Day 17: 35-Minute Mindfulness Of Breath

This Mindfulness Meditation Challenge is designed to help you build a meditation habit and incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine. You can access this whole challenge through the playlist at the bottom my profile.

In this track, I am going to guide you through mindfulness of breath meditation. This practice reduces stress and anxiety, improves focus and concentration, and enhances emotional regulation. For best results, practice this meditation once a day for at least a week.

This meditation was recorded during one of the live events on Insight Timer. So, if you find this meditation helpful, you can support my work through a small donation.

Image Credit: By Leolo212 via Pixabay

Transcript

Hello everyone. Welcome to this mindfulness meditation challenge. Today's practice is mindfulness of breath. So breath is the very thing that has been there with you since the time you were born and till you will die. It is free of cost, You can access it anywhere, Anytime while doing anything, Right? And it is often the most basic practice. I myself started with this particular practice. So I want to start this challenge with this practice also. Coming to the benefits of it. It reduces stress and anxiety. It also increase focus and concentration and it helps you in emotion regulation. So these are like the major benefits. There are much more, But I'm just quoting few. Let's try something. Okay. I love introducing this practice this way. I invite you all to check in that. Are you breathing right now? Don't just say yes. First check in. Are you breathing in and out right now? Now you can answer yes or no. Okay. So all of you who said yes, You are already a master at this practice. Okay. This was mindfulness of breathing. Done. Okay. Let me explain the practice. So when I asked you to check in with yourself, Then the practice was that you were aware, You were focused on the present moment, Which included your breath, Inhalation. Then we reach the peak. Then there is a pause. Then we exhale. Then there's a pause before we begin to breathe again. Right? So this is the whole cycle. So you were aware of it through the whole inhalation and the whole exhalation. You were aware of it. And that's the practice. Mindfulness of breathing just involves having an object. Okay. And in this case, The object is our breath. So we focus on it and then our mind wanders. It is natural. It's our mind's tendency. Okay. It wanders. And then we bring it back to the object, Which is our breath. That is the practice. That is the technique. Before we start with the practice, We are going to do two simple things. First, I want all of you in the comment section to mention, Why are you here? As in, Why do you want to cultivate this habit of meditation? Or why do you want to incorporate mindfulness into your life? When we, You know, Don't have the time or when we don't want to sit there while we are in the meditation, We just feel like, No, I don't want to do this anymore. So this why helps us continue our practice, No matter what our temporary feelings are. So why do you want to cultivate this habit of meditation? How will it impact your life? Will it help you deal with the challenge? Will it help you gain something that you want? So what is it? What is your why? This will help us deepen the why in our, You know, Mind. So, Yeah, We want to remind our mind again and again that why this is important to me, Otherwise you won't come tomorrow, Right? I hope that this practice brings you that. I said we will do two things before the meditation, Right? So the second thing is, I want all of you to rate on a scale of 0 to 10, What is your distress level right now? So 10 means you are most distressed, You are maybe triggered, You are feeling like, You know, Unpleasant and 0 means like you are calm and you are, You know, Feeling safe and connected and all of those things. So on a scale of 0 to 10, Where are you right now? We are doing this to know where we are right now, Okay? So those who are on the higher end of the spectrum, I hope that this practice bring you some relief. So let's start the practice. So I invite you to sit, Stand or lie down in a comfortable posture, Okay? Any position that feels more relaxed, More comfortable, Okay? Make sure that whatever position you are in, It makes you feel alert and at the same time relaxed. So to ensure that you are alert, Straighten your spine, Okay? So we are not slouched in, Our spine is straightened, Not stiff, It is still flexible, But straight. Straight. Our head is in line with the spine, Meaning if you are sitting, Then your head must be looking forward. The spine and your head is in alignment. Now, Relax your jaw, Loosen it, You don't need to hold on any tension in your mouth. Let go of the tension around your eyes. Relax your face, Release all the tension in the facial muscles. Place your hand on your knees or in your lap, So let them rest wherever it feels comfortable. Rolling your shoulders back so that your heart is open to receive. Now, If you feel comfortable, You can either gently close your eyes or lower your gaze. Notice where is your focus right now, What you are aware of right now. Continue to stay with it. Now, Rest your attention on the surface beneath you. Feeling the pressure, Maybe the temperature. Let all of that weight rest on the surface. Feeling your body fully supported by Mother Earth. Now, Turn your attention inward and notice what does it feel like to be in this body? What does it feel like to exist in this moment? This moment is enough and you right now are enough. Now, Bring your attention to the intention for this practice. So, Reflect, Who do you want to dedicate this practice to? It can be for the benefit of yourself or a loved one or even all living beings on this Earth. So, Who do you want your practice to benefit? And what benefit are you seeking? So, What would you like to take away from this practice? How do you want the person you are dedicating this practice to feel or to be? Once you have a clear intention in your mind, Let's drop this intention into the universe. So, Say a prayer that may my practice bring dash to dash. Meaning, May my practice bring whatever you want this practice to bring and to dash. So, Whoever you want to dedicate this practice to. For example, My intention is may this practice bring a sense of calm and relief to everyone in this meditation room. Once you state this prayer to the universe, Now take a deep breath in through your nose. And out through your mouth, Letting go of this intention. Take two more deep breaths like this. Now, Direct your attention to your breath. So, Notice it going into the nostrils, Into the lungs and abdomen and back through the same path. Again, Notice it going into the nostrils, To your lungs and abdomen, Becoming a part of you and back again through the same pathway, Connecting with the universe. Connecting you to the world outside. Follow your breath. Notice how you become one with the world around you through this bridge of breath. Now, We will focus on one particular spot, Where the breath is most prominent. So, This part can be the space between your nostrils and your upper lip. So, You might feel a gentle touch of breath each time you breathe in and out. Or this area could be your nostrils, Where you feel the cold air move in and the warm air move out. Or maybe it's your chest. So, The chest rise with the in-breath and falls with the out-breath. Noticing the pace of your breath. Is it fast or slow? Or maybe you might feel the breath in your belly. So, You might notice the expansion and the contraction of your belly. Some people like to place a hand on their belly to notice the breath even more. Noticing whether the breath is shallow or deep. Very good. Now, We will choose one out of these four spots. So, It can be one of these parts or it can be any other body part where you feel the breath most prominently. So, Take your time to sense and choose one specific part of your body. Where you feel the breath most easily. Once you have chosen this part, Then feel the breath coming in and out. So, Pay your full attention as your breath comes into this part and full attention when the breath goes out of this part. I will now stay quiet for a few moments so you can be with the breath. Remember, You don't have to change the breath in any manner. And you don't have to think about it or visualize it. Just feel the breath as it is. Notice where is your mind. Is it on the breath or on something else? If your mind wandered, Then you can simply label that as thoughts or emotion or sensation or perhaps a sound. So, Just give it a label and gently come back to your breath. If you notice that your mind was no longer on the breath, Then again label and gently come back to the breath. So, As you come back, There is no need to be harsh with yourself because it's the nature of the mind to wander. And by labeling the object on which the mind has wandered to, We are not resisting or getting absorbed in that distraction. Instead, We are acknowledging it. So, Gently bring your attention back to the breath no matter how much your mind wanders. Now, We will bring our attention to just one breath. Okay? So, When you take the next breath, Be with the breath for the whole duration of the inhale and for the whole duration of the exhale. So, Try to take one breath, Just one breath, Mindfully. Wonderful. Now, If you were able to do it once, Let's try it two more times. Okay? Let's try it two more times. Okay? So, Stay with your breath for the whole duration of the inhale and exhale. So, Give it a try. Wonderful. You did great. Now, Let's expand your awareness. So, Expand your awareness and notice your whole body breathing in this moment. Notice what it's like to be present in this body which is breathing, Which is alive. You might notice your shoulders, Your back, Your belly and other areas of your body moving as you breathe in and out through your whole body. Wonderful. You are doing amazing. Now, To conclude our practice, Let's place our hands on the heart. So, You can place one or both of your hands on the center of your chest. And let all the benefits of this practice sink in. Now, Bring your attention to your body and notice how does your body feel towards the end of this practice. Is it tensed or is it relaxed? What is the emotion that you are feeling right now? Try to name the emotion. Very good. Now, At last, Reflect on your practice and notice what was the state of your mind. Was your mind too distracted throughout the practice or was your mind more quiet? Now, To conclude this practice and to connect back with the surroundings, Notice the sounds around you. Whenever you feel ready, You can gently open your eyes if your eyes were closed. Okay. Now, How was your experience? I would love to hear about it. How are you feeling? How was the practice for you? So, Apart from sharing your experience, I would love if you guys can, You know, Give it a rating again on the scale of 0 to 10. 10 being distress and 0 being calm. So, Right now, Where are you and where were you before? This will help you also get an idea, You know, How was this practice for you? Okay. So, This session has come to an end. So, Thank you so much everyone for tuning in, Sending my love and healing to all of you. Namaste.

Reviews

i am doing this meditation / mindfulness because i want to learn more about mindfulness and learn how to zone in and out 🦋

Hi Anisha,
Thank you for yet another talk.
Do you have any specific inputs for person seeking external validation and too self critical about oneself while exercising this practice?
There was an element of surprise when in multiple of attendance in live talks, I was having same distress level after and before meditation practice.
I could make sense that why I could not feel connected with few specific sentences of yours as 'You are master meditator, or You did awesome job'.
In daily lives, how many times do we crave for such positive comments from our spouse or boss?
With Metta,
Arpit