Meditation Is Not About the Breath

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, standing or lying down. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll start by taking a deep breath together. In through the nose.

And slowly out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to relax. Letting the shoulders be at ease. And the hands and the belly. As the body settles in,the breath can settle into its natural rhythm.

So in today's meditation, we're exploring how the practice is not so much about what you're focusing on, but more how you work with all the things that pull you away from what you're focusing on. And there are a lot of different experiences that can arise, different emotions, attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, sensations. So let's keep it simple. We'll place one hand on our belly. Just start to feel the movement of the breath.

And you may notice in the beginning, it feels relatively easy to focus on one thing, like the breath. And as time goes on, the mind may like to wander, or you may get restless or agitated. So today we're going to pay particular attention to how we work with these competing experiences for our attention. And our one objective is to see if we can bring the awareness back, bring our focus back to the breath with a little more grace than we might usually do, a little more acceptance, a little more letting go. And just see what it would be like to practice in that way.

Can there be as much ease and peace with the mind wandering as there is with the mind steady on the breath? I'll give you some time in silence to practice. So as we come to the closing of our meditation, let's take one more deep breath together. In through the nose. And slowly out through the mouth. You can start to reorient yourself back into the space.

And when you're ready, letting your eyes open again. Good job. So as you go about your day today, and you're find yourself trying to focus and be present, notice your relationship to the mind wandering into other things. And instead of it being this terrible thing that happens or something that's antithetical to mindfulness, instead, just see it as part of the process and bring as much grace to the mind wandering and coming back, as you do to when you're actually deeply present with the thing you're trying to focus on. Thank you for your practice.

I'll talk to you soon and until next time, take care.