Meditation is an intimate practice between you and your breath.
So for this meditation,
We will explore two things,
The breath and the spaces between the breaths.
To do this,
I invite you to find somewhere comfortable,
Whether seated or lying down,
And give yourself permission to fully release everything in your external world for the next few minutes,
So that you may own the experience of spending time with your breath.
To begin,
Wherever you settle,
Take time to take up space.
Feel the body resting,
Relaxing.
Find a sense of ease in the hips,
The spine,
The shoulders.
Be aware of gravity's loving hold of your body.
Take in an expansive and deep inhale.
Then allow the body to deeply,
Completely,
Fully exhale.
Perhaps you release the exhale as a sigh.
And that exhale releases the bones,
The muscle,
And the tension that you hold in the body.
Again,
Repeat this deep and filling breath,
A full inhale,
And lengthy exhale or sigh.
One last time,
Draw in a full inhale,
Expanding your lungs,
Chest,
Belly,
And then exhale and release every last bit of breath into the space around you.
As that last exhale escapes,
Notice if there are any spaces in the body where you can release your weight or any other tension or energy.
Where you rest,
As the earth is always there to support you.
Allow your eyes to close.
Then for a moment,
Simply rest softly in this stillness,
In this respite from the flow of energy in your external world.
Begin to get curious about the nature of the breath each time that you inhale.
Notice the temperature of the air outside the nostrils and the temperature of the breath as it comes into the body.
Notice the quality,
The energy,
The texture,
And the flow of the air as it comes into the body.
When the breath has entered the body,
Where in the body do you notice the breath touching?
Where does the breath touch first?
Where does the breath touch next?
When you invite the breath deep down into the belly and it begins to grow and expand,
How do the spaces around the belly begin to feel?
How do they move?
And how does the belly react to the breath?
And when the breath fills the belly and that space is full of nutrient-rich oxygen,
When does the breath first begin to become an exhale,
To move out of the body?
Where does this exhale touch as it moves up or down or out?
What is the quality of this exhale?
What is the temperature?
The texture?
The ease and flow of this exhaled breath?
Investigate this space of where the inhale begins to turn around and become an exhale for the next few cycles of breath.
When you pay attention to the breath,
You may begin to notice more than an inhale and exhale.
As you draw near the top of your inhale,
Notice the space that comes after the inhale but before the body drops into the exhale.
Investigate this space.
The yogis call this space antara kumbhaka,
Without force,
Can you invite this space,
This space of pause,
To lengthen?
And when the body feels the need to exhale,
How does the body begin to react?
Can you follow that breath as it turns into an exhale and leaves the body?
What happens when that breath has fully left the body and traveled into space?
After the breath has left your body but before the next inhale,
This space the yogis call kumbhaka.
Notice the time that passes before you feel the need to inhale.
To practice this four-part breath,
I invite you to follow along for three cycles of breath and then investigate.
To begin,
We start with an inhale,
Pause,
Move into an exhale,
Pause,
And inhale when the body feels called to inhale.
Let's try this cycle together.
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
Continue this rhythm of breath as your practice today.
The breath is a constant companion.
Always available,
Always willing to practice with us.
I invite you to play with these four parts of the breath with a gentle tenderness and a spirit of exploration.
There is no need for you to find answers.
There is no need for you to find external guidance in the pursuit of peace that comes from within the self.
And when you feel ready to return to the space around you,
Be as kind and gentle with yourself as you were when you approached your meditation practice,
Maintaining your sense of ease in the breath.
You can begin by wiggling fingers,
Wiggling toes,
And gently filling the belly,
Ribs,
And chest with a full and nourishing breath.
Gently extend that awareness into the rest of the body,
Knees,
Ankles,
Wrists,
Elbows.
Gently flutter the eyes open,
Keeping your gaze soft.
Carry this knowledge of the breath and of these four spaces of the breath with you into your day,
And know that you can return at any time when you need to take pause from the world around you.
