20 Minute Guided Meditation with Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD

To begin the regular practice of meditation, of looking into ourselves, let's arrange to spend this time on a regular basis, in a place where we can comfortably still the body, and at a time when we will not be interrupted. Allowing this to be a time in which we set aside the usual mode in which we operate, that of more or less constant doing, and switch to a mode of non-doing, a mode of simply being, of allowing ourselves to be, of becoming aware of our being, and coming to sit in an erect and dignified posture, either on a straight back chair, or on the floor on a cushion, and as we allow the body to become still, just bringing our attention to the fact that we're breathing, and becoming aware of the movement of the breath as it comes into your body, and as it leaves your body, not manipulating the breathing in any way, trying to change it, simply being aware of it, and of the feelings associated with breathing, and if you feel comfortable with it, observing your breathing deep down in your belly, feeling the abdominal wall as it expands gently on the in-breath, as it falls back towards your spine on the out-breath, and simply being totally here in each moment, with each breath, not trying to do anything, not trying to get any place, simply being with your breathing, just giving full care and your full attention to each in-breath, and to each out-breath, as they follow one after the other, in a never-ending cycle and flow. Now, of course, you will find that from time to time, your mind will wander off into thoughts, fantasies, anticipations of the future, worrying, thoughts of the past, memories, whatever, but when you notice that your attention is no longer here, no longer really on your breathing, and without giving yourself a hard time, just intentionally escorting your focus, your attention back to the breathing, and picking up wherever it happens to be, on an in-breath or on an out-breath, and just observing, moving up close to your breathing, and keeping the attention here as if you were riding the waves of your breathing, fully conscious of the duration of the in-breath, and the duration of the out-breath, from moment to moment, and every time you find that your mind has wandered off the breath, to just be aware of it as soon as you can be, and gently bringing it back to your belly, and back to the present, back to the moment-to-moment observing of the flow of your breathing. And in the practice of your meditation, using the awareness of your breathing, and using your breath as an anchor to refocus your attention, to bring you back into the present, whenever you notice that the mind is moving out of the present, or becoming unbalanced, or absorbed, or preoccupied, or reactive, the breath can function as an anchor to keep you in the present, and to help you tune to this state of relaxed awareness and stillness, which is itself a profound state of balance. Now, as you observe your breathing, you may be finding that from time to time, sensations from your body come into the field of your awareness. Some discomfort or agitation, which may be quite intense from time to time. And as you maintain the awareness of your breathing, see if it is possible now to just expand the field of your awareness around your breathing, so that it includes a sense of your body as a whole as you sit here, and feeling your breath, if you will, from head to toe, as you become aware of all of the sensations in your body. The sensation in particular of touch, of contact with the chair or with the floor, contact made by the feet, by the buttocks and the legs, as you sit in a straight posture with the back erect and the head balanced and dignified. So that now we are allowing the observation to include not only the flow of breathing, but a sense of your body as a whole, with whatever feelings and sensations come up in any moment. And being here with whatever does come up, without judging it, without reacting to it, just being fully here, fully aware, totally present with whatever your feelings are, and with your breath, and a sense of your body as a complete dignified whole. And again, whenever you notice that your mind may have wandered off, just bringing it back to your breathing, and to a sense of your body as you sit here. Not going anywhere, not doing anything, just simply being, simply sitting. Of course, and it happens with all of us, there may be times when the sensations in one part of your body really become overwhelming, and dominate the field of your awareness, to the point where it becomes very difficult to stay focused and concentrated. And if this happens, you have two alternatives. One is to mindfully shift to a more comfortable position, to relieve some of the intensity. And if you choose to move, to just be aware of the intention to do it before you actually move. But another way to work with this intensity is to try to simply stay here with it, without moving, and restricting the attention in these periods of intensity, and just zeroing right in on that region of the body that's experiencing it. Putting the mind right there in the knee, or in the small of your back, or wherever it may be, and just going right into the sensation in each moment, and breathing into it, and breathing out with it, and totally experiencing what your body is saying to you right now, right here. And responding to it by opening and softening, rather than tensing and bracing and resisting, so that even within the intensity, you may find stillness and acceptance. And even if this is difficult, simply being aware of your reactions, observing them as well as the sensations. And when the intensity subsides, just reestablishing your awareness at the level of your body as a whole, and of the breath as it moves in and out of your body. Coming back to a sense of the fullness of each in-breath, and the fullness of each out-breath.