This is a meditation to bring you into deeper relationship with your breath.
And it's a great primer for silent meditation.
In fact,
This meditation will end with a few minutes of silence.
So let's begin by closing our eyes and just noticing that you are in fact breathing.
Every cell in your body requires oxygen to thrive.
So every cell in your body breathes with you.
It's not just your mouth,
Your lungs,
Or your belly that breathes.
It's your whole body.
Allow yourself to enjoy the sensation of your whole body breathing.
When you take in breath,
You are drawing an energy from all directions,
Not just the front of your body.
So take a few breaths and allow yourself to feel the breath coming in through the sides of your body,
Through the back of your body.
And when you exhale,
Allow yourself to feel the breath radiating out from you in all directions,
Like rays of sunlight.
Every inch of you is letting go.
Let the back of your neck exhale.
Let the back of your heart exhale.
The back of your knees.
Now as your whole body breathes in all directions,
Start to notice the beats between your breaths,
These natural pauses.
Notice that moment when you've taken in the complete inhale but you haven't quite started the next exhale.
And notice that moment at the bottom of the exhale before you've begun your next breath cycle.
These beats between the breath are magic moments.
And if you allow it,
They will hold your mind completely.
Perhaps you are already feeling a deeper connection to your breath now.
Perhaps you have started to experience your breath getting deeper,
Longer,
Slower,
More profound.
Continue to let your breath expand and do what it wants to do as I offer up a few guiding questions.
There are no right answers,
Only your answers.
And keep in mind your answers may change over time or even from day to day.
Every body breathes differently.
No two bodies experience breath in exactly the same way.
So I ask you,
What is the shape of your breath as it fills your body?
What is the shape of your breath as it fills your body?
Feel the answer.
It doesn't have to be attached to words.
What is the shape of the space that remains as the breath leaves your body?
What is the shape of the space that remains as the breath leaves your body?
Where does the breath go first in your body?
And where is the last shore of yourself that the breath reaches?
Where do you feel your breath first leave your body?
And where inside yourself does the breath linger the longest before returning home?
Do you experience your breath starting at the edges of your being and filling inwards?
Or does your breath start in your center channel and start to expand outwards towards the edges of your being?
Does your breath have a color?
If not,
Just choose one and see if that changes your experience of your breath.
Can you feel the energy that rides on your breath?
What does it feel like?
And can you feel the energy that remains inside you even after you exhale?
Your breath doesn't just bring you oxygen.
It brings you back your spirit.
It gathers up the selves you have lost or displaced and it returns them to you effortlessly.
Just notice how a few minutes of mindful breathing has given you a more expansive and connected sense of self.
How it has started you on the path that ends at the core of your being.
It doesn't have to take a lot of time to remember who you are.
It doesn't always require chanting for hours on end or wearing all white.
So remember who you are,
Ask your breath,
And then listen with your whole body for the answer.
I'm going to leave you here to enjoy your breath for a few more minutes,
But before I go I'll ask you one last question that may change your experience.
What if the breath is breathing you?
Instead of you breathing the breath,
What if the breath is breathing you?
What if the breath is breathing you?
What if the breath is breathing you?
What if the breath is breathing you?
What if the breath is breathing you?
What if the breath is breathing you?
What if the breath is breathing you?
