Mindful Breathing Meditation Instructions
- Get as comfortable as possible.
- Close your eyes. Be aware that this is your time to relax. Start concentrating on deepening your breathing.
- Breathe calmly and naturally. Concentrate your attention on the coming and going of the breathes.
- Notice the sensation created by the passage o air through your nostrils.
- Notice where exactly the sensation is focused. Is it in your nostrils or further inside your sinuses?
- Notice the moment when breathing is suspended, the natural pause after breathing out, before you breathe in.
- Notice the point at which you feel the breath passing.
- Notice the moment between breathing in, when you pause, full of breath, before breathing out again.
- Stay concentrated in the same way during the next cycle of breathing, breathe after breathe.
- Think about a cloud of dust, then rain washing that cloud away, then the rain clearing to leave a clear blue sky.
- Let any agitation and confusion be like the dust, washed away by the rain of your breathing, leaving calmness and relaxation.
- Let your breathing choose it's own rhythm, do not force the speed or pace, just let the natural rhythm occur.
- If thoughts or sensations distract you, do not tense or feel bad about this. Let them pass through your mind, like birds through the sky, leaving no trace behind them.
- Just enjoy the state of calmness for as long as you wish, noticing thoughts, but letting them pass without resistance or tension. Simply being mindful.
After returning, make sure you relax a while longer before you return to normal activity.
