Mindfulness On the Go by Anna Black

Author:Anna Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small
Published: 2017-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

CORE PRACTICES

The four core meditation practices given here—Watching the Breath, Breath and Body, Opening to Sounds, and Walking Practice—can be done formally or informally.

WATCHING THE BREATH

Following the breath is a core mindfulness practice. The accessibility of the breath means we can turn to it at any time and, because it is a moving target, it offers some traction for our attention and we have to work that bit harder to follow it.

The characteristics of the breath—fast, slow, shallow, or deep—are influenced by our state of mind, so being familiar with our breath and when and how it changes is really useful feedback.

Watching the Breath can be done as a formal meditation practice or more informally when you are out and about.

The Practice

Take your seat (see page 46).

If you are doing this practice informally, you may be standing or sitting in a public location. When this is the case, taking your seat is about coming to a place of balance in the body (both feet flat on the floor, for example).

Turn your attention to the body and specifically the breath. Where are you feeling the breath most strongly?

It may be the chest, belly, or around the nostrils or upper lip, but the location itself is immaterial (and it may be different each time). Simply identify the place and make an intention that this is where you are going to place your attention for the duration of the practice.

Begin following the length of each in-breath, noticing the pause where an in-breath turns into an out-breath, and then again into an in-breath. What are you feeling physically? How does an in-breath feel compared to an out-breath? What differences or similarities do you notice?

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