Welcome to a short meditation that can help you understand the interconnected relationship between your mind and your breathing.
We can use an analogy that is sometimes used in yogic traditions to describe the indivisible nature of the mind and the breath.
We can liken the idea of a leaf which represents the mind to how it has fallen into a river representing the breath or the current of the breath.
And when the mind is suspended on the current of your breath like a leaf floating on this current then we follow our breath without distraction and a sense of deep calm can enter our mind and our being.
This practice guides us through the experience of absorbing the mind within the breath.
So please begin by taking any comfortable seated position in such a way that you can support your pelvis,
You may be sitting slightly raised up on a bolster or a cushion if you prefer.
And then just observing the steady flow of your breath,
Allowing the breath to move naturally and at its own pace,
Allowing your diaphragm to be soft and supple,
Letting the breath enter through the nose and extend down into the lungs,
Expanding into the diaphragm.
And let the breath move out and soften the diaphragm at the base of your ribs.
See if you can fully enter this stream of breath with your awareness and allow your breath to run continuously like a flowing current of water.
Just easy breaths in and out of your nose,
Following the stream of your breath,
Having faith in its course.
It may meander and swirl,
But it always comes back to its fluid nature,
Let the breath rise and fall without pushing or pulling or forcing the breath in any way,
Allowing the breath to be completely natural.
And as you begin to settle deeper into a meditative state,
Visualize the river of your breath slowing way down.
Imagine this river of your breath deepening and widening,
Allowing your breath,
Allowing the flow of your breath to become softer and softer and completely unhurried.
No rushing the breath,
Let it be completely soft and natural,
Moving at its own pace,
Feeling the breath widening and deepening.
And then imagine your mind as a leaf,
Likened to a leaf that has fallen into the stream of your breath,
Allowing this mind to leave,
To suspend on the river of your breathing,
Letting this leaf bob and lift and settle with the current.
Wherever the current of your breath moves,
The leaf of your awareness follows until there is no division,
No difference between the leaf and the water,
Between your mind and your breath,
Paying attention to how the leaf moves on the inhalation and how it moves and floats on the exhalation,
Sensing the way that your awareness drifts steadily on your breath as you follow the breath in and as you follow the breath out,
Observing the feeling of levity and calm,
Of fluidity and ease.
And for a moment longer,
Exploring this interconnected relationship between your mind and your breath.
Notice the mind and the breath as one,
One being directly dependent on the other.
And with a sense of ease in your breath,
Taking another slow moment to come back to the full experience of your body,
Taking a gentle moment to close this short contemplation on your breath,
Allowing the feeling that you've created within your mind to move out with you into the rest of your day.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
