Hi,
My name is Carla-Jo Gerrity and I'm a mindfulness teacher.
Today I just wanted to share with you a mindfulness of breathing practice.
This practice can be really helpful in helping you to begin to dissolve anxieties and to help you feel more calm.
It helps us become aware of our thoughts and feelings and emotions and instead of getting caught up in them,
Getting caught up in habitual thought patterns,
We begin to see more clearly what's going on for us so that we're able to make wiser choices.
So you can do this practice sitting or standing or lying down,
Ideally closing your eyes but if that feels uncomfortable then it's fine to just gently lower your gaze.
So I'm doing this sitting.
So if you just become aware of your posture,
So we're wanting to have a relaxed posture but also alert,
Checking that your body is supported enough.
If you're lying down,
Just making sure you've got enough support for your lower back and hips.
Maybe just being aware of any thoughts,
Any sounds happening around you.
You might be able to hear people talking or traffic or rain.
And then bringing your awareness into your body.
Feeling the points of contact between your body and the floor or the chair or the bed.
So what we're looking for here is the really sensing body feelings and sensations.
We're not thinking about what's going on for us but we're really exploring our direct experience.
And then we're going to move our focus to the breath.
So just being curious around where you can feel the breath in your body right now.
You might be able to feel your chest rising and falling.
Or maybe you can feel your shoulders moving just slightly rocking the breath up and down.
Maybe you can feel the breath in your lower back.
Maybe you can't feel the breath at all right now.
And that's okay.
We're just gently being with whatever our experiences in the moment.
Just tuning in more deeply to the sensation of the breath as we settle.
Probably begin to feel it more,
Connect to the breath more.
You may notice that your mind has wandered off.
You might start thinking about other things.
In fact you probably will start thinking about other things.
That's completely normal.
It's completely normal for the mind to wander.
Meditation isn't about trying to clear our mind or get rid of thoughts.
It's about bringing an awareness to them,
Having an awareness of them,
Developing our awareness.
So when your mind does wander off you just gently and kindly notice that and bring your awareness back to the sensation of the breath in your body.
It's good to know that when we have noticed that our mind has wandered off this is a moment of mindfulness.
We're not doing the practice wrong but actually noticing that our mind has gone on to something else,
Bringing it back to the direct sensations in the body.
That is the mindfulness practice.
So just maybe choosing one spot where you can feel the breath the most in your body and just settling there for a few moments.
It might be in the chest or the abdomen.
Your mind will wander off again and again and again.
It's important not to be harsh on yourself around this or judge it.
That's just normal and this is what the practice is.
We're practicing bringing our mind back to physical sensations in our body.
Then just taking your awareness up to the tip of your nose or if you're breathing through your mouth then your lips.
Just see if you can sense the breath here flowing in and out.
Can you feel the cool air flowing in?
Then notice that as the air flows out it's slightly warmer.
Just remembering that your experience is your experience.
You can't experience that in a right or wrong way.
Just bringing the mind back when it wanders off.
Feeling the air flowing in and out.
Then just gently expanding your awareness out again.
Feeling the breath flowing through the whole body.
Really greeting everything that arises with this real gentleness and softness.
Then just bringing the practice to a close.
Just gently opening your eyes.
Maybe just taking a few moments here to know how you're feeling after just doing that short practice.
And then moving on with the rest of your day.
