Gil Fronsdal of the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) guides this anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) practice on the rhythm of the breath and the way it changes.
If you take a long exhale, something special happens at the end of it- stillness.
As you let your breath return to normal. There is with your breathing a rhythm. Some people like to think of it as a cyclic rhythm- breathing in and breathing out. See if you can tune in to that rhythm. How it is for you. Whatever it is. Simply tune in to breathing.
It’s a wonderful phenomena of change- impermanence. Breathing like you’re riding a wave. Catching the up-swells, being lifted up with the in-breath. Settling down on the backside of the wave on the exhale.
And as you inhale, see if you can let go of any thoughts that you have. Like a wind that blows the thoughts away. See if the mind can become brighter and clearer. In a gentle way, a little bit that energize the mind.
And in the exhale, relax the body, relax the shoulders, and relaxing the body as you exhale.
More from: Gil Fronsdal
