CMP: Mindfulness Of Breath

Welcome to Community Mindfulness Project's 30-minute Guided Mindfulness of Breathing Meditation.

So inviting you now to take a posture that allows you to be alert but relaxed.

And if you like allowing the eyelids to slide down over the eyes,

Or you can keep your eyes just slightly open.

Allowing ourselves first to arrive fully in this present moment.

Letting go of all of the moments before this one that got us here.

And also maybe setting down any expectations about what this meditation might be like.

Maybe setting an intention just to be present.

So inviting some relaxation and openness into the body.

Perhaps starting with the head and moving down through the body systematically.

Releasing any muscle tightness in the forehead or along the jaw.

In the neck.

Allowing the shoulders to slide down the back a little bit.

And the sternum to be raised.

Allowing the chin to be tucked just slightly to release any pressure on the back of the neck.

And beginning to come into a sense of sitting with dignity here in this moment.

Allowing the arms just to hang down naturally from the shoulders with the hands.

Resting wherever is comfortable for you or meaningful for you.

Bringing attention down into the lower back.

Each exhalation allowing for softening.

Allowing the belly to be soft and round.

Moving attention down through the seat and into the legs and the feet.

Just letting go of any muscular tautness or activity that's not serving us right now.

Inviting you now at your own pace to take three deep belly expanding breaths.

Placing close attention all the way through the cycle of breathing each time just to what it feels like to breathe this deeply.

And now allowing the breath to return to its own natural rhythm.

Whatever that might be in this moment.

Maybe taking some time to let go of the sense of need to control the breath in any way.

Maybe just inviting a beginner's mind to what the next breath might be like.

And now picking the area of the body where you feel the most sensation arise from breathing.

It might be the abdomen as it expands and contracts with each breath.

Could be the rise and the fall of the sternum,

The chest.

Or maybe it's that area right beneath the nose where we feel the air moving in and out.

Maybe playing around for a few breaths to see where you feel the breath the most.

And now placing your bare attention on that area and just observing what it feels like to breathe.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

It's the mind's nature to wander.

And the practice is not to shut out thoughts,

But to notice when we're thinking.

And when we become aware that we're caught in a thought,

Just to notice it.

To let the thought go as we would a balloon on a summer day.

And with a smile to return our attention to just what it feels like to breathe.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

It can be helpful to invoke a sense of curiosity about what it's like to breathe.

Maybe experiencing this breath as though it's the first time you've breathed.

And really it is the first time you've breathed this breath.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

Each time that the mind wanders,

Maybe making a note of what it is that pulled you away.

Whether it's planning,

Thinking about the past,

Or imagining,

Detaching from the thought.

And with a smile and some kindness and maybe a bit of humor,

Just coming back and noticing what this next breath will be like.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

Each time we realize that our mind has wandered and we gently but firmly redirect our attention to the object of our meditation,

In this case the breath.

We're strengthening our attention muscle and we're building our resilience and we're remembering our innate well-being.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

And now letting the breath return to its natural rhythm.

Inviting you now to bring to mind someone to whom you'd like to send a wish of loving kindness,

Anyone at all.

And invoke a wish for their well-being.

Perhaps using the phrases,

May you be well,

May you be safe,

May you live with ease,

May you know that you are loved.

And resting in that wish for a bit.

Chimes.

Beginning to move fingers and toes or wrists or ankles or any parts of the body that have been so still in the last 30 minutes.

Maybe holding that sense of attentiveness,

Noticing what it feels like to move.

Maybe maintaining that beginner's mind about what the movement feels like.

When you're ready,

Opening your eyes if they've been closed.

I hope this guided meditation has served you and we welcome you to listen to other guided meditations and meditation discussions at our website.

Www.

Communitymindfulnessproject.

Org.

We always welcome you to email us with feedback,

Questions or an experience you'd like to share with us at welcome at communitymind.

Org.

And just a note on the background or ambient noise in our recordings.

We do not record our guided meditations in a sound studio.

We actually record them in the spaces where we have our own personal meditation practices.

And we don't live in a vacuum,

Which is one reason that we need meditation.

And so you may hear the sounds of our family members or pets or air traffic or neighbors in the background.

And we just allow these sounds to arise and continue on their own journey as we do with our thoughts,

Not engaging with them.

So with that,

May all beings everywhere without exception remember their innate well-being as they come home to the breath.

Take care.