Welcome!
This mindfulness practice explores how to use your breath as an anchor so that you can learn to root your awareness into the present moment,
Like an anchor that roots a ship at sea.
This practice can help you to address anxiety and it can decrease stress because as the mind is observed,
It can be quieted and this allows the body to move in a relaxed,
Peaceful state.
To begin,
Adopt as comfortable a position as possible.
It's often recommended to be sitting,
But you can do this in any posture or shape,
Whether that's standing,
Lying down,
Sitting,
Or even walking.
Today's guidance will assume that you're seated,
But you can adapt the instructions to whatever posture you've chosen.
Sitting with your spine elongated,
Move your shoulders back so they're more aligned over the hips and then perhaps move the head back so your ears are a little more aligned over the shoulders.
Bring some movement to the shoulders and arms and then let the arms relax with your hands resting in your lap in a comfortable position.
See if you can establish a position that feels dignified,
Alert,
And yet relaxed and allow your body to settle,
Letting it be supported by the floor beneath you.
You can gently close your eyes if that's comfortable or rest your gaze to a single point in front of you.
This is to help your awareness settle by lessening the external distractions.
Gradually,
Allow your awareness to gather around the sensations of the breath in your body.
Where do you experience the breath most noticeably?
Be curious about this experience and be with your experience without judgment.
Notice are you breathing lightly?
Are you breathing deeply?
Begin now to deepen the breath,
First breathing into the heart and lungs and then into the belly.
Pause,
Then exhale from the belly and exhale from the heart and lungs.
Pause.
Begin and repeat.
Breathe into the lungs,
Belly,
Pause,
Exhale from the belly,
Lungs,
And pause.
As you continue breathing in this way,
Refrain from making too much effort.
Breathe into the torso in a way that is comfortable versus a way that feels forced or stressed.
Now bring your awareness into the whole torso.
Notice the sensation of expansion with the in-breath and the sensation of subsiding on the out-breath.
Notice the relationship of movement and breath and any other sensations that happen with the breath.
Notice the movement in your ribs,
In your back body as well.
Gradually,
Bring your awareness into your body a little more deeply with a sense of kindness and curiosity towards whatever you're experiencing as you breathe.
Allow your awareness to be accepting,
Open,
And receptive as it observes the natural movement of the breath in the body.
Allow the breath to be saturated with grace as it moves the body from the inside out and imagine that this grace can soothe stresses,
Pain,
Or other discomforts.
Now become aware of any thoughts and emotions that you might be experiencing.
I like to explain this as stepping back to observe your thoughts like you might observe clouds moving across the sky with curiosity,
Objectivity,
And even a sense of detachment.
Remember that mindfulness is less about having a blank mind.
It's normal to have an active mind.
Rather,
Mindfulness is a practice in which you cultivate awareness of your physical,
Mental,
And emotional experiences.
When you do this as a practice,
You cultivate more understanding about how changeable these experiences are.
Our thoughts and emotions are dependent on a lot of factors just like those clouds moving across the sky.
Our minds and emotions can be just like the weather,
Always moving,
Always changing.
As you develop your mindfulness practice,
You begin to observe your experiences in a more natural way and this helps you feel like you have more choice in how you relate to or respond to your life.
Mindfulness teaches you to look at your thoughts and emotions rather than operate from within them.
It helps you be aware of what you're thinking and feeling without either blocking the experience or getting overwhelmed by it.
Remember,
Thoughts are not facts,
Even though we often think that they are.
As you develop perspective on your thoughts and emotions,
Including the undermining ones,
You begin to let go of being so caught up in them.
As you continue with practice,
Continue bringing yourself back to the breath each time you notice that the mind has started to wander.
Notice how the thoughts are continually changing one moment to the next.
Again,
Bring yourself back to the sensation of the breath.
Notice your thoughts and emotions are not as fixed or as solid as perhaps you thought.
Use this practice,
This awareness of the movement and sensations of the breath in your body as an anchor for the mind over and over and over again.
Follow the breath all the way in and all the way out.
Each time your awareness wanders,
As it will,
Simply note this and return to the breathing anchor.
Do this time after time after time,
Moment by moment.
Do your best to be kind and patient with yourself,
Even if you have to return to the anchor a hundred times.
It's okay.
This is what the mindfulness practice is all about.
Remember that each time you notice you've wandered,
This is a magic moment of awareness,
A moment in which you've awoken from a distraction into a moment of choice and grace.
Each time you catch yourself having wandered off,
You are succeeding in the practice just as you are succeeding when you manage to stay with the breath.
Let's continue for a few more rounds of breath.
What's happening now?
What is in your thinking mind?
Just note this and guide your awareness back to the sensation of the breath in the body.
Doing this over and over and over again.
Now we'll begin to bring the breathing anchor practice to a close.
Bring your awareness back to the feeling of the floor under your feet and the chair or cushion that supports you.
Notice any sounds around you inside or outside of the room.
Notice your whole body and gradually,
Gently begin to move,
Making sure you give yourself time to make a smooth transition from the breathing anchor practice to whatever you're doing next.
As you're ready,
You may flutter your eyes open.
May you move forward with grace.
If you wish to move this meditation into an art-based mindfulness practice,
I invite you to take a moment to create an image of your breathing anchor.
This could be a painting or collage or simply a quick doodle.
You may wish to create an anchor and create two backgrounds,
One side representing the active mind,
One side representing the quiet mind.
This is an expressive arts practice,
Meaning that there's no right,
Wrong,
Or best image.
Simply use line,
Color,
Shape,
Texture,
Or symbolism to depict an expression of your experience in this meditation.
You can take as long or as little time as you wish to create the image.
Even two to five minutes can be enough time.
When you're done,
Take a moment to journal with the image.
What wisdom does it have to share?
Allow yourself to write freely about it.
You might be surprised what your image has to share.
Please feel welcome to message me and describe your experience.
Namaste.
