MBSR | Sitting Meditation

This is a guided sitting meditation for spirit rising's mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Taking time now to find your sitting posture for this practice. One that will offer support for your body at this time. So whether that's a chair or on a cushion on the floor, as best you can, forming the intention as you begin this practice to set aside the busy, doing mode that can too easily constitute so much of our day-to-day lives. And instead, allowing this to be a time of simply being, of being with the body and the mind and the heart. And with whatever arises moment by moment, a practice that invites and strengthens one's patience and kindness. And that can be supported by offering curiosity, the best that you can, to whatever is here to be known and felt. And experiences occurring in the realm of bodily sensations, thoughts and emotions. And there's no need to condemn or critique oneself for not feeling particularly loving or patient or kind. Rather, the practice simply invites us to entertain the possibility of offering hospitality to oneself, no matter what you might be feeling or thinking for this practice in this particular moment. So settling into your sitting posture and allowing the eyes to close if this feels supported to you. Or you might like to explore what it's like to let the head tilt very subtly towards the earth and soften the gaze, settling the eyes on a fixed stabilizing point on the ground in front of you. And just here, checking into your posture for a moment, making sure it allows you to feel awake and alert that it minimizes any physical discomfort to the best of your ability. And ensuring that your posture allows you to breathe freely and naturally. So during this formal sitting practice, should any challenges arise for you for whatever reason and at any time, you can always let go of my voice, stepping away from the guidance if it's not serving you to offer yourself the fullest care and support in whatever way that might look. So this could include changing at any time to a more supportive anchor where you rest your awareness, perhaps sensations of the hands or the feet. And you can always open your eyes, re-orient in the space you are in. And when you're feeling ready, the invitation is always there to return to the practice. So using this time as a means for offering yourself great care, noticing needs, responding to needs, and making this practice your own. And becoming aware of the breath. Nowling awareness to settle on this breath moving in and out of the body. Just feeling into the body breathing. And awareness just gently resting as though with a very light touch, much the way a feather might gently rest upon the surface of the ocean, rising and falling with each in breath and out breath. So so too allowing awareness to settle ever so softly. Just riding the waves of the breath. And you might be aware of the movement of breath as it comes into the body. Filling and expanding the lungs. Aware of breath as it leaves the body. Releasing back out. And there's so little effort required. There's no need to change the breath. It's a fix or control the breath. As the body already knows how to breathe. This body that is always already being breathed. So just offering a simple caring awareness to what it's like right now to breathe. What are the sensations of breath for you in this moment? Remember calling here a full permission at any point should the breath not be accessible in this moment or not feel supportive to you. You can always change to a different anchor. The hands, the feet, sound letting go of my words at any point. And if breath is available, you might be aware of breath at a specific location in the body. Perhaps where sensations are most vivid and accessible. So this might be the belly. The gentle rise of the belly on an in-breath. And the gentle fall of the belly on an out-breath. Or you might be aware of breath at the chest in the torso. An awareness of the expansion and contraction of the lungs. Air filling and releasing. Maybe there's even a sense of the space between each rib. A sensing into how the space expands and contracts with a breathing body. This ever-present reminder of a certain flexibility that resides deep within. You've voked each and every breath. And maybe for you, the breath is most vivid at the tip of the nose. The sounds of air streaming into the body, exiting the body through the nostrils. Coolness, warmth. And you might even be aware of the breath somewhere else, which is fine too. So simply offering this curious, gentle awareness. An awareness with a very light touch. Attending to each and every breath. Wherever it's most vivid for you. Something with the direct sensations of breath. There might even be an awareness here of how each breath has its own life cycle. Its own beginning. It's lifespan, the way that it's expressed and held in the body. And its gradual passing. Only to return. Each breath. A new breath, a unique breath. Ever-present moment. So there are many different rusting points and places that you can set awareness on the experience of breath in the body. So just being with however it is to be breathing in this moment and letting be. And should you become aware that the attention has wandered from the breath. Perhaps meandering and so well known patterns of thinking, patterns that might include narrating, judging or critiquing. The mind moving into the future, planning, worrying, or into the past, recalling, rehashing, revisiting. So the invitation and the practice here is to simply recognize the mind has wandered. You can even note the nature of the mental distraction, worrying, planning, recalling, if that's supportive. And as best you can with this awareness of thought of distraction, gently but firmly directing attention back to the current anchor. Returning to breath, this breath, this moment. And there's no need to judge or to criticize ourselves when this happens. It's the nature of mind to wander. Instead exploring what it might be like to notice the wandering in a non-judgmental way, perhaps even with a friendly, kind disposition. Exploring this possibility of extending hospitality to yourself. And to whatever arises in your field of awareness. A rather radical gesture of befriending the mind, befriending oneself. So if it feels supportive to your practice, maybe smiling at mind and it's wandering nature. And then just inviting a return. Always coming back, turning to the focal point, in this case the breath. Present moment, always coming back. So this noticing of the wandering and this escorting the attention back to the anchor. And so doing this, we're cultivating a stability of mind and a gentle and compassionate way of relating to the self. And this might be a cultivation that can allow for greater familiarity with the impermanence and transitory nature of thought, of emotion, of even sensation. So with awareness residing with the breath, you might have a sense of the movements of breath in the body. Aspects of the body, rising, falling, expanding, contracting. Maybe other aspects of subtle movements and shifts throughout the body, this body breathing. Or perhaps you're noticing how the breath has a top and a bottom. That there are moments of stillness within the cycle of breathing. So just bringing a full care and attention to the delicacy of each passing breath. And with the same fullness of care and attention offered to the breath, shifting now to broaden the scope of awareness to encompass the whole body. Lowing yourself to experience the sitting body in its entirety. Receptive, aware, awake to the whole range of sensations as they are. Sensations that might rise for a time. Stay for a time. It might even also recede from the body. By broadening the field of awareness, you're shifting from the breath being center stage to the body in its wholeness. Aware of sensations from the crown of the head to the fingertips. All the way down to the soles of the feet. And noticing the various qualities and aspects of sensation as best you can with kindness. Is there tingling, pulsation, sensations of dryness or dampness, points of pressure or contact, maybe with the chair or the floor beneath you? Qualities of tightness or laxity in the body. Temperature, coolness, warmth, neutrality, are any sensations changing with time. And noticing any automatic reactions. Maybe desires to pull away from a sensation to reach towards a sensation. And as best you can, remaining firmly planted. Upright, unmoving, welcoming. Attensive to all that is here with openness, with curiosity. And there could also be a lack of sensation. And how are you meeting this should this be your experience. So being receptive to whatever arises or doesn't arise. To whatever your direct experiences with sensations throughout the entire body. Grasping at nothing, resisting nothing. Just simply aware of what's here. This moment. And during this practice, should you become aware of any strong sensations or emotions that arise. One suggestion might be to explore staying with the sensation. In a manner where you're moving up very closely, very intimately, to inquire into the qualities of the sensation. With kindness and with precision. So what are its exact qualities? Where is it located in the body? Does it have a shape? Perhaps exploring if it has clear edges, or blurred and changing boundaries. Maybe it holds a texture, or a color or image that's associated with it. Is there throbbing, pulsing, tingling temperature? So being with the sensation precisely, closely, if you feel this makes sense for you, and exploring. the qualities. Perhaps even there's an awareness that these qualities are changing over time. Is there more movement here within this sensation to be discovered? Fluctuation, softening over time. So offering a non-judgmental space around the sensation, as best you can, working to set aside any needs to label it good or bad, to tell ourselves the story of the sensation. And there's no need to try to change or fix the sensation, or to contract the body around it or react to it in any other way. And if there are reactions that you're aware of, that's not a failing. You can hold awareness of the sensation. We can also hold awareness of any reaction that shows up. And simply returning to the felt tones of the sensation in the body. And if it doesn't feel supportive to move in closely, this way of working with a difficult sensation or a strong sensation. You can also instead explore creating space by expanding awareness. So broadening the scope of awareness, maybe to zoom back out to encompass the whole body. So in the second option, rather than narrowing the spotlight of attention and moving close to the sensation, this option invites widening the lens, defuse lens, to rest on the whole body. And this approach can sometimes allow one to hold particularly strong sensations. And even still, you might sometimes find it maximally supportive to shift the attention off of the body entirely. So letting go of body sensations as the primary anchor. And just like the way that we can change the frequency of a radio, turning the dial to a different station, we can change the focal point of awareness to a different frequency, a non-bottling awareness. So changing for instance to sound. Or you can explore opening the eyes to receive visual stimuli. So sometimes changing to a different sensory modality can further help defuse a particularly strong or challenging sensation in the body. So if you're still holding awareness with the body, and this is supportive to your practice in this moment, just staying with the whole field of bodily sensations, attentively, compassionately, just being with and letting be. And letting go of the body, broadening the scope of awareness even further to rest with the field of sound. So allowing your awareness to simply receive sound as sound, direct hearing before the label, before any efforts to interpret sound. Just pure sound. And maybe even beginning first with noticing any sounds occurring from within the body. Perhaps there are sounds associated with breathing. Sounds emanating from an in-breath or an out-breath. Or other sounds deep within. Maybe creaking, crackling, humming, groaning, rumbling. So with full awareness, just taking in sound. And there's no need to search or to seek out sound, to lean towards or to lean away. Just allowing yourself to experience the soundscape of the body, unfolding just as it is in this moment. And perhaps widening the field of awareness to take in all sounds that might be in your environment. Sounds from within the room you're in. Maybe sounds from outside the room or outside the building or space entirely. So noticing any grasping at labels, air moving through vent, car outside, dog barking. You can notice the mind, this mental activity if it's there. And as best you can, just simply receiving sound. What are its particular qualities? It's a volume, it's pitch. Aware of the tone and the duration. Is it steady or fluctuating, changing with time? Do sounds also seem to have their own life cycle? Moving into your field of awareness. Staying a while and receding away. And letting go of sound and expanding the field of awareness to include thought and the terrain of mental occurrences. So allowing yourself here to notice thoughts as they arise. And as they drift by. If it's hopeful, you can imagine yourself sitting firmly against the earth. Head bowed upwards to the sky. And just like you would observe, all aspects of life moving across the open sky. Offering the same attention to all phenomenon of mind. Drifting through the spaciousness of sky like a mind. So much the same way that the sky can hold the entire host of birds that wish to fly across it. We too can practice observing any and all thoughts that enter into our field of awareness. With openness. With receptivity. With sky like qualities. And maybe there's even an awareness that's forming here that thoughts also have their own movement. Their own expression. Like breath. Like sensation. Like sound. Thoughts rising into your awareness. Staying for a time. And falling away. Entering the field of open sky-mind and passing through. And without any need to resist thought, to grasp at thoughts, just simply observing what thoughts are present right now in this moment. And just noticing are they thoughts, fantasies, imaginings? Are there memories or future oriented thoughts, planning thoughts, fixing thoughts, subtaining thoughts, and simply noticing without the needs or alter to judge thoughts, to push them away? So the way that one might just simply notice and observe birds taking flight across the sky, thoughts like birds that have their own place and reason and purpose, that can be welcomed in the vastness of sky of mind. So allowing whatever arises here to be held with the same gentleness, the same curiosity and friendliness of spirit, as you investigate the terrain of the mind. And if it feels difficult to stay grounded while observing the field of thought, you may find it helpful to anchor your awareness back into the breath or shift attention to a different anchor that offers stability. Returning to the mind as the object of awareness, returning to thoughts whenever you're ready, and resuming this practice of mindfulness of mind. So using this option of pendulation anytime, observing thoughts and shifting to the breath or another supportive anchor that recenters and regrounds. And like a pendulum, returning back, swinging back to observe thought and mind whenever you're ready, following your own wisdom, and practicing tending to yourself and any needs that arise. And with this awareness of mind, you may notice that thoughts can introduce certain emotions as well. And you can simply notice any emotions as they enter into this broad, expansive field of awareness. Can explore their qualities. Perhaps there's a place in the body where a particular emotion is felt. Perhaps it has a shape, edges, a color. So noticing with care, with precision, offering gentleness to the body, heart, mind, as best you can and letting go. Observing and letting be knowing that you can return to the breath or a different stabilizing anchor at any point. And letting go of mental activity of thoughts as the focal point and broadening out awareness even further. This practice is sometimes called open awareness or choiceless awareness. And it's a practice without any particular anchor or focal points of attention. So it entails widening out awareness in the broadest and most expansive form that is accessible to you. Where the invitation is to hold and cradle all things that arise in this moment of life and to notice each and every time when something pulls your attention. So resting here with awareness itself. A broad, receptive, expansive awareness as the container that holds the entire domain of phenomena that can be accessed and known and experienced. And simply being aware of what pulls the attention. Where does it drift to? To sensations in the body? To a sound? Being pulled to the terrain of thoughts, to an emotion or other mental activity. So within the spaciousness of choiceless awareness, instead of using a focal point to subtle attention, we simply allow ourselves in this moment our lives to be exactly as they are. So alive, alert, noticing all the different senses and sensations that draw our attention. And you may notice from this practice over time the qualities of flexibility and expansiveness within awareness. And this practice can sometimes invite us to stay fully present with the heart. So hold heartfulness, heart centeredness as a primary posture. A way of regarding whatever we discover in this practice of choiceless awareness. Where we might be discovering what draws the attention, what pulls our focus. So staying curious, offering care. And knowing that you can always return to the breath as needed. To another focal point, that's stabilizing. And drawing your awareness back very directly to the experience of breath. Looking for a full awareness of breathing. Moment by moment. Attention is engaged, present moment. Research is awake, open and receptive to all that is here. Just breathing and letting be. Letting this be enough. Feeling yourself be enough. And as this practice draws to a natural close. Perhaps pausing here to recognize that you have offered a form of self-compassion, a kindness, a nourishment, so the body, the mind, the heart. by simply allowing each moment to be exactly as it is, and allowing yourself to be exactly as you are. And maybe even noticing for a moment, if there are any inner intentions that are alive for you in this moment, intention perhaps about ways of continuing to care for yourself throughout your day-to-day experiences, or maybe any intentions for continuing to make the time to practice on a regular basis. Just noticing any intentions of the heart, listening and receiving. Soon the bell will sound, drawing this practice to a close, and in receiving the sound, may you also receive the benefits of this practice, and a solidified awareness that the breath and the body are always available, are ever present in offering their support, in anchoring the mind, and in studying us through times of difficult or unpleasant experience. [Bell ringing]