So let's get started with a mindfulness of the breath meditation.
And I invite you to find a comfortable seat wherever you are.
If you are on a chair or a couch,
I invite you to sit up a little bit,
Perhaps at the edge of the chair or the couch,
Or scooch all the way back,
So that your back can be a little bit straighter than it normally would be.
And you always want to think about having the top of the head is facing evenly up to the ceiling or the sky.
So try not to tilt your head back or to tilt your chin forward,
But think about your chin as being parallel to the ground.
And the invitation is always to close your eyes for meditation,
Which I usually do,
Or you can keep your eyes open with a soft gaze,
Looking a foot or two or three,
Around a meter ahead of you with your eyes just partially shut.
A little bit of a soft gaze,
Because this is our time to go within.
And we do this mindfulness of the breathing body meditation,
The first foundation of mindfulness,
By choosing to focus our mind on the sensations of the very natural breath,
And specifically to find the breath at the nostrils.
And so with a smile and a childlike curiosity,
Bring your attention to what the breath feels like as it comes in and comes out of your nostrils.
You might notice,
Perhaps for the first time in your life,
That the inhale feels a little bit cooler than the exhale.
If you don't notice that,
That's fine too.
You might become aware of perhaps a tingling sensation as the breath either comes in or flows out of the nostrils.
Whatever you notice is perfect.
This is all about tuning the mind or you could say training the mind to become aware of and to notice all of the sensations that take place as the breath comes in and comes out of the nostrils.
In the mindfulness world,
We say the biggest gift you can give to anyone or yourself is the gift of your attention.
And so let's now bring the gift of our attention specifically to the sensations of the breath.
Perhaps you might notice that the inhale feels a bit more rushed,
A bit more urgent than the gentle flow of the exhale.
If you don't notice that,
That's fine too.
Each breath,
Each moment of this mindfulness of the breathing body meditation is a chance to begin again.
So anytime a thought comes to mind or you notice a sound or any distractions at all,
That's wonderful.
It is mindfulness to become aware of a thought.
So you can smile to yourself when you become aware of this.
But then just choose to let that thought float away like a cloud or I sometimes think about a small child sailboat on a small pond.
Whatever metaphor works for you,
But just choose to let that thought go or any distraction at all.
And then use the mindfulness that we're carving out in our minds to bring your attention back to the sensations of the breath.
Sharon Salzberg,
A wonderful teacher of mindfulness says,
Every thought is an invitation to return.
And Guenka,
Who we will be reading throughout this chorus says to just start again.
So we never get angry or frustrated with ourselves if a lot of thoughts are swirling in our minds as we begin this meditation.
That is just how the human brain works.
Everyone doing this style of meditation around the world,
Including every teacher,
Even the Dalai Lama,
Everybody has thoughts.
Mindfulness is about noticing the thoughts,
Choosing to let them go away,
And then just returning to the breath.
Notice and open your awareness to what the breath feels like only and exactly in this present moment.
What do I feel?
What do I notice?
What am I experiencing exactly in this present moment as the breath flows in and out of my nostrils?
Jon Kabat-Zinn,
A wonderful teacher of meditation and mindfulness says that we have an opportunity for freedom under our noses in each moment.
Take it.
And this is that opportunity for freedom to carve out the freedom in our minds to choose to let thoughts float or sail away and to choose to return our attention back to the breath.
Each time we do this,
He says is an act of freedom.
So take that opportunity for freedom and just continue to return your attention back to the breath.
I do this meditation each morning and I think about swimming into the sensations of the breath.
Notice and be aware of the sensations of the breath in this moment.
And now in this moment.
And now in this present moment,
And allow this noticing this awareness to really bring yourself exactly into this precise present moment.
And if you lose your focus,
Just start again with a smile.
Return to the sensations of the breath.
And when you're ready,
You can gently open up your eyes can stretch your arms out.
If that feels nice,
You can stretch your legs out if you'd like.
And thank you for doing our first meditation together.
Mindfulness of the breathing body.
