Mindfulness meditation can be a powerful form of self-care and personal development. I practice mindfulness when I’m feeling disconnected, lost, or uncertain. If you’re tired of feeling this way too, then you have the motivation to try this 10 minute guided mindfulness meditation to experience inner peace.
Another name for Mindfulness meditation is Insight or Vipassana meditation. Vipassana translates as “to see clearly” or “to see in a special way”. It allows us to see the root of our distractions and preoccupations of the mind. We develop clear, nonjudgemental awareness of our experiences that allow us to let our lives unfold with keen interest. With practice, we can tap into longer periods of peace and joy as we learn to live more on the inside.
As I write this, we’re gearing up to experience the peak of COVID-19 cases here in California. Many people are starting to lose their cool with our shelter-in-place mandate. This is the perfect time to bring this practice into the community since it will help much more than our fear-based media, equally frazzled friends, and judgemental neighbors.
I always say that in times of conflict it’s wise to look to the wisdom of our peacekeepers to teach us how to find happiness, even when the world feels like it’s falling apart. I hope to be this kind of leader for my community. This is a sincere offering from my heart and the best way I can help you from a distance.
Guided Meditation: Mindfulness of Breathing Instruction
Prepare to Meditate with these Helpful Tips
If this is your first time meditating, it’s important to remember these helpful tips
- The conditions for meditation are never going to be perfect. There will still be noises in your house, you may never experience a crystal clear mind, and maybe you’ll feel sick or uncomfortable in your body sometimes. Try not to use any of these as an excuse to not do your practice! In fact, when you’re feeling the worst, you’ll need meditation the most.
- Distractions are part of the experience of meditation. You’ll be constantly coming back to the anchor of your breathing whenever you get distracted with thoughts, feelings, or sensations. These are all part of the meditation, so please be patient with yourself. With time, you’ll experience longer periods of focus.
- The meditation is working even when you don’t think it’s working! Trust the process. Just like a cloud moving through the sky, sometimes it’s not that obvious, but it is happening, there is movement. Your family members may notice the changes in you the most (and like what they see!), which is another reason to commit to a meditation practice.
Meditation Instruction: Using the Breath as an Anchor
You can do this practice on your own, or watch the video above to follow along with my meditation instruction.
Come to sit in a comfortable position on a cushion or chair. Stay upright in your body so you can remain as alert as possible (also caring for your back with strong core muscles).
Close your eyes and take several slow, deep, even breaths to bring the mind into the body. Place your awareness on an area of the body where the breath is obvious, such as the nostrils, the chest, or the belly.
Watch each breath with interest from the very first sip of the inhalation to the very last puff of exhalation. To help you focus on the breath, you can name each part of the breath: inhale/exhale, rise/fall, in/out, or any other label that describes your experience of breathing.
Also this experience to deepen. As you’re connecting with your breath, your’e connecting intimately to your life force. Realize that without the breath, we would not exist. Realize that we have a limited amount of breaths. We can experience pleasure in our lives with each breath instead of choosing to remenisce about the past or fantacize about the future.
Still, try not to feel bad and judge yourself harshly when you become distracted as we all inevitably do. Simply return your awareness to the breath, recommitting to your intention to live fully in the moment.
It’s good to commit to 10 minutes of a seating mindfulness practice. If you notice a hesitancy to come back, then you’re ready to extend the practice out for longer time. See if you can meditate every day and journal about your experience. I promise you, it will be life changing!
How did this guided mindfulness meditation work out for you? Let me know in the comments below! If you’re eager to try another aspect of mindfulness meditation, join me next week for learning how to practice mindfulness of the body.
Wishing you health and happiness, always…
When you’re ready, try the next meditation in our series Mindfulness of the Body.
