A Beginning Practice
Variety:
Awareness of your body is an important aspect of mindfulness, in fact, some respected instructors prefer to speak of "bodyfulness." You're encouraged to supplement your meditation practice with either the body scan described above, or with a moving meditation exemplified in many yoga practices. While a helpful and healthy exercise, remember this is a mindful practice, not a workout. Pay attention to what's going on in you body while following the standing or lying down practice provided here:
Livia Walsh Mindful Movement Standing Postures mp3
Lois Howland Mindful Movement Lying Down Postures mp3
Mindful Movement:
Beginning with concentration on the breath, variably focusing your attention on different elements of your environment and then spending some time on an "open" or "choiceless" awareness, the following guided meditation represents a typical meditation for continuing your mindful practice. Remember to sprinkle in some variety of "body awareness" practice as you're able:
Lois Howland 45 minute Sitting Meditation mp3
Sitting Breath Meditation:
As a first step towards beginning a practice, we recommend a brief body scan.
Allan Goldstein 20 Minute Body Scan mp3
As a supplement to the Allan Goldstein body scan audio, you may be interested in this pdf file introducing the body scan meditation:
The Body Scan Meditation pdf file
or this page from Poulouse Mindfulness that provides an alternate body scan and addresses some common concerns beginners may have:
Palouse Mindfulness 32 minute body scan
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Open awareness:
These exercises provided by The University of California at San Diego Center for Mindfulness
The Body Scan:
Support Educators and Students Here
While the guided meditations provided above are sufficient for any basic practice, you may respond differently to a different voice or pace. Perhaps there will be a particular phrasing that makes an intention clearer or addresses some difficulty you may be having. Or, maybe your favorite guided meditation is growing stale and you need a little novelty to encourage your "beginners mind." please visit our "Resources" page for additional guided meditations, recommended reading and other material you may find useful in cultivating your practice.
An important and fundamental element of mindfulness is concentration. A brief meditation focusing on the breath is a time honored practice to hone concentration. While simple in principle, this can prove difficult in practice. Remember, every time you recognize your attention has strayed from your breath, you are practicing mindfulness. As you practice this sitting meditation, try to supplement it with a "Body Awareness" practice - either a body scan or some mindful yoga (below.)