Okay,
So welcome to the second mindfulness of breath practice.
So during the week between I started reading a book and I just came across these really beautiful sort of writings on mindfulness of the breath which I think really sets the scene for a nice practice.
So I'm actually going to read a passage,
I don't know quite how to pronounce his name,
Thich Nhat Hanh I think,
Vietnamese mindfulness practitioner.
He's from a Buddhist kind of background and he just has a beautiful simple clear way of writing.
So I'm going to read some stuff from him and then we'll do a particular meditation on the breath.
So I'd say just kind of let these as I read them just let the words sort of flow over you not so much trying to engage with them in an intellectual way as just hearing them and letting them kind of go in and through you and sort of seeing what happens.
Practice the art of breathing.
Mindful breathing is a wonderful way to calm the body and your feelings and to restore stillness and peace.
It's not difficult to breathe mindfully,
Anyone can do it even children.
When you breathe mindfully you bring your whole body and mind into harmony,
Concentrating on the wonder of the breath.
Our breathing is as beautiful as music.
Breathing in you know you are breathing in,
You bring all your attention to your in-breath.
As you breathe in there is peace and harmony in the whole body.
As you breathe out you know you are breathing out.
As you breathe out there is calming,
Relaxation and letting go.
You allow all the muscles in your face and shoulders to relax.
You don't have to force yourself to breathe in and out,
You don't have to make any effort at all.
You don't have to interfere with your breathing,
Just allow it to take place naturally.
As you breathe in and out imagine someone playing a very long note on a violin,
Drawing the bow back and forth across the string.
The note sounds continuously.
If you were to draw an image of your breath it would look like a figure eight,
Not a straight line,
Because there's a continuity as your breath flows in and out,
Your breathing becomes the music itself.
Breathing like this is mindfulness and as you sustain mindfulness that is concentration.
Wherever there is concentration there is insight,
A breakthrough,
Bringing more peace,
Understanding,
Love and joy into your life.
Before we continue let us enjoy a few moments to listen to the music of our breathing together.
So I'm going to repeat a sort of phrase or call it a mantra that goes with the breath for a few breaths and then what I want you to do is just kind of continue repeating that with the flow of your own breathing once I kind of drop off.
And then we'll run through a couple of different ones or a few.
Breathing in I enjoy my breath,
Breathing out I enjoy my out-breath.
Breathing in I enjoy my in-breath,
Breathing out I enjoy my out-breath.
Breathing in,
I enjoy my in-breath,
Breathing out,
I enjoy my out-breath.
Breathing in,
I enjoy my in-breath,
Breathing out,
I enjoy my out-breath.
Breathing in,
I enjoy my out-breath,
Breathing out,
I enjoy my out-breath.
Breathing in,
I enjoy my out-breath,
Breathing out,
I enjoy my out-breath.
And then a second to work with.
Breathing in,
My whole body is harmonised with the in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body is calmed with the out-breath.
Breathing in,
My whole body is harmonised with the in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body is calmed with the out-breath.
Breathing in,
My whole body is harmonised with the in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body is calmed with the out-breath.
Breathing in,
My whole body is harmonised with the out-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body is harmonised with the out-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body is harmonised with the out-breath.
Breathing in,
My whole body is harmonised with the in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body is calmed with the out-breath.
So we've got two more of these we'll work through and we'll spend a couple of minutes on each.
Breathing in,
My whole body enjoys the peace of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body enjoys the relaxation of my out-breath.
Breathing in,
My whole body enjoys the peace of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body enjoys the relaxation of my out-breath.
Breathing in,
My whole body enjoys the peace of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body enjoys the relaxation of my out-breath.
So again,
Just find your own natural flow and rhythm with these words.
Breathing in,
My whole body enjoys the peace of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body enjoys the relaxation of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body enjoys the peace of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
My whole body enjoys the peace of my out-breath.
And then a final focus.
Breathing in,
I enjoy the harmony of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing in,
I enjoy the harmony of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing in,
I enjoy the harmony of my in-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
Breathing out,
I enjoy the harmony of my out-breath.
I'm just going to use the sound of this gong to sort of help reorient you back to the room and then back into the rest of your day.
Thank you.
