Tara Brach - Ten-Minute Basic Meditation Practice

Episode Date: October 4, 2018

Ten-Minute Basic Meditation Practice - Tara offers a short introductory meditation with a body scan, bringing focus to the breath, sounds, then resting in awareness ~ from the first morning instructions at the 2015 IMCW fall retreat. (a favorite from the archives) Your support enables us to continue to offer these talks and meditations freely. If you value them, I hope you will consider offering a donation at this time at www.tarabrach.com/donation/. With gratitude and love, Tara

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. It's part of collecting and settling the attention. You might extend the in-breath, take a nice full in-breath, and then a very slow-out breath, feeling the sensations of the breath as you exhale, relaxing outward, letting go.

And then again, an extended, nice full in-breath, slow out breath, feeling the sensations with the exhale, releasing, letting go. Once more, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly, relaxing outward, letting go, letting go. And just letting the breath resume in its natural rhythm. very receptive, noticing the quality of the breath and the quality of your presence, the sense of heerness being right here.

You might take some moments to gently scan through the body. Just notice if there's areas of habitual contraction, tensing, places that might want to soften a bit, release. It's helpful to check and sense the region of the brow, smooth. the brow, softening the eyes, unhinging the jaw. You might sense a slight smile at the mouth, perhaps letting the shoulders fall away from the neck a bit, feeling the awareness inside the shoulders. Just noticing if there's a natural way of letting whatever's there kind of float in awareness,

loosen, soften. Let the hands be soft. You might sense an open. openness at the chest, loosening down in the belly, let the belly be soft. And feel this living body from the inside out, this breathing body, again sensing the quality of presence that comes with being right here, awake, embodied. Let your practice be very simple. Just noticing when the mind's drifted off and gently arriving again right here. relaxing back, sensing the aliveness of sensation. For many, choosing to rest with the movement of the breath, the sensations of the breath, just to know that you're here, right here.