Many Odoki exercises involve paying attention to our inner experience. Sometimes, our mind can be busy, and consequently we can find the exercises hard.
This is an extremely traditional meditation practice that can help calm the mind, to make it ready for Odoki exercises.
- Close our eyes, and notice bodily sensations
- Notice sensations associated with the breath
- Perhaps notice the extent of these sensations - the top, the bottom, how much space they take
- Allow your mind to settle onto these sensations
- If you find your mind wandering, as soon as you notice, just bring your attention back. This is normal, no blame needed.
- Continue this process for five or ten minutes, just bringing your attention back to the sensations of the breath.
If you find your mind is particularly loud, here’s an adjustment:
- While breathing, count after each out breath.
- We count from one to ten. Then start again at one.
- If we get distracted, we start again at one. Don’t worry if we never get to ten. This again is normal!
- We can adjust the “volume” of the counting to match the volume of the wandering thoughts. The counting can then take up the space the thoughts want, and make it easier to stay with the sensations of the breath.