Listen now
How often do we pause, not merely to acknowledge the breath, but to intently set our focus upon it with a caring and curious mind? The breath is perhaps the most consistent process and presence in our lives, and yet so often goes unnoticed.
In this guided meditation with Sean Fargo, we’re invited to answer the open-ended question, ‘How does this one breath feel, right now?’ As we explore, we set the foundation for a more stable yet spacious mind. A mind that is available for ever deepening layers of insight.
Please listen in a safe, quiet place where you can be relatively free from distraction. Find a posture that balances comfort with alertness, whether standing, seated, or lying down. May this meditation be of benefit to you in your mindfulness journey.
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The breath is always with us, ever-present as an anchor for our distracted, wandering mind. By placing our attention on the breath, we settle both mind and body, making space for our true nature to arise.
In this guided meditation, we use mindfulness of the breath as a means of grounding and settling into the practice and also as the intention of the meditation itself. With caring curiosity, we explore how the breath feels in each and every moment.
In meditation, it’s common to become most aware of the breath as it passes in and out of the nose, as it moves through the chest and belly, or as a whole body sensation. We might ask ourselves if the breath is short or long, shallow or deep, or if it is steady and balanced.
The goal is not to breathe in any particular way, but to notice how we are breathing in this one moment. As we sit and pay attention, we may also observe changes to the breath, or an increasing depth regarding what it is that we notice.
In lieu of simply trying not to judge the breath, the instruction to apply caring curiosity gives us an indication of how we might place our attention. To focus on the breath with curiosity is to observe without interfering, to notice without needing to fix.
By continuously asking, ‘How does this breath feel?’ we practice staying in this space of curiosity. With a curious, open state of mind, we deepen our mindfulness of this present moment. With practice, we build the capacity to offer this same non-judgmental awareness to the whole body, ourselves, and everyone everywhere.
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About Sean Fargo:
Sean Fargo is a former Buddhist monk and the founder of Mindfulness Exercises. The online platform, which has shared free and premium mindfulness resources with over 3 million people worldwide, has now certified over 500 Mindfulness Teachers.
Sean is the lead instructor for the teacher training program, a unique self-paced approach which invites world-renowned mindfulness teachers to share their insights and experiences. Sean has taught mindfulness and meditation for corporations including Facebook, Google and Tesla and for health and government organizations, prisons and hospitals around the world.
