In this meditation,
We will use breath as our anchor of awareness.
Find a comfortable seated position where no one will disturb you,
Preferably sitting up without leaning back for support,
Feet flat on the floor.
Keep your head,
Neck and back in a straight line to make the flow of breath easier.
This is a time to allow yourself to switch from your normal mode of doing and moving and reacting to a mode of simply being.
Just being aware of the present moment.
Now close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath.
Notice the sensations and movements that go along with it.
The feeling of air moving through your nostrils as you breathe in and out.
How your belly rises and falls with each breath.
The movement of your chest and shoulders on each in-breath and out-breath.
Observe the entire cycle of breath as the air enters your nostrils and then fills your lungs with the abdomen slightly rising.
Then the pause between the in-breath and out-breath and the movement of air leaving the body,
The abdomen falling,
And the pause between the out-breath and the next in-breath.
It's all one movement with no two breaths being alike.
Now just settling your awareness on the area that is strongest for you,
Whether it's the movement of your belly,
The movement of your chest or your shoulders,
Or how the air moves through your nostrils.
You'll notice that your attention will wander away from breath.
You may start thinking about your day.
Things that happened.
Things you need to do.
Worries you may have.
This is completely normal.
When you notice this happen,
Don't give yourself a hard time.
Gently but firmly bring your awareness back to the physical sensations of breathing in your body.
Being aware of where the mind goes and then gently shifting your awareness back to the breath.
Nothing else for you to do except to observe your body as you breathe in and out.
There may be a tendency to want to control your breathing.
Rather than trying to control it,
Simply witness its flow.
And just gently coming back to sensations of breathing.
There may be sounds around you or something else going on.
Just notice if your focus has shifted to what is going on around you and then bring your attention again back to your breath.
Without judgment.
Letting your breath be your anchor of awareness.
Breath always happens in the present,
So let it keep you anchored in the here and now.
Each time you notice your awareness going somewhere else,
Just gently coming back to breath.
And notice that you may have an opinion about the way things are going right now.
You may be finding it pleasant or unpleasant.
You may be uncomfortable or bored and impatient.
If you find yourself having an opinion about the experience,
Just observe those thoughts.
You may want to label them and say,
Those are my worry thoughts or my judging thoughts or my liking thoughts.
This is building your capacity to notice your thoughts and your opinions without having to do anything about them.
Just observing them as they come and go.
And as you notice the thoughts that come into your mind,
Just bringing your awareness back to the physical sensations of breath.
How the breath moves in and out of the body.
You may notice your attention shifting to any body sensations you may be having.
Perhaps you feel discomfort or tension.
As you notice these sensations,
Just be aware of them and see that it's possible to stay for a moment longer with that sensation.
Notice where the sensation is happening,
The quality and intensity of it.
Stay with the experience of it without having to react to it.
Notice how sensations change,
Coming and going,
Never staying the same.
And bringing awareness to the movement of breath.
And wherever the mind goes,
Whether it's to finding things pleasant or unpleasant,
Perceptions or sensations or hearing of sounds or feelings of peace or of sadness or boredom or of anticipation,
Just noticing and gently shifting your awareness back to the breath.
Just continue to be curious about breath,
Observing that each breath is unique and seeing if it is possible to have a friendly attitude toward whatever comes into your awareness.
How if your mind has wandered off to thoughts,
Judgments,
Worries,
Sensations or sounds,
Just in a friendly way,
Notice that this is happening and bring yourself back to breath.
Recognizing that the entire cycle of awareness is important to this experience,
Including the wandering away from breath as well as the return to it.
You have nothing to do but observe the breath.
And just gently coming back to sensations of breathing.
When your attention has gone somewhere else,
Notice how you become aware of how your mind has gone somewhere other than breath.
See if you can celebrate these moments of recognition that this is a moment of awareness and then just effortlessly bring your attention back to breath in a friendly and a non-judgmental way.
Now,
Take a moment to acknowledge that you spent this time being intentionally aware of your moment-to-moment experience,
Strengthening your ability to be in the present and face anything that comes your way without judgment.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and allow yourself to shift or stretch in whatever way feels comfortable.
