Let's learn to work with some common difficulties that may arise when we practice mindfulness.
Wherever you are,
Find a stable and wakeful sitting posture.
Bring the body to stillness and close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Let's begin by bringing our attention to the body breathing in and breathing out.
Resting your attention on the part of the body where the breath is most obvious for you.
Gently anchoring your attention to the physical sensations of the natural breath.
Following each breath all the way in and all the way out.
One breath at a time.
Anytime you notice the mind drifting away,
Gently invite your attention back to the breath.
And this may happen many times.
So over and over again.
Just bringing your attention back to the body breathing.
You might be noticing some restlessness in the body.
Invite curiosity to this experience.
How do you know the body is restless?
Which parts of the body are showing restlessness?
Take a few moments to simply observe any physical sensations that come with this restlessness,
Without the need to change anything.
Perhaps there is a sense of tightness or tension.
Maybe there is temperature in the body.
A sense of heat or coolness.
Notice any impulse to move the body or change your posture.
And see if you can stay for just one more moment.
Just one more moment.
When the attention stabilizes,
Coming back to the breath.
One breath at a time.
You might also notice drowsiness setting in.
Without any judgment,
Invite some curiosity to the experience of drowsiness.
How does the body feel when it's drowsy?
You can explore straightening your posture and taking a few deep breaths to bring more oxygen to the brain and body.
And when the attention stabilizes,
Returning to the natural breath again.
If your eyes are closed,
You can even choose to keep your eyes softly open,
Letting some light in to keep the mind more wakeful.
One moment at a time,
Staying with this experience of breathing.
One inhalation at a time.
Exhalation at a time.
One moment at a time.
When you're ready to end this practice,
Take a deep breath in.
Breathe out completely and opening or widening the eyes.
Thank you for practicing with me.
