My Breath Is With Me

This grounding meditation uses mindful breathing as an anchor to the present moment. This exercise can be particularly useful for those times where we feel we may be becoming swept away by strong emotion or distressing thoughts. In that way, this exercise can be used to help settle and sooth.

Transcript

Hello, I'm Dr Bethany Brown and thank you for joining me for this short breathing meditation called My Breath is With Me. This meditation uses mindful breathing as a way of focusing our awareness on the present. It is intended to be used as an anchoring breath. It can be particularly helpful to use when we feel that we're being swept away by difficult, Challenging emotions or a busy mind. To begin, I invite you to take a moment to settle into your position, To bring awareness to your body, Noticing points of contact, Perhaps with the floor or your seat, And just taking a moment to switch from that mode of doing that we are so often in to a mode of simply being. If you would like to close your eyes, I invite you to do so, But equally a neutral gaze can work just as well. What we are going to do now is take our attention and imagine it as a spotlight and we are shining that spotlight onto our breath. We are simply observing the breath as it happens, Curiously following it as if it is the first time we have ever observed a breath, Noticing the parts of the body involved in each in-breath and out-breath, Following it, Tracing its course, Perhaps even noticing the point that it changes from an in-breath to an out-breath, Paying attention to its pace, Its quality and tone, How deep or shallow it is, Not because we want to change it, Simply from a place of non-judgmental curiosity, Simply observing it. And any time you're distracted, Your mind wanders, Which it will do as that is what the mind is designed to do. We are simply noticing and gently and kindly bringing our awareness back to our breath. No matter how busy our mind is today, My breath is with me. My breath is the anchor to the present, Following each breath, Moment by moment. No matter the emotions that are with me, My breath is always here. My breath can anchor me, Moment by moment. No matter the challenges that face me, My breath is always with me. My breath is an anchor, Observing each breath, Observing the present. As the seasons of life change, My breath is with me. My anchor to the present is with me, Moment by moment. My breath is with me. When there is pain, My breath is with me. When there is sadness, My breath is with me. When there is joy, My breath is with me. When I feel overwhelmed, My breath is still with me. My breath is my anchor, Moment by moment. My breath is always with me.