Welcome.
This is a 10 minute Awareness of Breath practice.
So stopping and pausing,
Having a sense of putting out the welcome mat for ourselves,
Meeting ourselves just as we are right now.
The intention behind the practice is to work with the breath,
To help us stay present as best we can,
And also to explore key attitudes,
Curiosity and friendliness towards our own experience.
So starting with both feet flat on the floor,
Perhaps aware of any sensations in the left foot and the right foot.
Awareness too of the legs and the body in contact with the chair.
A sense of the lower half of the body resting down.
Having a sense of the spine rising up,
Head balanced,
Front body soft,
Allowing the shoulders just to rest down.
And if we haven't done so already,
Just making a choice around whether to allow our eyes to close or just soften our gaze.
So as we sit here,
Just turning our attention towards the breath.
So allowing our breath just to do its own thing,
Bringing some curiosity to the sensations that we become aware of.
As we breathe in and as we breathe out.
So there's nothing special we need to be doing here.
And it's less about thinking about breathing or controlling the breathing.
Just bringing our attention alongside the sensations that are around for us,
As we breathe in and as we breathe out.
So checking in with the movement of the belly,
With each inhalation and expansion,
With each exhalation,
Contraction of the belly.
Bringing our awareness to the chest and the ribs.
Again,
Noticing any sensations that are around for us,
As we simply breathe in and breathe out.
And awareness of the nostrils and the mouth,
The sensations of the air as it passes in and out.
Maybe noticing the temperature too.
And making a choice now.
Choosing one of these places,
The abdomen or the ribs and the chest or the nostrils.
And just using one of these places to act as an anchor for our attention,
As we breathe in and breathe out.
So seeing if we can bring our awareness to the very beginning of the in-breath.
To the whole length of the in-breath.
The pause between the in-breath and the out-breath.
And the whole length of the out-breath.
So nothing special we should be doing.
Just seeing if we can gently direct our attention to the breath,
And bring some curiosity to the sensations that are around for us.
Sooner or later the mind is likely to wander.
And remember nothing has gone wrong.
So the times we notice daydreaming,
Thinking or planning,
Memories or sleepiness,
Distractions of any kind.
And just remembering this is an entirely normal everyday human experience of the mind.
So at these times we can notice where our attention has gone to.
And then without criticising ourselves or judging ourselves,
Seeing if we can bring our attention back to the very next in-breath.
So resting our awareness on the breath as best we can.
Returning again and again with curiosity and friendliness towards our own experience.
So coming back to the breath as an anchor within the body.
Remembering nothing has gone wrong.
If we notice our mind wandering.
But rather we can celebrate those moments of awareness.
When we notice the storylines taking us away.
From the sensations of breathing.
So coming back again and again.
Bringing friendliness and curiosity to our experience.
And remembering with this practice that the breath is always available.
Or the feet on the floor as an alternative anchor.
So during the day,
Even when the mind is scattered or dispersed.
These anchors can help resource us.
To steady us.
Places of stillness and of calm during our daily lives.
