So welcome to this meditation practice.
In this practice we will use the power of our breath as an anchor for our concentration in meditation.
We'll be breathing in and out through the nose and we'll be using this deep diaphragmatic muscle that sits just below the rib cage to draw that breath into the body.
So find yourself a comfortable place where you won't be disturbed,
Grab yourself a cushion,
Find yourself a comfortable seat where your spine can be long,
Your breath will be unrestricted and then just draw the sides of the neck back so the chin comes parallel to the floor.
Close down the eyes or just soften the gaze and just begin to tune into your breath.
Breathing in and out through the nose,
Taking some long,
Slow,
Deep diaphragmatic inhales.
And as you breathe out just let that breath be released naturally and passively from the body.
So as you breathe in,
Notice how the belly expands,
The rib cage expands,
Breathing all the way up into the chest.
And as you breathe out just allow the breath to fall away as the belly and the rib cage contract.
Just allow the shoulders to soften,
Relaxing the shoulders away from the ears.
Allow the front of the body to soften as the back of the body holds you upright.
And as you breathe in,
Notice the sensations of the breath as it enters the body.
The movement of the rib cage.
And as you breathe out,
Notice the rib cage contract.
And just deepening and lengthening your focus,
The awareness of your breath.
Inviting in sensations of calm and relaxation as you breathe in.
Breathing in to the present moment.
Breathing out,
Letting go of any thoughts,
Anything that doesn't serve you in this moment.
Breathing into the present.
Breathing out the past.
Just noticing any distracting thoughts.
Just being aware of any thoughts in the mind without judgment or attachment.
And just allow these thoughts to be there.
And when you catch your mind wandering,
Just gently draw it back to the awareness of the breath.
Releasing any thoughts as you exhale.
And you can do this time and time again.
Bringing yourself back to the awareness of the breath.
So each time your mind begins to wander,
Just catch yourself.
Come back to the breath.
There's no need to force,
No need to push.
Just relaxing your efforts as you continue to deepen your focus on your breath.
Notice in where you may be holding tension in the body.
Just inviting in feelings of relaxation and calm as you breathe out.
And there's no break in your breathing.
And no break in your awareness.
As you weave one breath into the next.
Breathing without pause.
So with a smooth transition from each exhale,
A smooth transition from each inhale.
And just noticing each time your mind begins to wander.
Catching yourself and bringing yourself back to the awareness of your breath.
And in meditation we're not compelling the mind to concentrate.
We want to invite it to relax in meditative concentration.
So just continuing to relax your effort.
Just allowing the body to soften with each exhale.
Breathing in that nourishing prana.
And breathing out that cleansing exhalation.
And then just spend a few more good deep breaths here.
Slowing down the breath.
Relaxing your effort.
And then on your next exhale.
Just bowing the chin down.
Flickering up the eyes.
Lifting the head.
Just taking in your surroundings.
Coming back into this present moment.
So I hope you've enjoyed this practice,
This short meditation practice.
And you can use this any time of day where you need to create some space and time for yourself.
Just to allow the mind to settle.
Releasing any stress from the body.
I hope you enjoyed it.
And I look forward to practicing with you again soon.
Namaha.
Namaha.
