So for this meditation practice today we will be following the breath and we do this in two parts.
So we begin by following the breath and I'll guide you through what that is and what that means,
How we do that and then we will give you some options to make following the breath easier unless it's already easy for you.
So we begin by finding a comfortable position,
So something nice and upright,
Nice and balanced.
We want comfort but we also want to be able to breathe completely and fully,
So think about how best is,
How is best going to support your ability to breathe.
So you don't want to be hunched over,
So neck and spine nice and long.
We'll just begin now by closing your eyes when you're ready.
Just noticing what is here in this moment,
So just allowing everything in as we get used to bringing some stillness to the body.
Just taking a little note of how you're feeling right now,
Maybe noticing what your mind is doing without trying to restrict it or contain it in any way,
Just allowing it to be and notice it with as little judgements or expectations as possible.
And then we're going to give our meditation practice a focus,
So the focus of the practice today is going to be following the breath,
So the focus is the breath and the first step to that is to discover what it is to breathe,
So how do you know that you are breathing?
So breathing is something that we do all day,
Every day,
Conscious and unconscious,
So just moving into a more conscious state with the breath,
Maybe noticing your stomach as it rises and falls in the inhale and exhale,
Maybe noticing the temperature of your breath,
Maybe in the passages of your nostrils or your mouth,
If you're breathing through your mouth.
Just seeing what you need with your breath right now,
So maybe you need to take a few deep sighs,
A bigger in-breath and an audible out-breath.
So what do we mean when we talk about following the breath?
Following the breath is just this,
What we're doing right now,
Noticing the sensation of breathing,
Allowing ourselves to follow that,
Seeing how it changes in each moment,
What stage the breath is at in each moment,
Being present with it and using the breath as a portal to the present moment,
Allowing everything else to be background noise,
In the hope that it will become quieter and quieter,
And knowing that if anything does get loud,
So maybe the thoughts get loud and sticky,
That's okay,
Everything can still be there,
We just bring ourselves back to the breath whenever we notice we've been distracted,
If anything draws our focus away from the meditation,
As soon as we notice that's happened,
We bring ourselves back,
This is the practice.
You might notice that as we sit,
Naturally the breath will become lower and slower.
You can place your hands on your stomach or maybe one hand on your stomach and one on your chest,
Just to connect even further,
So the breath is always with us,
No matter what we do,
No matter what's happening,
And it's the biggest tool we have to alter our experience.
So if we can learn to use the breath as our portal to presence,
It doesn't matter whether we have internet connection,
It doesn't matter whether we're in a stressful environment,
It doesn't matter what's happening,
Who's with us,
We have something that we can tap into to support us to be mindful,
Be present and experience the moment exactly as it is.
So we're not trying to improve our experience or get anything from following the breath,
We're not trying to change it.
Even if we're in a difficult situation or we're in a stressful mindset,
Following the breath allows us to be with it,
To not resist it,
And by giving us the focus of the breath,
We draw ourselves away from the ruminations and worries about the past and the future,
And if we can kind of get away,
Get some respite from those worries,
Then everything seems just that little bit lighter in the present moment.
So even if the present moment is difficult,
It will be more difficult with worries on top of that,
So worries about the past,
Worries about the future,
As well as what's happening.
So we can get some distance from that and just lighten the load a little,
And by experiencing what is,
We are fostering mindfulness,
Cultivating a practice that helps us become more mindful in every moment.
The more we do this,
The more comfortable we become with the uncomfortable,
The lighter life feels.
If you have a particularly busy mind,
We can keep focus by adding in counting,
So we can begin to count the breaths.
So what this means is to use your internal voice,
And using the numbers 1 to 10,
So it would be 1 on the in-breath,
2 on the out-breath,
And so on until we reach the count of 10.
And if we lose track,
We simply start back at 10,
It doesn't matter,
And if we go on to our kind of autopilot mode and go past the count of 10,
We just note that whenever we realise,
And bring ourselves back to number 1.
So the key to this practice is not trying to force our breath to fit our count,
We're allowing the breath to arise first,
And then we are using our numbers to count those breaths as they come,
In whichever pattern comes up.
So this gives our mind a job,
Helps it to stay focused on following the breath,
And if you rarely experience anything else being in the spotlight other than your thoughts,
This can be a really nice way to get a little bit of a break.
The more you practice this,
The easier it becomes.
And if you'd like to stay with this practice but try something just very slightly different,
We can use the rising and falling,
So these two words,
Using our internal voice once again,
So we'll be saying the word rising on the in-breath,
And falling on the out-breath.
If the counting was working for you,
You can stick with that.
So rising on the in-breath,
Falling on the out-breath.
And we can use the out-breath as an aid to relaxation.
So on each out-breath,
Just releasing whatever you can,
Allowing parts of your body to go floppy,
Allowing your hands to just let go of any contraction there might be,
Any tension.
Allowing the shoulders to drop.
Allowing your face muscles to melt and soften.
So knowing that as we practice the following the breath,
The counting the breath,
The rising and falling,
Whichever one most resonates with you.
And you can try different ones at different times.
Now everything else can still be there,
So we can have sounds as part of our experience.
And we can use those sounds as reminders to focus.
So each time we become engaged with a sound or we notice a sound,
We can use that as a reminder to follow the breath.
So it doesn't need to be a distraction,
We can reframe that.
We can see our thoughts as sounds in exactly the same way.
So that our relationship with thoughts doesn't become tricky,
Doesn't become a fight.
We're okay with it.
It doesn't interfere with our practice,
It becomes part of it.
We can also allow the different senses to be part of our practice too,
In any practice that we do.
So allowing ourselves to taste and smell.
Allowing the sensation of touch to be felt.
So maybe you have the sensation of your hands,
Maybe your fingertips touching.
Maybe the feeling of the clothes against your body,
Or the furniture against your bum.
Whatever it is that you can feel that can be part of this too.
So that's all there.
The focus is on the breath.
We're going to practice this for a few more moments.
Rising on the in-breath and falling on the out-breath at your own pace.
So as we begin to get ready for whatever is next in line for us today.
We can choose to stay here with this.
Or we can begin to bring some movement to our body now.
So maybe wiggling your fingers,
Your toes.
Swaying your hips,
Moving your neck.
Whatever feels good.
Beginning to notice the space that you're in,
Even with your eyes closed.
So where are the windows,
Where are the doors,
If there are any.
Sensation of the floor,
The gravity pulling you down.
When you're ready,
Just begin now to gently open your eyes.
