Hi there,
My name's Bailey,
And I'll be guiding you in a mindfulness of the breath meditation today.
Go ahead and settle into your seat,
Find a comfortable position to be in for our sit.
You can rest your hands in your lap or on your knees,
Whatever feels most natural to you.
And I want you to take a second to notice the present moment that we're in,
And I invite you to let a smile come to your lips.
It's rare that we take a moment to stop and appreciate how precious the present can be.
When you're ready,
I invite you to close your eyes.
If you prefer to keep them open,
Just have a steady gaze in front of you.
For those of you who are new to meditation,
I want to first welcome you to this practice and explain why meditation and mindfulness are so good for your health and well-being.
When we take the time to be aware of our breathing and relax the mind,
The body enters the parasympathetic nervous system,
Also known as rest and digest.
When we enter this mode,
Our body feels calm,
Safe,
And functions properly.
All in all,
This practice of mindfulness is loving and caring for your body as well as your mind.
I want you to start bringing your awareness to your breath,
Going in and out of your nose.
We're not trying to force the breath here to be any other way than how it naturally is.
Instead of guiding the breath,
Let it guide you.
Allow it to bring you into a state of relaxation.
And while you continue to be breathed,
I want you to notice what area of your nose you can feel your breath going in and out of.
Is it at the top of your nostrils?
Maybe it's on the outer edges.
Try to pinpoint where you can feel your breath and focus on that point.
Just the breath going in and out.
What sensations do you feel?
Is the breath cold or warm?
Just focusing on how that feels.
And if you start to notice your mind wander,
Gently redirect it back to the breath.
There's nothing else we need to do right now except focus on the breath.
It is human for your mind to wander,
And when that happens,
Just know you're doing nothing wrong.
All you need to do is bring your awareness back to your breath.
The thing that I love most about meditation is this safe,
Quiet,
Calm place that I create for myself.
A place I can come back to whenever I need,
And it's always there for me.
That ability exists in each of us when we do this practice.
Keep that in mind any time you need a safe place to go back to.
I want you to now move your awareness of your breath from your nose down to your belly.
Noticing the rise and fall of the belly as you inhale and exhale.
And I'd like for you to imagine the breath like a wave washing through you as you inhale and cleansing you as you exhale.
The breath moving through you like the ocean,
Washing away any lingering tension,
And refreshing you over and over.
When I think about how this practice feels safe and calm for me,
I think about something my Angelou once said,
The ache for home lives in all of us,
A safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
I invite you to take a moment to let that sink in.
Consider what that means for you,
And continue to let your breath guide you.
In these last few moments,
I want you to thank yourself for showing up for this practice and giving yourself this gift.
Your body will thank you for it.
I invite you to start to bring your body back into the space.
Might help to move lightly to wake your body back up.
I will usually wiggle my toes and my fingers,
Move my neck back and forth.
And when you're feeling ready,
You can go ahead and open your eyes.
Thank you so much for joining me for this meditation today,
And I hope you'll join me again in the future.
