Welcome to this Introduction to Breathing Meditation.
Let's get comfortable as we begin.
Settle in.
You may be sitting or lying down.
Feel the weight of your body being supported under you,
Noticing your breathing.
As you pay attention to the breath in and breath out,
Your mind will be less cluttered with distracting thoughts.
Now calm and relaxing,
Just listen to my voice.
So what is breathing meditation?
It is one of the many ways to focus the mind into stillness and calm,
By concentrating on only one thing,
The breath.
For example,
You may simply notice each breath in and each breath out.
And,
If you prefer,
Repeating in your mind,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing out,
Throughout the meditation.
You may notice that the breath in is cooler than the breath out.
You may imagine that you are breathing out whatever no longer serves you.
Some people prefer to count breathing cycles.
A breath in and out,
One.
A breath in and out,
Two.
And so on.
You might count to 10 or 20 or another favourite number,
And start the cycle all over again each time you reach that number.
Some prefer also to pause after each inhale,
And after each exhale,
As it may help boost concentration and relaxation.
A more formal practice called box breathing includes four seconds breathing in,
A four second pause,
A four second exhale,
And another four second pause,
Then repeating the cycle.
Even with such focus on breathing,
Our mind does like to wander to other thoughts.
When it does,
Just let the thought go and return to the breathing focus.
Let's try a three minute meditation and focus on breathing using one of these approaches.
You can do this.
I will watch the time as the music plays,
And a soft bell will sound at the end of three minutes.
Let's begin.
Congratulations,
You're one of many thousands of people who practice breathing meditation every day.
Did your mind and body feel calmer?
Did you allow some of those interrupting thoughts drift by without dwelling on them?
You may find meditation practice helps you feel more calm and able to focus on the present moment more clearly.
And by sharing this practice with others,
We can work together to make the world a better place in our mindful thoughts and in our positive interactions with the world.
Thank you for being here today.
Be well,
My friend.
