Full Awareness Of Breathing

This period of practice will be a guided meditation on the full awareness of breathing.

And just beginning as we have been doing by taking a few moments to consciously draw your attention into your body,

To feel what it's like to be sitting here in contact with the ground,

The earth below,

The space around and above,

Upright beneath the sky,

Alert and yet at ease so far as you're able to be so.

And initially just settling into your body,

Into the sense of what stands out to you as your body breathes out,

As your body breathes out.

Sensing just whatever you notice as this natural organic process takes place in your body,

With your body,

Through your body.

And we might just take a moment also to just relax.

Also as we attend to this experience of breathing,

Take a moment to just acknowledge our good fortune.

Each breath we receive sustains our life.

And for now this continues.

This remarkable,

Mysterious,

Challenging and yet precious life,

Resting on the flow of breathing.

Sensing so ordinary and yet not to be taken for granted.

And now I'd invite you to just bring your attention to the area around your nostrils.

As the air enters and leaves your body,

Just noticing whatever you notice in this location,

Gathering your attention here.

You may notice that the air is a little cooler as you breathe it in,

A little warmer as you breathe out.

Or maybe not.

You may notice you're breathing more through one nostril than the other.

Or maybe not.

Just noticing what you notice.

And if you don't notice too much at all,

That's okay.

Whatever you notice is just fine.

Giving your attention to this part of your body.

And now just bringing your attention into your nostrils.

And sensing as the air element moves into your body and down through your throat,

Just noticing what you experience as the air enters your body and travels down into your body.

Just noticing whatever you experience here.

And as the breath comes down to your chest,

The lungs fill,

The chest expands,

Just noticing what you feel and experience here.

Maybe the inner experience of the breath moving or the expansion.

Maybe the sense of your clothing moving against your skin as your torso expands and contracts.

Maybe the sense of your body moving against your skin as your torso expands and contracts.

And following that movement further,

Traveling more deeply into your body as the chest fills and expands and the belly rises.

Bringing your attention down to this part of your body.

Feeling the rise of your belly as it expands with the in-breath.

Sensing it as it drops,

Falls and softens down with the out-breath.

And if you don't feel too much in this part of your body,

If you wish,

You don't have to,

But you could place the soft open palm of your hand in contact with your belly.

Allowing a clearer sense of the movement,

The experience.

And beginning to open your attention to feel the movement of the breathing.

And as you breathe out,

Noticing your belly drop,

Soften down.

Now the chest contracts and the sensation of the air as it moves up through your throat and out your nostrils.

And allowing your attention to move with the movement of the breathing.

Breathing and out-breathing.

Noticing the moment when the in-breath comes to its completion and the out-breath begins.

And noticing when the out-breath comes to an end,

There may be a pause or maybe not,

And the in-breath begins.

Breathing and out-breathing.

Being intimate with this experience,

This rippling ebb and flow of sensation in your body as this body breathes,

Just however it breathes right now.

And whether it be rough or smooth,

Deep or shallow,

Long or short,

Just simply noticing,

Being present with this experience just as it is.

Breathing and out-breathing.

Breathing and out-breathing.

And if you'd like to continue just tracking that interior flow of experience with the movement of breathing in and breathing out,

You're very welcome to do so.

And if you'd like,

You can continue to follow the instruction and the exploring that's invited.

By opening your attention to include your whole body,

Feeling the physical presence of your body from top to bottom and all around,

Within which the breath moves.

We may feel the sense of the stillness of the body within which the movement takes place.

And equally notice that the whole body participates in the breathing.

Every cell,

Every tissue,

Every organ,

Every limb is touched by the rhythm of breathing.

So brightening,

Vitalizing,

Energizing quality as we breathe in.

With a softening,

Relaxing,

Releasing as we breathe out.

And so just exploring the sense of your whole body.

Existing breathing.

This entire living organism.

Breathing in the living breath.

Breathing out.

Breathing out.

Existing the experience as it changes from in-breath to out-breath,

As all experiences do.

Each breath is different,

As all experiences are.

This breathing experience speaks to us of the fluid nature of life,

Not as a concept or an idea,

It's a direct experience.

And we see too it's happening by itself,

Not something we need to produce.

Something we receive as we receive each breath.

Just as this life too is something we receive moment by moment.

And allowing your attention to become a little larger,

To include the space around your body as your breathing continues to flow within your body.

So too it touches the space around your body as we draw each breath from the space around us,

Receiving it in this way.

As we breathe out into the space around us,

Giving it back quite naturally as we do.

And acknowledging this breath is something we share with each other and with all living creatures and things.

This air element passes between us and through us.

All creatures,

All plants,

All living things share in this.

And so we can open our attention to include the beings around us nearby and further a field who are breathing just as we are,

Who are sharing together in this element of life.

Attending with sensitivity to the experience of breathing as it is expressed in your body,

In your body.

But also open to the sensitivity of breathing bodies all around.

This life that breathes through bodies,

With bodies,

In bodies.

And as we come to know this breathing body,

So too we encounter this body of life,

Breathing.

Ex valued.

And if you like to continue practicing with this expanded sense of breathing body,

Or if you find it perhaps more useful to gather your attention again in a more specific focus within your body and the breathing experience there.

For the remainder of the meditation period,

Just continuing to explore,

Being present and wakeful,

Sensitive and in touch with this that we call breathing.

Just as it is,

This body sitting here or standing,

Breathing in and out just as it does.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Coming back again and again to this,

Just as you are.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.

Moment by moment conscious,

Mindful and sensitive to this.