
Or in a cross-legged position on a meditation cushion on the ground.
If using a chair,
Practicing sitting away from the back of the chair so that the spine is self-supporting.
The hands can be placed on the laps or on the knees,
Palms facing up or down.
If sitting is too much for us today,
We simply choose to lie on the mat,
On the floor,
Or onto the bed,
Spreading the legs and arms slightly out,
Taking time to find the position that feels good for us today.
When you are ready,
Gently closing the eyes,
Or if you prefer,
Letting the gaze fall unfocused on the floor a short distance in front of you.
The intention of this meditation is practicing waking up to the automatic pilot and coming to awareness.
In automatic pilot,
We typically react to events in habitual and unconscious way that can lead to stress.
With awareness,
We have the possibility to choose how we respond to stress full events and thus decrease stress.
In that sense,
Awareness is the foundation of responding in a less stressful way to events.
That is why we practice awareness.
We do this by bringing our attention to the breath and body.
And with an attitude of curiosity,
Not a desire to be positive,
Non-striving and allowing of our present moment experience.
We are getting started now with the meditation.
When it feels right,
Gently noticing the movement of the breath.
It's such a constant feature of life that it's easy to ignore.
So taking time with it now.
Actually feeling the sensations as the breath rolls in and rolls out.
Allowing it to move through its cycle of in-breath and out-breath without controlling.
And when the mind has wandered,
Simply recognizing this and in an on-judging way,
Gently bringing our awareness back to the breath.
Perhaps sensing the rise and fall of the belly or the feeling of the air in the nostrils or upper lip.
Maybe placing a hand on the belly,
Feeling the movement of the breath,
The rhythm.
Just letting it roll in and roll out,
Riding the waves of the breath from moment to moment.
If at any time thoughts carry us away to the past or the future,
Emotions arise that are too difficult or sensations in the body become too uncomfortable.
Remembering that it is always possible to return to the breath or to the places our body touches whatever we are sitting or laying on as a safe place,
An anchor for us to rest in.
Until we are ready to return to the meditation and listening to the sound of my voice once again.
Practicing coming back to the breath now.
What can we notice?
Moving awareness now to physical sensations in the body.
Investigating the experience of our body.
What sensations can we notice in this moment?
Maybe we are caught up with unpleasant body sensations such as aches and pains,
Tension in the muscles,
The overall fatigue,
Pressure in the belly or dizziness in the head.
While they are completely real,
The question is how do we relate to those sensations?
Are we allowing them to be or are we striving against them?
Are we accepting them in this moment or are we resisting and fighting them?
No need to judge ourselves.
Practicing letting them be.
Allowing them for now as uncomfortable as they might be.
Knowing that any resistance and fighting just adds to the stress.
Being with things as they are right now.
Maybe breathing into those areas of unpleasant sensations and breathing out of them.
Softening,
Allowing and letting go.
And when the mind has wandered off or is ruminating,
Then maybe noticing this.
No matter how many times this happens,
We keep bringing our attention back to the meditation.
Knowing we are strengthening our mindfulness muscles.
So gently but firmly now coming back to the sensations in the body.
What is our experience right now?
Maybe focusing our attention on the sensations of touch,
Contact and pressure within the body.
And where it makes contact with whatever we are laying or sitting on.
Contact with the bed,
Mat,
Cushion or chair.
Simply exploring.
Combining breath and body now.
Feeling the movement of the body while breathing.
Maybe noticing how the chest or belly expand with every inhalation and contract with every exhalation.
Noticing the changing patterns of physical sensations in the body.
Where in the body can we feel the breath most vividly in this moment?
Maybe the throat,
The nostrils,
The belly,
The upper lips or the chest.
As best we can,
Inhabiting the breath and feeling it in the body from the full duration of the in-breath and the full duration of the out-breath.
Perhaps noticing the slight pause between an in-breath and the following out-breath.
And between an out-breath and the following in-breath.
And if unpleasant sensations come to the forefront of our mind,
Practicing becoming aware of them.
Allowing them to be here and if it feels right,
Breathing into them and out of them.
Practicing being in a calm,
Patient and maybe even kind way with those unpleasant sensations.
Can we just observe them from an objective point of view?
Can we just be with them for a short period of time?
No need to fix or change.
When thoughts come into the mind and we got carried away,
Which is what minds do,
Simply noticing the thoughts and letting them drift on.
Choosing to come back to the breath and the body.
Back to our anchors.
Our safe places to rest in.
Simply grounding.
As we draw this meditation to a close now,
Expanding our attention to include the entire body sitting or laying here,
From the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Being present to the totality of the experience in this moment.
And when we are ready,
Gently turning our awareness to sounds in the room,
The sounds outside the room,
And maybe starting to wiggle the toes and hands,
Moving the head from side to side,
And move and stretch in whatever way feels good to you right now.
And if the eyes are in a soft gaze or closed,
Opening them now fully.
Perhaps taking a few moments to notice what sensations are present in the body right now.
And how we relate to those sensations.
Maybe we can bring this awareness to the rest of our day.
The awareness of breath and body meditation is now complete.
