Hello,
And welcome to Monday Meditation.
Today we're going to be learning a breathing exercise,
Which you can refer back to any time you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
But first,
Let's start in our usual way.
Take a comfortable seated position with your gaze soft in front of you.
Sit up straight,
But comfortably,
And take a deep breath in through your nose,
And out through your mouth.
Take another deep breath in,
Feeling your body expand,
And out,
Feeling your body soften.
One more time,
Inhale,
And exhale.
And with this exhale,
You can close your eyes and lower your gaze.
Get in touch with your surroundings.
Feel the weight of your body pressing down on the seat beneath you.
Put your feet on the floor.
Let any sounds around you come and go.
Notice if there's any scent in the air,
Or if the temperature of the room is hot or cold.
Feel the chair against your back.
Just take a few moments to pay attention to your surroundings,
Letting everything come and go,
Just being aware,
Not stopping to focus on any one thing.
Take a few moments.
Now we're going to learn the breathing exercise.
For this,
We're going to be taking a four-count inhale,
Holding for two counts,
And doing a slow exhale for six counts.
Try to direct your breath into your belly instead of opening your chest with your breath,
Lifting your shoulders up.
Keep your shoulders relaxed and try to breathe with your stomach.
Breathing in,
Feeling your stomach expand.
Breathing out,
Feeling your stomach contract.
Again,
We're going to inhale for a count of four,
Hold for a count of two,
And exhale for a count of six.
I'll guide you through the first few breaths like this.
Let's take an inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Again,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
One more like this,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Relax.
Now,
Just take a few minutes to focus on your breathing.
You can continue to do the four,
Two,
Six pattern or just do your regular breaths,
But try to breathe with your belly and just focus on your breath for a few moments.
Now bring your attention back to your surroundings.
Feel the weight of your body on the chair or seat beneath you.
Let any sounds in the room come and go.
When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
Keep this breathing pattern in mind.
Whenever you're feeling stressed,
The news has got you overwhelmed,
If your to-do list has you feeling stressed,
Just come back to this belly breathing,
The four,
Two,
Six pattern.
Until next time,
Thanks and God bless.
