Practice Noticing Your Breath

A few minutes of noticing your breathing pattern invites the possibility to decide if and how you might choose to change. This practice offers an invitation to count the breath, to notice and label any observations, and to consider speeding or slowing the breathing pattern. The breath creates a tool that helps you shift from reacting to responding.

Transcript

Hi there,

Welcome back to Insight Timer.

I'm your guide Stephen,

Here to support you with awareness of your breath.

Before we can choose to shift our breath,

To change our breathing pattern,

It can be extremely valuable to simply become aware of our breathing.

Once you've found a seat or a comfortable position,

I would invite you to place a hand on your heart or your chest and another hand on your stomach or belly.

And notice how you breathe.

Try not to shift that pattern.

Start to count as you inhale and exhale,

Noticing the length of time that passes with each breath cycle.

Do you notice it's fast or slow?

What label does your mind apply to your breathing?

And then once you begin to notice that,

Perhaps then you can choose to create some depth.

If you want to activate more energy in the body,

You could choose to breathe faster or slower.

If you want to slow down and achieve relaxation,

Can create some depth,

Especially to the exhale.

You might start to count four seconds or four counts in and five or six counts out.

You may choose to close your eyes as you connect with your breath.

Noticing also the feeling and sensation of the breath moving in and out of your body.

The breath can become a personal metronome,

A tool that we practice observing,

Hearing,

Noticing,

Taking a lens of curiosity without judgment to understand how we breathe.

Rather than reacting,

We can choose how we want to respond once we become aware of our breath.

You can continue to breathe,

Counting the inhale,

Counting the exhale,

Making a decision.

Do you want to guide the breath or do you want the breath to guide you?

Do you want to start breathing and count your natural breath or do you want to start counting and let your breath follow you?

Take a moment to notice now how your breathing has shifted over the past few minutes.

And with that shift in breathing,

What else can you become aware of in your body?

Are there thoughts?

Are there feelings?

Are there sensations?

Take these new awarenesses with you as you practice noticing your breath and using this noticing as a tool to choose how you take responsibility and move forward into your day.

Thanks for joining me here on Insight Timer.

Hope to practice with you again soon.