Hello and welcome back.
Today we have a soothing and grounding breath practice.
So let's begin.
As a way of arriving.
Take a slow,
Full breath all the way down into the very base of your belly.
Fill up,
Inhale.
Open the mouth,
Let the breath tumble out with a big exhale.
And let's do two more like that.
Inhale,
Full breath in.
Open the mouth,
Maybe with a bit of sound.
Exhale,
Let the breath go.
Last one for now inhale breathing fully all the way in hold the breath just for a moment at the top exhale let it go and then simply let your breath fall back into its own natural rhythm and pace.
But see if you can keep your awareness with the breath.
Perhaps noticing how fast or how slow your breath is moving.
You might be able to sense where in your body you're breathing.
Maybe you can feel the texture or the temperature.
Of your breath.
Seeing if it's possible to lean into the felt sense of breathing.
Nothing more,
Nothing less.
Just noticing how it feels to breathe right now.
As you feel into the sensation of your breath.
You might also start to become aware of other parts of your current experience right now.
And so maybe you can notice how your physical body feels.
Are there different areas of sensation?
Whether it's heaviness or lightness,
Feeling of tension or ease,
Tiredness or energy.
Just noticing the physical body.
And any sensation that might be present.
Drawing your awareness into the container of your thinking mind.
Could you also become aware of any thoughts that might be moving in and out?
That might be rising and falling just like the breath does.
How does the headspace feel today?
Is it moving slow or fast?
Is it busy or quiet?
Simply noticing what's happening within the container of your thinking mind.
Dropping your awareness into your heart space.
Can you notice any emotions,
Any feelings that are a part of your current experience right now?
You might even imagine tracing the outline of the different emotions that are present with you here right now.
And at the center of it all.
There is the breath.
Still rising,
Still falling.
No matter what it is that we are experiencing,
Whatever's moving or shifting internally,
Externally,
The breath is always there.
Each breath perhaps different than the last,
Unique in its own way,
And yet the breath is this steady,
Constant,
Rising and falling.
From this place of noticing what's happening in the body,
In the mind,
In the heart.
See if it's possible to let the center of your awareness anchor in your breath.
To gently rest in that place.
As you breathe here,
The invitation is to start inviting slightly more spacious,
Fuller breaths in.
And slightly more soft.
Gentle breaths out.
You might imagine that you're trying to ever so slightly slow down the rate of your breath.
As if you could smooth out the edges of your breathing.
Perhaps even imagining the breath like a wave washing over the shore.
This wave of water rolling in with each inhale.
And then this wave of water rolling back out,
Returning to the ocean with each exhale.
And as the waves wash over the shore.
The water,
Slowly but surely,
Smooths out the edges of stones.
Softens grains of sand.
And this is a process that happens over many waves.
As you visualize the waves of the ocean washing over the shore.
You might imagine that your breath has this same capacity.
For spaciousness and softness.
As you start to slow down and smooth out the edges of the breath.
You could begin to imagine that you're breathing this soft,
Spacious breath.
Into whatever it is that you're noticing right now.
As if you could breathe into the body.
Into the mind.
Into the heart.
Breathing this sense of spaciousness and softness into and around the edges of your experience.
Not with the intention to get rid of anything or change anything.
This ocean is not washing anything away.
But rather just softening the edges of what's already here.
As if you could imagine the breath softening the edges of sensation of giving space to the thoughts and the emotions that might be present right now.
Giving your whole self,
Your whole experience.
A little bit of extra softness and spaciousness.
As if the breath could be like a gentle hush.
Letting the breath hold the fullness of what's here.
Your whole self.
Mind,
Body,
And heart.
We'll stay with these slow,
Gentle,
Soft and spacious breaths.
For just another minute here together.
Wherever you are right now.
Take a slow,
Full breath in.
Open the mouth and let the breath go.
Release your awareness on the breath for a moment and allow yourself to open just to what is here right now.
Taking this moment of pause to thank yourself for showing up.
For taking the time to slow down and to tune in.
One final invitation from me to you is to see if it's possible to carry just a little bit of this spaciousness and softness that you've cultivated for yourself into the rest of your day.
Thanks for joining and I'll see you next time.
