Presence Yourself With Breath (Beach/Ocean)

A mindful moment to consider the beach as a metaphor for finding grounding and presence. Consider the sand as the past and the water as the future. Finding the space in between as the water ebbs and flows is like creating the present moment through breath.

Transcript

Hi there,

Welcome back to Insight Timer.

I'm Steven,

Your guide for this meditation.

Here we aim to support ourselves,

Ground ourselves in the present moment.

Once you've found a comfortable way to sit,

Stand,

Or be,

You might choose to close your eyes and imagine a beach.

Imagine you're standing on the space between the sand and the water.

The waves,

The tide,

Gently rolling in,

Touching the tips of your toes,

Maybe washing over your ankles,

And again,

Gently shifting out.

And you can begin to match your breath to this tide.

Your breath becomes like a personal tide,

Rolling in and washing out.

In,

A gentle pause,

An eclipse,

And a slow roll outward.

This can be through the nose or the mouth.

You can choose to guide your breath or let your breath guide you.

Perhaps bringing a little bit of extension into the breath,

Into the length,

And then starting to find the space between the breath,

Between the inhale and the exhalation.

And this very space can represent the pause of the present moment.

I like to think of the sand as the past,

The water as the future,

The potential before us,

And where we stand,

Where we seek to be in this invisible space between the past and the future and the present,

Suspended by our breath.

Here we are.

There's a great writer of yoga and meditation background,

Rebecca Pachico,

And in her work,

She writes,

We cannot take a breath in the past.

We cannot take a breath in the future.

We can only take a breath in the present moment.

We can only breathe here.

We can only be here,

Now.

Now.

Let the tide wash in.

Let the breath wash out.

And knowing you're here in the present with your breath,

Before you open your eyes,

Moving forward into your day,

You might ask what part of this you can take with you.

What part of the present moment can you continue to make present in your future?

Thanks for meditating with me.

I hope you'll come back to Insight Timer and to this meditation soon.

Take care in the meantime.