Mindfulness Meditation

Purpose: Reduces stress Decreases anxiety Increases self awareness Increases ability to access inner wisdom Caution and Contraindications: May provoke strong emotions Meditation Script: Allow yourself to find a comfortable position, with your head, neck and spine aligned, with your arms and legs in a position that feels just right for you. When you feel comfortable, let your eyes close. Lets allow this to become a time in which we let go of our usual way of operatingthat of constant doing and lets allow this to become a time of just beingof allowing ourselves to beand becoming aware of feelings that arise as we become still inside And so as you allow your body and your mind to become still and quiet, bringing your attention to the fact that you are breathingand becoming aware of the movement of the breath as it enters your body, and as it leaves your bodynot manipulating your breathing in any way right now, not trying to change itsimply being aware of it and the feelings associated with breathingAnd if you feel comfortable with it, as you continue to notice your inhalation and your exhalation, noticing your breath flowing deep down into your bellyfeeling the abdominal wall as it expands with each inhalation, and as it relaxes into the spine with each exhalation Simply being totally here in each moment, with each breathnot trying to do anything.not trying to get any placesimply being present with each breath you take(allow 2 minutes of silence) Giving full care and full attention to each in-breath and to each out-breath as they flow, one after the other, in a never-ending, life-giving cycle(allow 2 minutes of silence)

As you may have noticed, from time to time, your mind may wander off into thought of the past, fantasies, anticipations of the future, worrying, memories, whateverbut as soon as you become aware that your attention is no longer hereno longer focused on your breathingwithout giving yourself a hard timesimply escorting your attention, your focus back to your breathingand picking up wherever that happens to beon an in-breath or an out-breathbecoming once again fully conscious of the duration of each inhalation, and the duration of each exhalation, from moment to moment(allow 2 minutes of silence) And in the practice of meditation, using the awareness of your breathing and using your breath as an anchor to bring you back to the present moment, and to refocus your attention on your breathing, whenever you notice that your mind is becoming absorbed, preoccupied, or restlesssimply remembering that every time you notice that your mind has wandered off the breathto just be aware of it as soon as you can beand gently bringing it back to your bellyback to the presentback to the moment by moment observing the flow of your breathing(allowing 2 minutes of silence) And now as this meditation comes to an end, recognizing that you have spent this time intentionally nourishing yourselfby dwelling in this state of nondoingin this state of beingmaking time for yourself to be who you are and to feel what you feel And now slowly and gently allowing yourself to come back into the room, perhaps moving your fingers and toes, feeling your body in the chair, and when you are ready, at your own pace, allowing your eyes to open feeling calm and relaxed, yet alert and awake.

Reference: Center for Mind-Body Medicine (2003). MindBodySpirit Medicine: The Professional Training Program. Minneapolis, MN, October, 2003.