I think of mindfulness as exercising our attention muscles. Just as it is important to exercise our body's muscles and our thinking and learning muscles, so too is it important to exercise our attention muscles. Attention in this context relates to more internal attention but not entirely exclusively.
Attention to What?
How many times have I experienced the immediate response of fear or anger or annoyance from some seemingly innocent occurrence? I get an on-rush of panic and fear in a surprise social situation. I feel my ears flush hot with embarrassment or nerves in that social setting. I lash out in the car during the oft-cited traffic cut-off situation. I feel the slow build of annoyance when a meeting drags on or that one person in a meeting just can't be quiet long enough to let some else jump in. On and on, we get these instant reactions so many situations.
Mindfulness then is practice for realizing when these things flare up within you. It gives you that split second (and eventually a little longer) of awareness to know what's coming up and to be able to choose your response (versus your reaction) from hopefully a healthier and more beneficial frame of mind.
Mindfulness also helps in becoming aware of your body's functioning. Am I feeling all knotted up somewhere in my body? My butterflies are all fluttering around, what is that about? Am I feeling stressed in general and just need a little break? This is what mindfulness offers us every moment, every day!
How to Start?
Since a lot of mindfulness starts with the body, let's start our practice there as well. I have offered mindfulness meditation sessions at work over the last few years and I always start with this basic body scan meditation. It is both relaxing in the moment and it begins exercising those attention muscles to build a more general mindfulness for every day life. This is not exactly original. Many versions of this meditation are floating around out there and I have cobbled together many pieces from those versions and added my own spin on it.
Body Scan Exercise
I start with the following introduction:
We will begin with following the breath and then begin to scan our bodies for stress. I will lead us through each step. As we continue, thoughts, feelings, sensations, songs, memories, and other things may pop up and take you away from my voice or your concentration. This is normal and expected. When you realize you have been led away by one of these thoughts, just gently and without judgment bring yourself back to you breath and body scan. This may happen near constantly, especially for beginners. As you continue to practice, this will get better. But some days you just don't have it in you to concentrate for more than 2 seconds at a time. This is all ok. Simply and gently bring yourself back whenever you notice. Let's begin:
Get comfortable in your chair or cushion
Sit up straight and forward slightly (if in a chair) and rock back and forth until you find that place of balance and support on your spine and buttocks
Do the same with your head and neck - find the balance point with your spine
Place your hands in your lap or on your thighs; whatever is comfortable for you
Close your eyes or let your gaze soften a few feet in front of you
Take a few deep breaths - as many as needed until you start to relax and slow down
Let your breath fall to its natural rhythm - don't try to force it long or short, just breathe normally
Breathe more from your belly rather than chest as much as possible - expand and contract your belly versus raising and lowering your chest
As your breath fall to its natural rhythm begin to follow your breath in some way - count 1-10, say to yourself In/Out on each inhale and exhale, say a short phrase on each inhale or exhale, anything
When you are following your breath comfortably, begin a body scan:
Start with your toes - draw your attention there and notice any tension or soreness, scrunch up your toes or spread them out, keep tensing your toes for one inhale, hold for a second or two, and release and exhale.
Work your way up your leg to your calves and do the same. Then on to your thighs, buttocks, stomach/lower back, over to your hands/fingers, then arms, then chest, Move on to your neck and shoulders, finally up to your face, jaw, mouth
Repeat this as long as desired - attention, notice, tense, and release. Return to especially tense or sore areas
At any point you realize you have followed a thought or feeling, just bring yourself back to following your breath or working with the last body part before you realized you were distracted
When you are done, return to follow your breath for a few moments and then another 2-3 deep breaths to end your meditation time and bring you back to the time and place from which you began
Keep At It!
That's it - that's a basic mindfulness meditation! I hope after that you will feel relaxed in body and renewed in spirit for whatever comes next. As you continue with this and other mindfulness and meditation exercises, you will begin to see your distractions decrease, your body relax, your mind become clearer and more focused, and eventually better able to pay attention when something troubles you, or elates you, or anything in between.
I will offer other meditations and mindfulness exercises here as we go along. Feel free to share your experiences and other favorite meditations in the comments. As usual, contact me at rmoore@pilgrimageministry.com or www.pilgrimageministry.com for questions, concerns, or set up some time to chat. Blessings and mindfulness to all!
Comments