Hello beautiful community and welcome to your journey to mindfulness.
Welcome back if you've already practiced with me before.
Today I'm going to share with you breathing meditation that will help you relax by focusing on your breathing.
When learning to meditate it's helpful to keep the sessions brief so that you can maintain concentration.
So today's practice is going to be really basic,
Really short and as you become more comfortable and skilled in meditation you can increase the duration of your meditation session.
During this breathing meditation you will focus on your breath.
This will calm your mind and automatically relax your body as well.
Just a gentle reminder there is no right or wrong way to meditate so whatever you experience during this breathing meditation is right for you.
Don't try to make anything happen,
Simply observe.
So we'll begin by finding a comfortable position.
You can be sitting onto your sitting bones,
Perhaps kneeling.
You really want to find a comfortable and supportive posture but one where you won't fall asleep.
That's why sitting on the floor with your legs crossed is a good position to try.
If you need extra support you're more than welcome to use a bolster,
A block,
A cushion or something under your hips to elevate the hips and support them.
If this is not comfortable for you like I was mentioning before you can also be in the kneeling position and if you have sensitive knees you can also place a blanket under your knees to support them.
If it feels right and comfortable for you,
You may close the eyes down otherwise you can look at a fixed point in the room either in front of you or maybe down onto the ground.
And start by rolling the shoulders.
So you may want to link the breath with the movement here.
So every time you inhale bringing the shoulders up and as you exhale slowly roll the shoulders forward and down.
And we'll just take three more of these movements before reversing.
So then as you move the other way around take a deep breath in to bring the shoulders up and as you exhale this time rolling the shoulders back and down.
So bringing the scapulas together.
And taking three of these movements before coming back to center,
Coming back to stillness.
And this time leaning your head from side to side,
Lowering your left ear towards your left shoulder and then the right ear towards your right shoulder.
Try to relax your muscles and your muscles and your muscles and your muscles.
As much as possible.
Not only relaxing the shoulders,
The neck but also the muscles in your face and clenching the jaw.
And you'll notice that your body will continue to relax as you meditate.
And as you come back to stillness see if you can start disengaging the mind from busy thoughts.
From ideas and gently gather all your attention on your breathing.
Just notice how your breath flows in and out.
Make no effort to change your breathing in any way.
Simply notice how your body breathes.
Your body knows how much air it needs.
And as you sit here quietly,
Perhaps you can start seeing in your mind's eyes your breath flowing gently in and out of your body.
And when your attention wanders,
As it will,
Just focus back again on your breathing.
It's completely normal for the mind to go places.
Just bring the awareness back onto your breath as many times as you need.
Just bring the awareness back onto your breath as many times as you need.
You can notice any stray thoughts but don't dwell on them.
Let the thoughts pass.
And keep noticing how your breath continues to flow deeply,
Calmly.
And keep noticing how your breath continues to flow deeply,
Calmly.
Can you notice the stages of a complete breath?
From the in-breath to the pose that follows and then the exhale and the pose before taking another breath.
Can you see the slight breaks between each breath?
And perhaps you can feel the air entering through your nose.
You may even picture the breath flowing through the cavities in your sinuses and then down to your lungs.
See the air inside your body after you inhale,
Feeling your body gently.
Notice how the space inside your lungs becomes smaller after you exhale and the air leaves your body.
Feel your chest and your stomach gently rise and fall with each breath.
And now as you inhale,
Count slightly.
One.
And as you exhale,
Count.
One.
Wait for the next breath and count again.
One.
Exhale.
One.
Inhale.
One.
Inhale.
One.
Exhale.
One.
Inhale.
One.
Exhale.
One.
And continue to count each inhalation and exhalation as one.
And after a little while,
Notice now how your body feels.
See how calm and gentle your breathing is and how relaxed you might feel.
Gently following the peaceful rhythm of your breath.
Just take ten more rounds here.
And keep counting.
Inhale.
One.
Exhale.
One.
Inhale.
One.
Exhale.
One.
Inhale.
One.
Exhale.
One.
Inhale.
One.
Exhale.
One.
And so on until you reach ten.
And now it is time to gently reawaken your body and your mind.
Bringing the awareness back into your space.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Just start noticing the sounds around you.
Feel the flora beneath you.
Feel your clothes against your body.
You can start bringing some gentle movements.
Wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Perhaps shrug the shoulders.
And eventually blink your eyes open.
Just remain sitting for a few moments longer.
Perhaps straighten out your legs and stretch your arms gently.
Enjoying how relaxed you feel and experiencing your body reawaken and your mind returning to its usual level of alertness.
Whenever you are ready you can slowly return to your standing position and continue with the rest of your day.
I hope you enjoyed this little practice.
Have a beautiful day and I hope to see you again soon.
Thank you for listening.
Take care.
