Be One - Mindful Breathing Meditation

This is a simple breathing meditation to help you feel centered and balanced throughout the day.

Transcript

Mindfulness of breathing meditation.

As we join together for this mindful breathing practice,

Let's find a comfortable sitting position and spend a little time on our posture.

So you may sit on a chair or cross-legged on a cushion or mat on the floor.

If you're on a chair,

Try to feel your feet really rooted to the ground.

If you're on the floor,

Get a sense of the triangle formed by your crossed legs and your bottom giving you a firm foundation.

Try as best you can to hold an upright yet relaxed position,

Letting your pelvis provide a stable base for your upper body.

Now allow your shoulders to drop,

Creating a space between your ears and your shoulders,

Thus lengthening your neck.

You could visualize little sandbags or the gentle pressure of loving hands on your shoulders.

Imagine a fine gold thread gently pulling the back of your head upwards towards the sky.

Tuck your chin slightly in and place the tip of your tongue lightly against the upper teeth.

Notice if your teeth are clenched or your jaw is tight and if so,

See if you can relax it with a peaceful smile.

Once you are settled in this position,

Let your eyelids drop lightly as you close your eyes.

Rest your hands comfortably in your lap,

On your thighs or on your knees.

Now we are ready to begin.

Gently bring your attention to your breathing.

Breathing in and out through the nose if this is comfortable for you or if you prefer in through the nose and out through the mouth.

See where you feel the breath most prominently.

So it may be at the nostrils with the air feeling cool as you breathe in,

Slightly warmer as you breathe out.

You may feel it more in your chest as it rises with each in-breath and falls with each out-breath.

Or you may feel it more obviously at the abdomen as if a balloon is filling up and then deflating.

You may in fact feel it nowhere in particular.

Playfully let your attention drift and see whether your breathing settles anywhere.

Just notice whatever physical sensations you're having.

If you feel that right now there isn't any particular place that you feel the breath more than anywhere else then simply for this practice choose to focus on one part.

So it might be the nostrils or the chest or the abdomen.

Allow yourself to feel the full duration of each breath.

This breath and this breath and this breath and so on and so forth.

As you ride the wave of the breath sensation notice now whether you find the in-breath or the out-breath easier.

Are you aware of the transition between an in and an out-breath?

Is there a pause between them?

Imagine yourself as an explorer in the landscape of breathing.

There's no right or wrong way of breathing here.

The body breathes itself.

You will undoubtedly find your mind wandering.

This is completely normal and to be expected.

It's in the nature of the mind to wander.

It is what it does.

It certainly doesn't mean that you're doing the practice wrong.

On the contrary,

Noticing the mind wandering gives us an opportunity to become more familiar with our minds.

It is in fact the purpose of mindfulness to notice what is happening.

So you can simply observe where the mind has gone to,

What thoughts have entered this space.

You could make a mental note such as I'm thinking,

I'm projecting into the future,

I'm going over past events,

I'm bored.

This is pointless.

I feel restless.

Or alternatively you may feel quite good.

This feels nice.

This is relaxing.

Observe whatever it is that is happening for you right here,

Right now.

And your mind may wander a hundred times and a hundred times you will notice this.

And then with no sense of judgment gently escort your attention back to your breath.

This breath and the next one and the one after that.

Moment by moment by moment.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Remember there's nowhere else you need to be.

No one for you to please.

Nothing you need to do other than be right here,

Right now.

Now just as with your intruding thoughts,

If you feel discomfort in the body,

An itch or a burning or a cramping,

Observe the sensation.

Acknowledge it.

Try to orient your breath to the part that is uncomfortable.

Breathing into it.

This focus often makes the discomfort lessen or at least more bearable.

If it doesn't and you feel you need to move a bit,

Please do so.

The practice is done in a spirit of kindness and looking after yourself.

Once you've noticed and managed the bodily discomfort,

Gently bring the spotlight of attention right back to your breath.

So breathe.

Observe the sensation and whatever arises.

And these are the tegenerast we will use the most in this case,

As a contact platform or perspective whenever we're playing game.

Note what is there.

Thoughts.

Bodily sensations.

Emotions.

And now simply experience.

Allow yourself to take in the full extent of your experience.

Whatever is there,

Simply let it be and feel it.

Breathe.

Observe.

Note.

Experience.

This is what helps us to feel,

To be one,

Integrated and not fragmented.

So with this in mind,

We'll take a few more minutes to practice in silence.

So with this in mind,

We'll take a few more minutes to practice in silence.

So with this in mind,

We'll take a few more minutes to practice in silence.

So with this in mind,

We'll take a few more minutes to practice in silence.

With the next out breath,

Slowly release the focus on the breathing.

Just take a moment to be in touch with how you're feeling generally this minute.

Bring a gentle overview of yourself sitting here,

Your body in this moment simply being.

As we come to the end of this practice,

Reconnect with the body in space,

The sense of your body here and now.

Of the feel of your feet on the ground,

Or the legs in contact with the floor.

Of sounds around you.

Any fragrances available to your nose.

Of the sense of the air on your face.

You may wish to give your body top to toe a fleeting gentle touch or thought in gratitude to your physical sense,

Your physical self.

There will be three soft bells and when you stop hearing the sound of the bell,

Gently open your eyes.

Reviews

Loved the sound and cadence of her voice. This was wonderful!!

Amazing, such a calming voice!! Some great suggestions too on how to sit at the start, took me to another place within myself. 🙏🏽

Very good practice for me. Pleasant, relaxing voice. Nice tempo of speech and inclusion of space. I look forward to spending more time with this one and future releases. Keep up the good work Asha and thank you!

Very nice. A needed refresher.

Very peaceful. Gentle instruction and nice silence at the end. Thank you.

Beautifully guided meditation. Looking forward to hearing more.

Wonderful practice. I’ll be bookmarking this for future meditation! Thank you!

This is the only mindfulness meditation I could actually follow without zoning out for most of it! Thank you!

Totally relaxed. One of the best!