Awareness of Breathing, Body & Sounds

Welcoming yourself now to the sitting meditation,

Awareness of breathing.

Taking a moment to find a comfortable seat,

Whether that's sitting in a chair or using some props.

It's a good idea to have the hips a little bit higher than the knees.

So placing a kneeling stool under the sit bones or a zaffu.

Remember to have a folded blanket under the knees or some cushions to create a stable grounded base.

And if you are sitting in a chair,

Maybe sitting a little bit forward,

Encouraging the spine to be neutral,

With the feet flat on the floor,

Feet hip distance,

You may need a rolled up blanket at the lower back.

If you have any problems with your lumbar spine.

The hands can either be face down on the thighs or in the lap.

If you have any shoulder injuries,

Perhaps a cushion under the arms.

Or you can even wrap a small blanket around the waist and tuck the hands in for support.

So taking your seat,

Whether that's sitting on the floor or on a chair,

Encouraging an upright,

Open posture,

So that you can be awake with a sense of ease.

So beginning by noticing the body,

Three points of contact,

Either the soles of the feet,

Lower legs or your seat.

Being aware of weight,

Dropping down through the lower half of the body,

Creating a stable base.

And out of that stable base,

The spine extends up internally through the body to the head.

You might like to bring the chin down slightly,

Throat back,

Ears above the shoulders.

Releasing any tension between the eyebrow center and sometimes be tension here from overthinking.

Shoulders drop down away from the ears,

Arms resting,

Fingers soft.

And beginning the practice by noticing that you are breathing.

And you may have a sense of the breath coming in and out at the nose.

So bringing this fresh curiosity or beginner's mind to your practice.

It's an invitation to pay attention and notice what is already here,

So there's no need to change the breath in any way.

The body knows how to breathe.

Bringing your full attention to the air flowing in at the nose and the air flowing out.

Feeling maybe tingling or temperature here.

It may feel like cool air coming in and warmer air coming out.

Sensing or feeling the air.

And if it's a support for you,

You might note silently in the mind in as the air comes in and out as the air flows out.

As a way of training your mind to be here now,

Bringing the mind to the body breathing.

You may be aware of the breath at the belly or the chest.

As you breathe in,

Chest expands,

Belly moves out.

And as you breathe out,

Belly falls back to the spine and the air releases out of the lungs.

And you may feel sensations through the back of the torso,

The armpits or the shoulders.

Or deep inside the body,

Around the spine.

So as you feel the breath in the torso now,

It may feel like a rise with the in-breath and a fall with the out-breath.

And if it's a support for you to help with your attention,

You might note silently in the mind rise and fall.

As you pay attention to the breath in the present moment at the belly or the chest or some other part inside your body.

So choosing one place where it's obvious for you or it's easiest for you to feel the natural breath.

So the breath becomes the object of meditation and it's like an anchor to ground you to the present moment.

And after a while as you pay attention to the breath,

You might notice the attention wanders away from the breath.

This is all part of the practice,

It's not a problem.

We notice where our attention goes,

Maybe to sounds,

To thoughts in the mind,

Emotions or moods,

Even strong physical sensations in the body.

So paying attention to what is here now and then remembering that the breath is the object of meditation.

Reconnecting with the breath and simply begin again.

Coming home to the place inside your body where it's easiest for you to feel the natural breath.

Learning to stay.

Coming back with this kind curiosity when the attention wanders.

Gently escort yourself back to the next breath.

Maybe it's in and out at the nose or rise and fall at the belly and the chest.

Being still and resting in the awareness of breathing.

Training your mind to stay with the breath.

Each time the attention wanders,

Coming back with a smile,

Gentleness,

Friendliness.

Trusting that your body knows how to breathe.

Maybe the sensations of breathing feel pleasant.

Warmth,

Openness,

Movement.

Maybe even a sense of release with the out-breath or ease.

Every time you come back to the breath,

Maybe a sense of appreciation that your body is breathing in this moment.

You're taking this time to be with the flow of the breath,

Feeling the life force inside the body,

Breath by breath,

Moment by moment.

Being curious about the quality of your breath now,

Whether it's smooth or rough,

Fast or slow,

Soft or hard.

Refining your attention as you notice the in-breath.

A slight pause at the end of the in-breath.

Being aware of the out-breath.

There's another quiet pause at the end of the out-breath.

Body becomes still.

The next breath arrives in the body.

So noticing the different parts of the breath.

The in-breath,

The pause,

The out-breath,

The pause.

Remembering if your attention moves away from the breath.

Notice where it goes.

Take the breath and begin again.

This will be happening many times as we sit.

And this coming back again and again is very much a part of the practice.

Learning to inhabit your body in the present moment.

And we can really only experience the breath in the present moment.

And then moving from one point of focus with the in-breath and the out-breath.

Expanding your awareness out now to include all the sensations in the body.

So the body is a container for the breath.

Observing all the points of contact.

Where your body is making contact with the props or the chair.

Sense of touch with the palms of the hands.

Feeling the shoulders from the inside out.

And a sense of the torso,

The spine,

The internal organs that support us.

The envelope of the skin.

Position of the head,

Face,

Throat,

Neck.

Having a sense of the whole body now.

And feel how the breath moves through the physical body.

And you might like to follow the breath all the way in.

Nose,

Throat,

Chest expands.

Belly moves out.

And then the breath turns,

The belly draws back in.

Air leaves the lungs coming out the throat and the nose.

It's like a wave coming into the body.

Breath slides in.

Breath turns and the breath slides back out.

So there may be parts of your body where you can't feel this movement.

It may feel quite neutral.

You might like to place one hand on the belly.

As a way of feeling all the sensations of the breath.

Natural rise and fall,

The belly expands pressing into the palm of the hand as you breathe in.

And as you breathe out the belly drops back towards the spine.

Opening to all the sensations in the body whether they're pleasant,

Neutral.

And even the unpleasant sensations.

So as we sit for a little bit longer there may be strong sensations that could even be painful.

Like throbbing,

Pressure,

Heat,

Tension.

So always taking care of yourself.

If anything is too strong and you feel you would like to adjust your posture.

You can either stand,

Sit back down or change the cross of the legs.

You might like to explore the sensations.

If you're feeling resilient today with your practice and you'd like to move closer.

Causing with any discomfort in the body.

And maybe as you breathe out the sensations can shift or move or change.

Bringing this kind curiosity to your practice as you observe the whole body.

And the flow of the breath really opening to what is here inside the body.

Bringing this non-judgmental attitude to your practice.

So sometimes when we judge our experience it takes us away from the bare awareness of what we're feeling.

We still notice what comes up but we're directing our attention to the physical sensations.

Touch,

Pressure,

Movement,

Warmth,

Cool,

Expansion,

Contraction,

Rise,

Fall,

In,

Out.

If anything is too intense you might like to expand your awareness out now to the sounds around you.

Creating a bigger container for your practice.

Expanding out to the sounds in your environment.

Similar to the breath the sounds arise.

Dissolve into a background of silence.

Noticing how expensive your awareness is.

Noticing the sounds.

And then inviting your attention to come back to the body.

Noticing the stillness of the body.

The natural rhythm of the breath.

Receiving the in-breath.

Allowing and releasing the out-breath.

Inviting a sense of ease as you breathe out.

Feeling the aliveness of the body as you breathe in.

And then coming back again to that one point of focus inside your body where the breath was most obvious.

So the awareness can be broad,

Including the sounds in the whole body.

We can refine our attention to one place.

Nose,

Throat,

Chest or belly.

And then coming back to that one point of focus.

And then coming back to that one point of focus.

And noticing now the state of your mind.

Any thoughts that might be present.

Any moods or emotions bubbling up.

So we pay attention to become familiar with what is already here.

No need to push anything away or change anything.

Becoming intimate with the body and the breath.

And getting to know our own minds and our good hearts.

So what is here in this moment to be known in the body heart-mind?

Sitting still and breathing.

What attitude is here?

What attitude are you bringing to your experience now?

Patience,

Kindness,

Non-striving,

Letting be,

Allowing,

Beginner's mind,

Kindness,

Compassion,

Non-judgment.

Taking a moment now to offer yourself some gratitude for taking this time to care for yourself through the practice of meditation.

Sitting with awareness of breathing.

We breathe thousands of times a day often without being aware.

So see if you can bring this attention to the breath into your daily life.

Taking moments where you can pause,

Feel into the body breathing.

And open to all the sensations.

This rise and fall.

We'll end the practice with a slow gentle breath in.

Slow gentle breath out.

And you might like to fold forward.

Just releasing through the back.

If you're sitting in a chair taking the legs wide,

You might like to put your elbows on the thighs and rest the head in the hands.

If you're sitting on a cushion or kneeling you might like to fold forward and make fists one on top of the other to rest the forehead.

You may be noticing pleasure in the body as you release from your sitting position.

And then continuing into your daily life.