Mindfulness of breathing meditation Settling into a comfortable position,
Either on a straight back chair or on a rug or mat on the floor with your buttocks supported by cushions or a meditation bench,
Allowing your back to adopt an erect,
Dignified and comfortable posture.
If you are sitting on a chair,
Having your feet flat on the floor with your legs uncrossed,
And if it is comfortable,
Gently closing your eyes.
If you would prefer to keep your eyes open,
Letting your gaze fall unfocused on the floor in front of you,
And bringing your awareness low down into the body,
Starting with your feet perhaps,
And exploring the sensations that occur when your feet make contact with the floor.
Bringing a warm,
Gentle curiosity to the pattern of sensations there,
To feelings of touch or pressure,
Maybe also warmth or coolness,
Whatever is there.
Then becoming aware of the sensations when your body meets the seat,
Really exploring these sensations.
Touch,
Pressure,
Contact,
Warmth,
Coolness,
What is there?
And allowing your attention to rise up the back,
Chest open,
Shoulders softened,
With your chin tucked slightly down,
The back of your neck lengthens.
And becoming aware that you are breathing,
That each out-breath is followed by an in-breath.
Each in-breath is followed by an out-breath.
And your body knows how to do this,
How it wants to breathe right now,
Which is how it is breathing.
So letting your breath breathe itself,
And letting your attention rest with the breath.
Maybe bringing your attention to the changing sensations in your belly as the breath moves in and out.
Perhaps feeling the sensation of slight stretching in the abdomen with each in-breath,
The sense of gentle release with each out-breath.
Just allowing the breath to breathe itself,
And as best you can,
Bringing this attitude to the rest of your experience.
There is nothing to be fixed here,
No particular state to be achieved.
As best you can,
Allowing your experience to be your experience,
Without it being anything other than it is.
And if your mind wanders,
As it surely will,
That's perfectly okay,
It's just what minds do.
It's not a mistake,
Not a fault.
Just acknowledge where your mind has gone to,
Maybe saying to yourself,
Ah,
There's thinking,
Or there's planning,
Or whatever,
And then gently bringing your awareness back to the breath and the sensations in the abdomen.
And if your mind wanders off a hundred times,
Just bringing it back a hundred times,
As best you can,
Bringing a quality of kindliness to your awareness.
Using the breath as an anchor to gently reconnect with the here and now,
Each time you notice that the mind has wandered.
Just following the breath.
This breath,
And this breath,
And this breath.
This breath,
And this breath.
And when you become aware that the mind has wandered,
Gently and kindly bringing your attention back to the breath.
Just following the breath.
Just breathing.
Just following the breath now for a few more moments,
Until you hear the sound of the bell.
Just following the breath.
The bell.
