Mindfulness of the body is one of the four foundations of mindfulness –mindfulness of body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of the mind and mindfulness of the mental formation.
…mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Satipatthana Sutta
The first step of instruction related to mindfulness of the body is mindfulness of breathing. Begin by choosing an environment that allows you to focus your attention. Sitting comfortably or lying down, turn the attention toward the breath, being aware of the coming and going of the breath in and out of the body. Notice the rise of the chest and belly with the inhale and fall of the chest and belly with the exhale.
When the attention wanders, bring it back to the breath.
The second step of the mindfulness of body breathing practice includes being aware of the length of the breath as “long” or “short.”
The third step of mindfulness of breathing practice instruction is to breathe with experiencing the whole body, broadening the awareness to include how breathing effects the entire body.
The fourth step is the calming of the bodily formation, which has been interpreted as calming of the in and out breathing. In establishing bodily calmness, awareness is able to move toward additional aspects of contemplation, including the next practices in mindfulness of the body as well as mindfulness of feelings and the mind.
If mindfulness of breathing makes you feel too anxious, start with mindfulness of sound. Rest the awareness of sounds in the room, noticing the coming and going of some sounds and the steadiness of other sounds. Expand the awareness to include sounds outside of the room, once again noticing the coming and going os some sounds and the steadiness of other sounds. When the attention wanders, as soon as you notice it, bring the attention back to sounds inside and outside of the room.
If sitting still makes you feel too anxious, start with mindfulness of the body in with gentle movement, like stretching, gentle yoga, or walking slowly. As you move slowly, notice the movements and sensations in the body that happen with movement. Notice sensations in the body as it changes position. When the attention wanders, bring it back to movements and sensations in the body.
If you’d like to learn more about mindfulness practice, consider my Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) e-course.
Warmly,
Jen