So starting this meditation by taking a few deep breaths,
Relaxing the body,
And if there are any areas of tightness or tension in the body,
Just again allowing them to relax.
And now moving attention to your nostrils,
And see if you can notice the sensations caused by the breath.
So where can you actually feel the breath?
Maybe inside the nostrils,
Maybe at the tip of the nose,
Or maybe more on the upper lip.
Wherever the sensations are clearest for you,
Just resting your attention there,
And noticing the sensations that arise when air passes over this spot where you're focusing attention.
And it's okay if other things appear in your awareness,
Like sounds,
Body sensations,
Emotions.
Don't try to exclude anything from awareness,
Or stop these experiences from arising.
All you need to do is just keep a very gentle attention on the sensations of the breath.
Thoughts will also arise,
And take attention away from the breath.
And this is a natural part of the process,
And you can't stop thoughts from arising,
So don't try.
These distractions are inevitable,
And not a sign you're doing anything wrong.
So just using the opportunity to celebrate the aha moment,
And then gently bring your attention back to the sensations of the breath.
Getting curious in those sensations,
What does breathing actually feel like when you pay attention to the experience?
So it's usually a little difficult to keep attention on the breath sensations for any length of time at first,
So we're going to help attention stay there by counting the breath.
So you'll be experiencing the sensations of the in-breath,
And then the sensations of the out-breath,
And then just mentally count one.
And then the sensations of the in-breath,
Sensations of the out-breath,
Two,
Three,
And so on.
So try that now,
And see if you can count three breaths in a row without losing attention.
So the pause in the breath after the out-breath doesn't contain many breath sensations,
So attention will often wander off to more interesting things at that point.
And dropping the count in this gap after the out-breath helps to sustain attention on the breath.
So now see if you're able to count ten breaths without losing attention.
So when you get to ten,
Or if you notice that attention has wandered and you've lost count,
Just start again at one.
And remember that the counting is just a support to help attention stay with the breath sensations,
Like a handrail running along a staircase that helps you balance.
But you don't start walking on the handrail,
And the actual object of attention is the sensations of the breath at the nose.
So keep attention there,
And not so much on the counting itself.
So again,
What do the sensations of the breath actually feel like?
Just resting attention there.
So the sensations of the in-breath,
The sensations of the out-breath,
Count.
Sensations of the in-breath,
Sensations of the out-breath,
Count.
And if you notice that you've lost count,
If attention has wandered,
Just very gently bringing attention back to the breath sensations,
And starting again at one.
And if trying to get to ten breaths without losing count feels challenging,
You can reduce your target to five,
Gradually increase it to ten over time.
Another sign that your attention has wandered is if you find yourself counting beyond ten.
So if you notice that,
Just again bring attention back to the breath sensations,
Start again at one.
So you can continue this practice for as long as you'd like,
And when you're ready,
You can gradually bring the practice to a close.
