Mindful breathing,
Or mindfulness of the breath.
I invite you to begin to settle,
To land,
Or to arrive in a comfortable posture that will be supportive with the body breathing.
Perhaps a more open,
Elongated,
Upright posture.
One that allows the lungs to do what they do best.
And taking now the time and giving yourself the space to begin taking some deeper and longer breaths in and out.
It may be supportive to place one hand on the chest,
One on the belly,
To gain a greater sense of the body breathing.
You are more than welcome to keep the hands placed where they're at,
Or slowly begin to allow them to rest in a more comfortable position.
As we begin to let go of controlling the breath,
And begin to allow the breath to breathe on its own.
Beginning to witness,
Observe,
Or simply just pay attention to how the body naturally breathes.
It may be bringing attention to a particular part of the body,
Such as the abdomen,
Or the chest.
Now the mind will wander away from the breath throughout this practice.
But as best we can,
Noticing,
Learning from where the mind wandered to.
Maybe even breathing into what pulled our attention away.
And whenever you're ready,
Coming back to breathing.
The breath can only happen in the present moment,
So each time that we return to it,
We're returning back to the here and the now.
You may wish to pay attention to the sensations of breathing in and around the nostrils or lips,
Or in the neck and throat area.
Finding where the breath is most alive,
Vivid,
Clear for you,
Moment by moment.
It may be the whole body breathing,
Or the sound of your breath.
You may even engage the thinking mind itself,
To support you in paying attention to breathing.
By counting the breath,
Or by telling yourself,
Hey now I'm breathing in,
As I breathe in.
And now I'm breathing out,
As I breathe out.
Taking some time now on your own,
Just to be with breathing.
And now,
With some attention still on the breathing,
Even as you hear and understand the words coming out of my mouth,
We begin to end this practice.
And I invite you to keep that breath in mind,
As best you can,
As you transition,
And as you begin to approach the next moments of your day.
Thank you.
