Mindfulness Meditations
Introduction:
Mindfulness Meditation is the act of purposefully paying non-judgmental attention to the present moment.
Mindfulness both focuses the mind and increases our chances of catching ourselves when distracted by thoughts, emotions, and sensations.
Daily mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety, improve performance, reduce addiction, and lead to all kinds of health benefits.
Description Track #1: Mindfulness Meditation
This session guides you through a basic mindfulness meditation practice. You’ll adopt a comfortable meditation posture, choose an anchor (the breath at the nose), and rest your attention there. When you notice your mind has wandered, gently and lovingly return it to your anchor. Repeat daily.
Description Track #2: A Mindful Minute
This short guided session is a mindfulness top-up. It encourages you to slow the breath and focus on the sensations at the nose. When you notice you’ve become lost in thought, gently return your attention to the sensations at the nose. Calm background music plays throughout.
Description Track #3: Present State Awareness
Present state awareness, also known as the 5-4-3-2-1 practice, is a simple form of mindfulness that guides you to focus on what your senses are noticing right now: what you can feel, see, hear, smell, and taste. Instead of one fixed anchor, your attention moves from sense to sense, returning you to the present moment.
Description Track #5: What Mindfulness Meditation Isn't
This short talk clears up common misconceptions about mindfulness meditation. It explains that the goal isn’t to empty the mind, but to train attention. You practice noticing where the mind has gone, again and again, and gently returning it to the breath. Calm background music plays throughout.
Goal:
To build awareness of the nature of the mind and train focus.
Summary:
Sit in a comfortable meditation posture
Use the breath at the nose as your anchor (point of focus)
Notice the sensations of breathing (air moving in and out)
When you notice the mind has wandered, gently return to the breath
Repeat for the length of the session, then practice daily
Progression:
Addition: Posture
Sit upright in chair or on floor. Relax shoulders, soften face. Choose position that feels sustainable, not forced. One that is pain free.Addition: Labeling
When you notice you’ve drifted, silently label it, “thinking,” “planning,” “remembering,” “hearing,” “feeling”, then return to the breath. If you cannot name a specific thing, label it as “cloud”.Addition: Counting
When breathing in, silently repeat “in”. When breathing out, silently repeat “out”. Alternatively, count with each breath up to ten, then begin again at zero. This process can increase focus.Addition: Mantra
Similar to the counting above you can add a mantra that is pegged to the breath, said internally. Eg: “Ham Sa” or “Love/Trust” or any other word or phrase of your choosing. This process can increase focus.
Listen next:
Explore more foundational healing practices (or via iTunes, Spotify, & Amazon). You can also find 100’s more tracks, talks, and full courses on the Insight Timer app, and in The Art Of Self-Connection community.
Book a session:
This session was just an introduction to the practice. If you would like to go deeper I also offer 1:1 sessions.
