Hello and welcome to Be A Yoga,
I'm Beatrice and today I'll guide you through a short breath focused meditation.
So when you're ready,
Find a comfortable seat,
Either cross legged or kneeling or any other way that feels comfortable for you.
You can even bring yourself to a wall so you can support your back,
You can sit on blocks or on a pillow,
On a blanket.
You may even wrap yourself in a blanket if you're cold.
And then find your sitting bones,
Find a comfortable space for your body,
Let your shoulders fall away from the ears and your chest open,
Your back in one long line.
And as you're ready to settle into stillness,
Gently soften your gaze and if you feel comfortable you might even close your eyes.
When it comes to notice,
Just notice your breath,
Start by noticing the two nostrils and the breath coming in and out.
There's no need to modify your breath throughout the practice,
Just notice.
And as you notice your nostrils,
Can you notice any quality of your breath?
Can you notice if it's warm or cold as it comes in and out?
If possible,
Breathing through the nostril too throughout the practice.
If not,
If the nose is blocked,
You're obviously welcome to breathe through the mouth.
As you keep that attention on the nasal passages,
Notice the breath touching the upper lip.
Bringing new air in through the nose and down to the lungs as you inhale.
Failing to reverse that path of the air outside from the lungs out through the nose,
Noticing the air on the upper lip.
And you can expand your awareness of the breath through other areas of the body,
Anywhere you're feeling.
Observe.
See if you can maintain this focus,
The attention on the breath throughout the next few minutes.
Can you be so attentive that you notice the poses in between the breaths,
In between in breath and out breath?
And if you feel any sensation in the mind or the body,
Don't block it out.
Just allow it to raise up and let it resonate wherever it needs to.
Without judgement,
Without resistance.
And embrace this time just to be,
Not to do anything or go anywhere.
And then begin to focus your attention into the abdomen,
The upper part of the abdomen,
So right below the breastbone and right above the navel.
And as you focus on that area,
Can you keep the chest and shoulders relaxed?
Keep breathing and releasing if you can on the exhale.
Expanding the upper abdomen as you invite new air in through the lungs.
And contracting the abdomen back as you exhale all the air.
Inhale to invite new air in.
Exhale to empty it out.
Just taking a few more breaths,
Just like this,
Attention to the breath in and out and the poses.
If thoughts come up,
Do not push them away.
Do not name them either,
Do not judge,
They're not good or bad,
They're just thoughts.
And if they distract you,
Just return to the space of your breath.
Notice your natural rhythm,
Notice the natural cycle of your breath.
And for the next few moments,
Just enjoy this stillness.
And you can stay here for as long as you want.
But if you're ready,
Start to deepen your breath,
Just take a couple more breaths in and out through the nose.
And on your next exhale,
Float your eyes up and come back to the room.
And hopefully take this stillness with you through the rest of the day.
I hope you join me again soon.
