Morning Guided Meditation for Beginners

If you've never meditated before, good.

You're in the right place.

I'll explain each step as we go, so you won't have to guess.

Here's the whole idea, in one line.

We're going to rest our attention on the breath, and gently bring it back

when it wanders.

That's really it.

First, how to sit.

There's no special way.

A chair or the edge of your bed works well.

You can even lie down, though first thing in the morning you might drift

back to sleep.

If you're sitting, let your feet rest on the floor and your hands rest

in your lap.

Try to sit fairly upright, but comfortable matters more than perfect.

Now close your eyes.

If that feels strange, you can keep them open and just look softly at

the floor a way little in front of you.

Let's take a couple of slower breaths to begin.

This just helps your body know we're changing gears.

Breathe in through your nose...

And out through your mouth.

One more.

In...

And out.

Now let the breath go back to normal.

You don't need to control it anymore.

Just let it do what it does.

Here's the main thing we'll practice.

Just notice the air coming in...

and the air going out.

You might feel it at the tip of your nose, a little cool on

the way in.

Or you might notice your belly or chest rising and falling.

Pick whichever spot is easiest to Once feel.

you've chosen a spot, try to stay with that one for this It morning.

gives your mind one simple place to land each time it comes back.

You don't need to breathe any particular way.

You're just watching, the way you'd watch waves come in at the beach.

Some will breaths be long, some short.

Let them be whatever they are.

Now, something important.

Your mind is going to wander.

Probably very soon.

Maybe it already has.

You'll suddenly realize you're thinking about breakfast, or something someone said yesterday.

That happens to everyone, even people who've meditated for years.

Minds are just built that way.

The moment you notice you've drifted off...

that moment is the practice.

You just gently come back to the breath.

No need to be annoyed with yourself.

Coming back, over and over, is the whole exercise.

Like a bicep curl for your attention.

A small trick that helps.

When you notice a thought, you can quietly label it, just with one word.

Thinking.

Then go back to the breath.

You don't have to follow the thought anywhere.

And if you get an itch, or your foot tingles, that's normal too.

You can scratch it or shift a little.

Just move slowly,

then come back.

Okay.

Let's try it for a little while now.

I'll be quiet, and just check in now and then.

Air coming in.

Air going out.

If you've wandered, that's fine.

Come Air back.

in...

air out.

Still here?

Or Good.

maybe you just came back from somewhere far away.

Either that's way,

exactly Every right.

return counts.

Just keep resting with the breath.

Nothing else to do.

Nobody's asking you to empty your mind here.

Just keep it company for a bit.

Let's start to come back.

Take one fuller breath in...

And let it go.

Wiggle your fingers and toes.

Maybe stretch your arms a little.

Open your eyes when you're ready.

That's it.

You just meditated.

It might not have felt like much, and that's normal too.

It builds slowly, the way most good habits do.

If you can, come back tomorrow at about the same time.

Same seat, same six minutes.

I'll be here.