Welcome to this practice of affectionate breathing.
This guided meditation invites you to rest gently with your breath,
While cultivating a sense of warmth and kindness toward yourself.
In this meditation,
We'll focus on the breath in the body.
If at any time focusing on your breath begins to feel uncomfortable,
You're welcome to turn your attention to the grounding sensation of your feet on the ground,
Or your body being supported by your chair or your mat,
Or to the sensation of supportive touch.
Or you might imagine a gentle rhythmic movement as if you're swaying back and forth,
Like the light rocking of the sea.
You might want to actually move your body a bit,
Swaying back and forth in a rhythmic motion.
Or if you'd like,
You could move your hand back and forth from your heart to open palm extended in front of you,
Noticing the gentle back and forth motion.
So now let's begin by finding a comfortable and supportive posture,
Either sitting or lying down,
Allowing your body to feel grounded in a position that you will hold for the duration of the meditation.
Taking a bit of time now to find that comfortable position.
And when you are ready,
Allowing your eyes to close fully or partially,
And take in a few slow,
Deep breaths.
With each exhale,
Feeling any tension in your body releasing,
Allowing you to settle in,
Letting go of the activity of your day.
And if you'd like,
Offering yourself soothing or supportive touch as a reminder that we're bringing not only awareness,
But affectionate awareness to our breathing and to ourselves.
This may be placing a hand or two hands over your heart or another place on your body that feels comforting or supportive to you.
Just feeling the gentle touch of your hands,
Perhaps the warmth of your hands.
Taking a moment to feel the tender sensations of this gesture.
You can leave your hand or hands here as long as you like,
Or let your hands rest whenever it feels right,
Knowing that you can return to soothing and supportive touch at any time during this meditation that you would like.
Now,
Beginning to bring your attention inward,
Allow yourself to feel the sensations that are inside your body right now,
Allowing the sensations to just be there without judgment,
Just noticing what you feel in this moment.
And when you're ready,
Gently shift your attention to the sensation of breathing within your body,
Feeling the body breathing in and feeling the body breathing out.
Allowing yourself to feel your breathing wherever you feel it most easily.
For example,
In your nostrils as you feel the air move in or maybe you feel it most easily in your chest region as a rising and falling of your chest or your belly,
The expansion and contraction of your belly.
Or maybe you feel your whole body moving as you inhale and exhale,
Feeling your body breathing in and feeling your body breathing out,
Perhaps noticing how the in-breath nourishes your body.
And how the out-breath relaxes your body.
It does this all the time and we often don't notice.
Our breath nourishing us,
Relaxing us,
Bringing us life,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Allowing the breath to come naturally as though the body is breathing you.
There's nothing you need to do.
The body does this on its own without any effort needed.
Again,
Noticing the gentle rhythm of your breathing,
Flowing in and flowing out,
Seeing if you can incline your attention toward the breath in the same way you might toward someone dear to you,
Perhaps a beloved child,
A close friend,
Or even a pet.
Turning towards your breath with curiosity,
With tenderness,
With affection,
Allowing your whole body to subtly move with the breath like a gentle wave.
If you find that your mind wanders,
Please remember that it's natural for this to happen,
Just like a curious child or a puppy exploring its surroundings.
When this happens,
Simply notice it and begin again.
Gently bringing your attention back to the rhythm of breathing or the rhythm of gentle movement,
Letting go of any sense of watching your breath and instead simply being with it,
Feeling each breath as it comes.
If it feels comfortable,
You can even allow your entire body to be gently rocked and caressed from within by the movement of your own breathing,
Giving yourself permission to let go and allow yourself to be held in this natural rhythm.
Simply breathing in,
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Whenever the mind wanders,
Just gently bringing it back to focus on your breathing,
Nourishing you,
Relaxing you,
And now gently releasing your attention to your breathing,
Sitting quietly in your own experience and allowing yourself to feel whatever you're feeling and to be just as you are in this moment,
Letting the practice be just what it was and letting you be just as you are.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and bring this calm into your day.
