Give yourself the gift of generous attention

Enjoy your breath. Notice when you’re breathing in, and observe when you’re breathing out.

Guess what? You’re practicing mindfulness or meditation. When you give yourself the gift of your generous attention, you’re meditating. Every time you step out of autopilot and reconnect yourself to the present moment, you’re meditating.

What is meditation?

Meditation is simply an activity that holds your attention and/or expands your consciousness. You might experience this mindfulness while hiking a mountain, playing with your kids, sweeping the kitchen, or making dinner. A regular meditation practice allows you to let go of unnecessary effort, tension, and resistance. It allows you to feel at ease and drop into the flow of life.

How long do I need to meditate?

Meditation, in any form, brings our focus to the present moment and promotes a body-mind connection that’s calm, clear, and at ease. Studies show that you can unlock the benefits of meditation — such as clearer purpose, pleasure, and life satisfaction — with as little as two minutes of daily meditation.

Getting started

A body scan meditation is a great way to start your meditation practice. Through this type of meditation, you’ll have the chance to check in with your entire body, notice sensations without judgement, and create greater self-awareness.

During the body scan, be sure to give yourself the gift of extra breaths and time to settle into your newfound awareness and sensations as they present themselves. No worries if you fall asleep, just trust that’s exactly what your body and mind need in that moment.

How to perform a body scan

1. Get comfortable. Check in with your body — does it want to be sitting, standing, or lying down? Eyes open or closed?
2. Listen to your body. Begin to settle yourself into the here and now with three deep belly breaths.
3. Bring your attention to your feet. What sensations do you feel? Perhaps the fabric of your socks, or your bare feet in the cool air. Notice these sensations and gently breathe into them.
4. Begin to move up your body. Bring your attention to your legs. Send your breath and awareness into all the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Notice how it feels to be in your legs.
5. Start to move your attention up to the abdomen. Visualize inflating your belly with each in-breath, and deflating on each out-breath. Again, without judgement, notice any feelings, thoughts, or emotions that bubble up as you center your attention here.
6. Now, inhale and exhale your awareness into your low back for a few cycles — continue to notice, feel, and breathe through the sensations.
7. Circulate your awareness in and around your rib cage, heart, lungs, upper spine, shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers.
8. Allow your awareness to soak in and around your head, neck, and jaw. Feel these areas expanding on the in-breath and relaxing on the out-breath.
9. Now that you’ve given attention to all parts of your body, notice how your body feels as a whole — energized, vivacious, and connecting to the world around you. Feel your true self emerging as you notice these sensations.

Sources:
“Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness,” John Kabat-Zinn, 2013
“Meditation – Disconnect to Reconnect, Massage & Bodywork,” Heath and Nicole Reed, May/June 2021
“Go with the Flow,” John Geirland, www.wired.com/1996/09/czik, September 1, 1996
“What Is a Flow State and What Are Its Benefits?” Headspace (www.headspace.com/articles/flow-state)
“The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons from the World’s Happiest People,” Dan Buettner (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2017)