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Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation, Class 1 - Gil Fronsdal

The following talk was given by Gil Fronsdal at Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA on January 14, 2026. Please visit the website www.audiodharma.org for more information.

Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation, Class 1

Introduction and History

I would like to welcome everyone here and those joining us online. It is a delight to begin this five-week course. Before we dive into the instructions, I’ll share a bit of the history of this community and how it relates to the wider world of meditation.

Our sister retreat center in Massachusetts, the Insight Meditation Society (IMS)¹, started in 1976. In those early days, many "hitchhiking hippie" types would travel across the country to find it. Often, they would accidentally end up at the neighboring Catholic monastery asking for the meditation center. The monks eventually realized something significant was happening down the street. In response to this influx of interest in meditation, the tradition of "Centering Prayer"² was born—a way of practicing Catholic prayer that drew inspiration from the silence of our tradition. Father Thomas Keating was one of the central figures in that movement, and his book Open Mind, Open Heart is a wonderful resource.

As for this place, the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) began as a group in 1986. We first met in Menlo Park and then Palo Alto. At that time, I had just started teacher training with Jack Kornfield³ and was asked to lead the group, which then consisted of about twelve to fifteen people. We grew slowly, and by 1997, we were using five different locations for our various events. It finally made sense to have a home of our own.

In 1999, we found this building. The ministers of the church that was here previously were a couple who practiced a mystical form of Christianity related to the Quakers. They specifically wanted to sell the building to a group that "sat in silence." When I first toured the building, our conversation naturally drifted into silence. We ended up sitting together in the pews for fifteen minutes. It was a precious, special moment. We took ownership in November 2001 and held our first event in January 2002. It has been a wonderful home for us here in Redwood City for twenty-four years.

The Five-Week Journey

This is a beginner’s course, but in Buddhism, there are only two kinds of beginners: "beginner beginners" and "experienced beginners." I still consider myself an experienced beginner; I am still learning every time I teach this class.

I will be introducing you to the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, which traces back to the Buddha. However, while Buddhism needs mindfulness, mindfulness does not necessarily need Buddhism. This will be "Buddhism Light." I am not trying to make you Buddhists, and we won’t spend much time on Buddhist doctrine. This is truly a course in mindfulness.

We have spread the instructions over five weeks to allow the foundational elements to settle:

1. Week 1: Introduction and Mindfulness of Breathing.
2. Week 2: Mindfulness of the Body.
3. Week 3: Mindfulness of Emotions.
4. Week 4: Mindfulness of Thinking.
5. Week 5: Tying it all together and moving forward.

If you prefer reading, my book The Issue at Hand is available for free. It follows this same sequence of breath, body, emotions, and thinking.

The Practice of Mindfulness

The most important thing to know about mindfulness is that it doesn’t work if you don’t do it. It is an engagement. There is also no such thing as failing in this practice. If you are supposed to be with your breath but spend five minutes lost in thought, you haven't failed—as long as you notice that you were lost in thought.

Mindfulness gives you a vantage point from which to see the patterns of your mind. You might notice, "Oh, I often think about work when I'm afraid." Seeing that pattern is the beginning of wisdom. We are learning to "unstick" awareness from the things we are aware of. Usually, we are "glommed on" to our thoughts and stories. We identify with them so closely that we aren't free.

Mindfulness practice is not necessarily about having a wonderful experience of calm, though that can happen. It is about becoming calm enough that you are no longer stuck in your experience. If you only seek calm but don't understand how you get stuck, you will just keep getting stuck again as soon as you leave your cushion. We want to be calm enough to see clearly.

The Three-Breath Journey

Let’s try a very short exercise. Close your eyes and simply count three breaths quietly and calmly. Take a "three-breath journey."

[Pause]

When people do this, they often report feeling calmer or a sense of slowing down. Some become aware of how "thinky" the mind is, or notice a song stuck in their head. It is surprising how much can shift in just three breaths. This is a tool you can use throughout your day—waiting at a red light or during a transition at work. It stops the normal momentum of the mind and allows you to take stock of what is actually happening. Sometimes simply stopping the usual flow is enough for the body and mind to relax.

Posture and Intentionality

For formal sitting meditation, posture is important for two reasons: comfort and alertness. You want to be comfortable enough to stay still, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep. The posture itself should contain a sense of attention—alert but not alarmed.

• Sitting in a chair: Sit up relatively straight. Avoid slumping into the backrest if possible. Keep your feet squarely on the floor.
• Sitting on the floor: Use a cushion to elevate your hips. It is best if your knees are slightly lower than your hips. You can sit cross-legged, but often it's better to have one leg in front of the other (Burmese style) rather than crossing them, to maintain a natural curve in the lower back.
• Lying down: This is fine if needed for health reasons, but be careful of sleepiness. Some people find it helpful to keep their elbows on the floor with their hands pointing toward the ceiling; if you start to drift off, your hands will fall and wake you up.
• Hands: You can rest them palms down on your thighs or cupped in your lap. Find what allows your shoulders to stay relaxed.
• Eyes: Usually, we meditate with eyes closed to simplify the sensory field. If you feel sleepy, you can keep them open with a "soft focus" toward the floor about 45 degrees down.

The Nexus of Breathing

In this tradition, we emphasize natural breathing. We are not doing "yogic breathing" or trying to manipulate the breath to be deeper or longer. We rely only on awareness. We are learning how to be present for our life as it is, not how we want it to be. If your breath feels controlled or tight, don't fight it. Just become the world's expert on what a controlled breath feels like.

Breathing sits at the nexus of our human life. If we run, the body adjusts the breath. If we are afraid, the breath changes. If we are angry, it changes again. Because there is a reciprocal relationship, learning to settle with the breath can settle the mind and heart.

In Sanskrit, the word prana⁴ means both "breath" and "life-force." They are deeply connected. I’ve known meditators who imagine every inhale is their first breath and every exhale is their last. This keeps them profoundly engaged with the reality of letting go and beginning again.

Guided Meditation: 15 Minutes

Please take your meditation posture—relaxed and alert.

Take a few long, deeper breaths. Feel your chest and belly expand. On the longer exhale, consciously relax your body. This is a ritual of connection, reminding you that you are here, in this body, right now. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, not in a fantasy—but here.

Now, let the breathing return to its normal, natural rhythm.

Notice where in your body it is easiest to feel the breath. Is it the rise and fall of the chest? The expansion and contraction of the belly? The cool air at the nostrils? If you have trouble feeling it, you can place a hand on your belly. Soften the stomach. Let it hang forward.

As you inhale, bring attention to your shoulders. As you exhale, let them drop and relax. As you inhale, feel the belly. As you exhale, let the belly soften.

Try to accompany the breath as if it were a friend. Be there for the full duration of the exhale and the full duration of the inhale. If the mind wanders, simply notice. No judgment. Notice the thought, and then gently begin again with the breathing.

[Silence]

In this final minute, if you feel any bit of calm or connection, breathe with that calm. Settle into that connection.

[Bell rings]

Q&A and Reflections

On Counting: Someone asked about the difference between counting and just being aware. Counting is a traditional tool (mental noting⁵). In some Zen traditions, you count from one to ten. If you lose track, you start over. It is like a "crutch" to help the mind stay present. While we eventually want to rely on pure awareness, counting can be very helpful when the mind is spinning out of control. It is a gentle, kind way to say, "Stay here."

On the "Verb" of Breathing: One participant mentioned that thinking of it as the verb "breathing" rather than the noun "breath" helped it feel like a friend they were hanging out with. That is a beautiful way to conceptualize it. It makes the practice feel safer and more relatable.

Field of Awareness: Another asked about a "wide" versus "narrow" focus. Sometimes we feel the breath from the perspective of the whole body; other times it's very centralized at the nose. Neither is "correct"—ask yourself which is most useful or even which you enjoy more in the moment. Enjoyment can be a loving encouragement to stay present.

Homework

I encourage you to practice for fifteen minutes a day this week. If that is too long, do three or five minutes several times a day. Meditation is a skill. Like learning an instrument, it feels clumsy at first. Repetition is what builds the foundation. Familiarity with the breath this week will be the support you need when we move into mindfulness of the body and pain next week.

These talks are recorded and available on Audio Dharma⁶. If you have questions during the week, our community members Nancy and Nenna are also wonderful resources. Thank you all for coming.