Hello,
This is a short breathing meditation to help you find a sense of relax in your body and calmness in your mind.
Choose a comfortable yet alert meditation posture,
Sitting on a chair or on a cushion.
Keep your back straight but not tense,
Let the shoulders drop and place your hands gently on your thighs or both of them on your lap.
Now I invite you to take three deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth.
Gently close your eyes or if you feel like it,
Keep them slightly open with a soft gaze.
Now bring your attention back to your body,
Noticing the contact of your feet on the ground and your hips sinking into the seat or the cushion.
I invite you to relax your face,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Relaxing your chest and upper back,
Your arms and hands,
Relaxing your abdomen,
Your lower back,
Your hips and thighs,
Relaxing your lower legs and your feet.
Take a deep breath and check the whole body,
Allowing any unresolved tightness to melt away.
Now bring your attention to your breath and notice where you can feel it in the body.
Maybe it's in the belly,
In the chest or in the nose.
The place doesn't really matter.
Your goal is to be aware of each breath,
Moment by moment.
Maintain a relaxed focus on the breath and let the body breathe by itself.
Simply notice how the breath unfolds in the body,
Trying not to modify the breath,
Only observe the breath as it happens naturally.
Be curious about the small pauses between the in-breath and the out-breath and between the out-breath and the in-breath.
Maybe you can also notice that when the breath happens in a relaxed way,
The exhalations are a bit longer than the inhalations and if you get distracted because your mind wanders off into the future or past,
Simply acknowledge and accept the distraction without judgement.
Let it go and then gently but firmly bring it back to the breathing.
Just being with the breath is the only thing you need to do.
And now,
You can release the focus on your breath and expand your awareness to sense the whole body and your surroundings,
Feeling the contact of your feet on the ground and your hips on the seat.
Be aware of the sounds around you and when you are ready,
Take one final breath and gently open your eyes.
