Mindfulness in Eight Weeks: The revolutionary 8 week plan to clear your mind and calm your life. Michael Chaskalson

And, on the out-breath, feel or imagine the breath coming all the way back up from the toes, to the foot, right up the leg and torso and out through the nose. Continue breathing in this way for a few breaths, breathing down to the toes on each in-breath, and back out from the toes on each out-breath. Practise this ‘breathing into’ as best you can, approaching it playfully, imaginatively, experimentally.

      When you’re ready, on an out-breath, let go of attention to the toes, and bring your attention to the sensations on the bottom of your left foot – bringing a gentle, investigative curiosity to sensations at the sole of the foot, the instep, the heel (noticing, perhaps, the sensations where the heel makes contact with the floor or mat or bed). Experiment with ‘breathing with’ any and all sensations – being aware of the breath in the background, as, in the foreground, you explore the sensations in the bottom of the foot.