Joaquin Vasco

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Drew

Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Stabilize your focus and cultivate curiosity by anchoring your attention to the sensations of your breath.

Secular

Performance

Secular Mindfulness

Focus

English

12 Minute, guided attentional focus meditation with light background music. Great for strengthening our capacity to center our attention, focus and concentration. This guidance uses the breath as the focus and anchor. 

Focused Attention Meditation (Breath) 12 Minutes

 So settling into this space, finding a comfortable position, resting your hands wherever it feels appropriate. And if you'd like to go ahead and close your eyes. If it feels uncomfortable to close the eyes, just pick something in front of you to rest your gaze upon that won't be distracting. And in working with focus and attention, we're going to direct our focus at our breath, doing the best we can to stabilize our focus, using the breath as not just a target, but the place to return to when our attention undoubtedly will wander, be pulled away. So as we pay attention to the breath, it helps to bring a heightened sense of curiosity, interest, investigation, to the experience of breathing, to just know that we're breathing in general can be hard to stay focused on. This phrase, childlike curiosity is so often brought up when we talk about being more mindful, being more present. So let's bring some of that to this breath. Starting with the very beginning of the breath, noticing where does the breath begin? When does the breath begin? How do we know that the breath has started? Is it a movement? Is it a feeling sensation? How is it that we actually know? Now bringing our attention to the way that we feel and experience the breath in the body, paying particular attention to the sensations of breathing? Where is it that we feel the breath? What moves and shifts? What rises and expands? What falls or contracts? Is it the same with every breath? Now the transition movement from inhale to exhale? How does this occur for you? How does that occur for this breath? Smooth and slow, sharp and sudden. Or maybe there's even a pause, a space in between. Staying for just a few breaths with just this space, the transition, holding your focus right there. And moving with the breath through the exhale. Noticing now where the breath leaves the body. Where does this happen? How does this feel? And how about the exact moment that it ends? And how do we know this? Inherently, we know it, but how do we know it? And now following each breath in its entirety, from the start, down into the body, through the transition, and the exhale, and then starting over again. With each new breath, noticing time and time again as our attention and our focus is pulled elsewhere. As it drifts into thoughts, memories, sounds, physical sensations, in these moments without any judgment. Easing that focus, back to our anchor, back to this breath, this act of constantly bringing our attention back to where we want it to be, when we want it to be there, and working at being able to hold it there for longer periods of time. And this will continue to happen. It's what our mind does. So there's no reason to be upset about it or to judge of whether we're doing a good job or a bad job. Because the most important moments are the moments that we recognize that our attention is not where we would like it to be. And then making the choice to come back. Now just taking a couple deep breaths, taking a deep full inhale through the nostrils, pushing that breath down into the belly, expanding to make your belly as big as possible, holding, pausing, and then slowly exhaling. Deep breath through the nostrils, filling the belly, hold, and then exhale. And as you're ready, fully reconnecting with the space that you're in, reconnecting with your day.