Welcome.
This is a mindfulness of the breath practice.
I invite you to practice with me.
Finding a supportive posture.
Whether sitting or lying down.
Even standing or walking.
Whatever position you prefer.
You may even choose to go outside in nature for this practice.
Wherever you decide to make yourself comfortable.
I invite you to take a few moments to notice.
Notice the sensations.
Of your body as they come into contact.
With the floor beneath you.
Allow yourself to surrender.
And ground.
Being both comfortable yet alert.
You might close your eyes.
Or feel free to leave them open.
With a soft gaze.
Now take three deep breaths.
The deepest you've taken all day.
Inhaling.
And exhaling.
Releasing any initial tension.
You may have been carrying.
Notice the simple sensation of air coming and going.
Notice where you feel the breath most easily.
For some it will be the nostrils.
Or some in the chest or the abdomen.
Wherever you can most easily feel.
The sensation of breath.
Allow your awareness to follow that breath from its beginning to its end.
And back around.
Following the wave of the in-breath.
And the out-breath.
Simply noticing.
Without any judgment.
Without any striving.
If your mind has a tendency to wander,
Which is natural and normal.
Simply invite your attention back.
Back to the next breath.
Returning to the in-breath.
And the out breath.
This many times.
As you need to.
This gentle act of return is the practice.
Now I invite you to turn your awareness toward the long lineage of people who have come before you.
And recognize that your breath.
This very act of living,
Of breathing,
Is made possible by all those who have come before you.
Imagine that the breath you take is not solely your own.
But is connected to a much longer legacy of your ancestors.
You are the carrier of their stories.
Your breath is the carrier of their stories.
They live in your breath.
Think of those who nurtured and cultivated the land.
Remember those who map the stars.
Who survived the ages and unimaginable difficulties.
Who survived so that you could take this next breath.
Notice if you can feel the wisdom of these ancestral connections in your body.
With strength.
The resourcefulness.
Creativity.
The pain.
And the resilience that has been carried through the generations.
Carried on the wind and in the blood.
Let every mindful breath be an act of return.
Of rebellion.
And of remembering the sacred right to exist.
Gently bring your awareness to your heart center.
Imagining a soft warm light beginning to glow.
This warmth is your capacity for compassion and love.
Connecting you to all beings,
Past,
Present,
And future.
Let this light and warmth flow outward towards your entire spiritual family tree.
Both healed and unhealed.
Rest in the deep understanding of interdependence.
That nothing exists in isolation.
We are all made of stars.
Breathing in,
Allow yourself to feel this powerful connection to all of life.
Breathing out,
Feel the sense of belonging that comes from community.
Allow yourself to fully feel and enjoy any pleasant sensations that arise.
And also allow yourself to hold and be with.
Any painful,
Sensations that may arise.
Allow yourself to be held.
By the great cosmic body.
That holds us all.
Allow your awareness to broaden.
Holding the complexity of your experience.
The breath.
The body the ancestral ties.
The joys and the sorrows.
Rest back in the knowledge.
That you are part.
Of this ancestral lineage.
That it will continue to live.
In each breath.
Before you were born.
And after you are gone.
From this earth body.
Acknowledge the gift and the miracle.
This breath.
Thank you for practicing with me.
