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Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation, Class 2-Body - Gil Fronsdal

The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on January 22, 2026. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation, Class 2-Body

Welcome, everyone. For those of you who weren't here last week, welcome. This class is a continuation, but I will provide enough review so that you can catch up.

Before we begin, I’d like to hear from those who were here last week and tried the practices. Does anyone have any reports or questions?

Student: Being mindful of the cold air going into my nostrils helped me continually. It helped more than other things have.

Gil: Wonderful. There are two primary ways that mindfulness of breathing is taught: one is at the nostrils, and the other is in the torso, focusing on the movement of the belly or the chest. There are whole schools of meditation that emphasize the nostrils; some people find it helps them become very precise and pulls them into a more concentrated state. Others find the belly or chest works better. You’ve found your way, and that’s great.

The Two Arrows

For those who are new, I am introducing the practice of mindfulness, specifically mindfulness meditation. While mindfulness can be used in daily life without formal meditation, meditation provides a wonderful laboratory for understanding oneself. It is a place where we are undistracted enough to see exactly how distracted we actually are.

One benefit of sitting quietly is that you aren't being pulled into various tasks. Doing things in life tends to interrupt the development of mindfulness and the flow of calming down. As we relax, our attention becomes clearer, and it becomes richer to be in the present moment. The fullest benefits of mindfulness come when the mind is very quiet and settled, adding nothing to the experience. This is unusual for most people, as we are typically adding commentary, judgments, preferences, and aversions.

A core teaching story in early Buddhism regarding mindfulness involves the Buddha asking a group of people: "If an archer shoots you with an arrow, will that hurt?" They replied, "Yes, it will hurt a lot." Then he asked, "If he shoots you with a second arrow, will that hurt even more?" They agreed it would.

The Buddha explained that the first arrow is what life brings us—the unavoidable pains and events. The second arrow is what we shoot at ourselves through our reactivity. If I trip on the sidewalk, that is the first arrow. If I then get angry, tell myself I’m a failure as a mindfulness teacher, and worry about what others think, those are the second arrows. These reactions can build until we feel discouraged or depressed.

In mindfulness, we are learning not to add those second arrows. We allow what is there to be just what it is, seeing it clearly without automatic reactivity. Everyone gets sick eventually; that is a first arrow. What is unfortunate is when we pile on top of that by criticizing ourselves or lying awake at night building stories about why we shouldn't be sick. Often, what keeps us awake are the second, third, and fourth arrows. We are learning the art of leaving things alone.

Exercise: The Three Breath Journey

Mindfulness is the practice of being present for what is without adding anything on top. This allows us to settle deeply. To start, we will use a simple exercise called the "three breath journey." It is a ritual to help us arrive and connect with the body.

I will direct your attention to different parts of your body: the face, shoulders, chest, and belly. Try to feel these areas from the inside out—the sensations of warmth, coolness, tingling, or even tension—without adding judgments.

Guided Meditation: Arriving in the Body

Take a meditation posture that is comfortable for you and close your eyes. We will begin with a simple version of the journey.

1. General Arrival: Count three breaths, simply tracking the inhale and exhale.
2. The Face: Bring your attention to your face. Feel the sensations there for the duration of three breaths.
3. The Shoulders: Move your attention to your shoulders, feeling them while aware of three breaths.
4. The Chest: Do the same for the chest.
5. The Belly: Finally, do the same for the belly.

Now, continue with your eyes closed. Don't do anything in particular, but feel how you are. Notice the experience of breathing. We will sit quietly for three minutes. Stay close to your body breathing, aware of both the inhale and the exhale.

Gil: What was it like to scan the body in that systematic way?

Student: I feel more attuned to my body. I can picture where my pieces are.

Student: I came in in a rush and my breathing was very heavy. As I moved down to my chest and belly, it was immediately helpful in bringing me to the present moment.

Student: For me, focusing on the breath was easier. I noticed my mind wandering when I focused on the body.

Gil: That’s an interesting observation. It might mean that the body scan isn't as useful for you yet, or perhaps you just need more practice.

The Importance of the Body

We start with breathing because it is a significant anchor. For some, mindfulness of breath is a lifelong practice. However, mindfulness is meant to build a capacity to be aware of our whole life. We are developing a higher quality of attention that can be applied to anything we experience.

Some people hardly experience the present moment directly because they are living in the second or third level of stories and interpretations. We want to learn to see things without those filters. For example, at a grocery store, you can be so busy thinking that you hardly notice the clerk. If you are present and available, you can have a meaningful human connection in just a few seconds.

In our tradition, we let breathing be the "default" place for attention. The mind will wander; the idea is to notice that in a non-reactive way. Don't add a second arrow by judging yourself for thinking. Just notice the thought, let go, and start again.

In Buddhism, much of the practice unfolds through the body. While many books are intellectual, the actual practice in monasteries is very body-centric. Your body is your temple and your monastery. Everything you need to know about the Dharma¹ can be found by "reading" your body rather than a book.

Contrast: Feeling vs. Thinking

A lot of people suffer because they see their body through social constructs or preferences—comparing themselves to fashion websites or beauty standards. Those are extra arrows. Let’s try an exercise to see the difference between thinking about the body and feeling it.

Exercise: Feeling the Hand

Close your eyes and bring your attention into one of your hands. Allow the hand to "feel itself." Feel the palm, the back, and the fingers. Notice tingling, warmth, coolness, or the contact of the hand against your leg. Let the hand experience itself independent of what you think about it.

Now, switch and think about your hand. Compare it to other people's hands. Are the fingers too short? Are the nails wrinkled or blemished? Engage in the exercise of judging it.

What happens to you when you compare the two experiences? There is likely a world of difference. One is a world of thoughts; the other is a direct experience. Now, switch to the other hand and simply feel it again. Let it be, with no reference to anything but the sensations present right now.

Now, move your attention to where it is easiest to feel your breathing—the belly, chest, or nostrils. Feel your breathing in the same way you felt your hand. Let that part of the body have its own experience while you stay close to it.

Gil: What did you notice in that contrast?

Student: When I was looking and feeling, I noticed judgment about brown spots on my hand. When I just felt it experientially without the visual, it was much better. It was very calming.

Student: There was a striking difference. My mind even asked, "Gil, what are you doing?" [Laughter]. Being was much more enjoyable than the thinking.

Gil: This is why we emphasize clear seeing. If you see how "off" it is to be caught in judgments, that seeing is often enough to help you shift. We don't want to add a third arrow by saying, "I shouldn't be judging." Just notice: "This is complicated; this is simple." When the psychophysical system is seen clearly, it can come into homeostasis by itself.

The Art of Being with Discomfort

The default in this meditation is mindfulness of breathing. However, if something becomes more compelling than the breath—such as a physical sensation—you let go of the breathing and attend to that sensation.

This is harder when the sensation is pain. Our instinct is to resist or judge it. But the art of mindfulness is learning how to be present for something even when it's uncomfortable. Many discover that they actually feel better if they feel the discomfort and leave it alone—not fighting it, not making conclusions about it. Sometimes it even stops being uncomfortable in the wake of simple, non-reactive attention.

If a sensation is strong, tap into it for about three breaths. See if you are adding second arrows, then take a breath, relax, and return to the breathing. The breath is your home base; you go out to meet other sensations and then return.

Guided Meditation: The Whole Body

Let's sit for about ten minutes. I will get you started, and then we will be quiet.

Assume a posture in which you can sit still. Take a few longer, deeper breaths. As you exhale, relax your body. Let your breathing return to normal.

As you inhale, feel your face. As you exhale, soften and relax the face. Feel your shoulders; as you exhale, relax the shoulders. Feel your belly; as you exhale, soften the belly.

Now, bring your attention to the part of the body where it is easiest to feel the breathing. Stay close to that. You might ride the waves of expansion and contraction. If anything arises that is more compelling than the breath, bring your attention there as we did with the hand.

In these last minutes, see if you can open up to feel your whole body—a relaxed, gentle, global experience. Not the whole body all at once, but a roaming awareness. Experience how the body experiences itself, free of ideas of what is supposed to happen. Free of meaning. Just sitting here, allowing your body to be as it is and allowing it to be known.

Bodyfulness and Sati

In English, we use the word "mindfulness," which emphasizes the mind. This is a slightly unfortunate translation of the ancient Pali² word sati³. Sati doesn't actually contain a reference to the mind; I prefer to translate it as "awareness." Sometimes I wish we had translated it as "bodyfulness."

Some teachers insist that it isn't the mind that wakes up, but the body that gets enlightened. The body is a field of nerve endings with a tremendous capacity to sense the environment and ourselves. The "mind" isn't just in the head; it is wherever the nerves are.

When we feel the body deeply, we receive its messages more clearly. Our inner ecology starts waking up. This creates a sense of wholeness and healing. It is phenomenally powerful to let the body be itself, free of reactivity, arrows, and expectations.

Q&A: Self-Construction and the Meditative Elevator

Student: I find it helpful to settle in with the breaths, but then I feel discomfort in my neck. When I try to bring my attention back, I lose my visual anchor and start thinking about work or dinner. I find myself creating an image in my head just to stay focused, but then I’m not really feeling my body.

Gil: An image is a creation of the mind. We want to be close to lived life, not mental creations. However, you can use that skill to stay focused on an image that keeps you close to the experience. Some people imagine waves washing up a beach to stay with the breath, or a jellyfish, or an eagle’s wings. Use the image to help you feel the breathing rather than as an abstraction.

Student: For me, the breath at the nostrils is where I notice the "sense of self"—where do I start and end? It was vexing me—who is doing the breathing? But eventually, the thoughts dissipated and I felt peace.

Gil: I love that you stopped looking for the "self" and things got easier. The preoccupation with "me, myself, and mine" is another layer we add that isn't needed. Life is much easier in meditation when that layer quiets down. You don't need an identity or a "true self" when you are simply alive and present.

Student: I have difficulty sitting still—I have ADHD. I noticed that when I truly relaxed, my brain allowed me to think very creative thoughts and stories. It was beautiful.

Gil: That is common. When the mind is relaxed but alert, it becomes very creative. That is a wonderful part of life, but it isn't meditation.

Think of it like an elevator. There is a phenomenal view at the top of a tall building. You get in the elevator to go to the top, but the doors open on the second floor and there is an amazing party. You get off and have a great time, but you've forgotten you were going to the top. Then you get back on and the doors open on the third floor and it’s a scene from World War II; you get involved in that for a while. Eventually, you learn to stay on the elevator. Creativity and stories are like those floors—they are interesting, but they are interruptions to the movement of meditation.

Practical Advice for Practice

Student: What if you get an itch that you can't leave alone?

Gil: For a beginner, just scratch it and be done with it. But for those deeper in the practice, the itch becomes the meditation. No one has ever died from an itch. It’s fascinating to see what it takes to stay present without giving in to the aversion or restlessness. If you breathe with it, you might find a sense of freedom from it. By the time it goes away, you will be very present.

Student: I found it overwhelming to do the full body. For those of us who like order, do you suggest a structured scan?

Gil: Absolutely. For some, a clear program from top to bottom works better than a random, floating awareness.

For this next week, I recommend you continue to meditate every day. If you were doing 15 minutes, try adding five more to make it 20. You can do it all at once or in smaller chunks. These instructions only start to make sense when you put them into practice. Don't worry if you don't understand everything perfectly. Just sit down, try it, and learn about your own "thinking mind" and your "second arrows." If it feels complicated, just slow down and go back to the breathing.

Thank you all for being here.