Week 2 exercise to strengthen vicara/sustained attention

Working more with sustained attention with an exercise on the duration of the breath

Exercise (20 min.)

1. Using counting as an expedient: (10 min.)

a. Count at a consistent pace

b. Notice how long a breath is by the number you get to (1, 2, 3, …)

c. Notice how the breaths change (e.g., from a breath of a duration of three counts to a breath of duration of five counts)

2. Sensing the duration without counting (10 min.)

As in the 4th stage of the mindfulness of breathing, place and keep attention where breath first enters the body and intuitively sense the relative duration of each breath, without counting, using this one point as a reference point for the beginning, middle and end of each breath

➢ Does the breath feel long or short?

➢ What the duration of this breath feel like relative to the previous breaths?