This is a 10 minute Mindfulness of Breath meditation,
Part of Manchester Mind's Mindfulness for Stress course.
So setting yourself up comfortably on a chair or perhaps a cushion on the floor,
With a posture that embodies weightfulness and dignity,
Allowing the chair or cushion to fully support your weight.
And if you're sat on a chair,
Having your feet flat on the floor and hands on the lap.
Nice straight spine,
Upright but not uptight,
Alert and awake.
And you can do this meditation with your eyes open,
With an unfocused gaze,
Or if you feel comfortable closing your eyes,
Giving yourself up to gravity as you sit here.
And now becoming aware that you're breathing.
There's no need to change the breath in any way at all,
Allowing the body to breathe itself.
With a gentle awareness on the breath.
So you might notice the breath in the belly area,
Expanding and contracting with the in and the out breath.
Perhaps noticing the rise and fall of the chest as the body breathes.
Or maybe noticing the air as it passes through the nose,
Cool on the way in,
Warm on the way out.
As best you can,
Bringing an awareness to any sensations on the breath that you might notice.
And as best you can,
You're invited to rest your awareness with one of those areas throughout this meditation.
It doesn't matter which.
So it might be the nose,
Could be the chest or the belly.
Resting the awareness as the body breathes.
Bringing a kindly curiosity to whatever you notice about the breath.
And remembering that meditation is not about having a blank or empty mind.
It's normal to think,
That's what minds do.
As soon as you notice that you've got distracted,
Carried away,
Lost in thought.
Gently and kindly bringing the awareness back to the breath.
To the nose,
The chest or the belly.
Aware of the body breathing.
Allowing the body to breathe itself.
And each and every time you notice you've got lost in thought,
Distracted,
Carried away.
Gently and kindly bringing the awareness back to the breath once more.
Finding something interesting about the breath.
Resting the awareness with the breath.
Breath moving in,
Breath moving out.
Letting each breath come and go on its own.
Feeling the sensations,
Moment by moment.
There's no right way to feel here,
Just watching the breath as it comes and goes.
Body breathing in its own rhythm.
And noticing whenever the mind gets distracted,
Lost in thought.
That's a moment of awareness.
Congratulating yourself and gently and kindly bringing the awareness back to the breath once more.
Lightly resting the awareness on the breath.
Giving each breath a new beginning.
Bringing a kind and gentle curiosity to your experience.
Perhaps you might like to notice the length of the breath.
Whether the in-breath is the same as the out-breath.
Again,
No need to change the breath in any way.
However the body is breathing is how the body is breathing.
Sitting and watching the breath.
Moment by moment,
Breath by breath.
Breath moves in,
Breath moves out.
Where are you now?
Resting the awareness with the breath or lost in thought.
Gently,
Kindly bringing the awareness back to the breath each time it wanders.
Even if you have to bring your mind back over a hundred times,
That's okay.
As best you can,
Gently and patiently noting what is on the mind in this moment.
And without being harsh or critical,
Simply recognise it for what it is.
Letting it be and coming back to the breath once more.
Body breathes itself.
Watching the body breathing.
Gently and kindly bringing the mind back every time it wanders.
Back to the body breathing.
Either the nose or the chest or the belly.
Wherever you feel the breath most obviously.
And widening the awareness out now.
So that you have a sense of the whole body as it's sitting and breathing.
Noticing once more the points of contact between your body and the chair.
Your feet and the floor.
Your hands on the lap.
Perhaps noticing the air temperature against the skin.
Turning the attention outward.
Noticing any sounds happening around you.
In this room and outside.
And as we draw the meditation to a close,
Congratulating yourself for taking this time to sit and meditate.
