Welcome to Heart-Centered Breathing Practice.
This is a guided meditation designed to help you connect with your deeper self through compassionate listening and mindfulness.
So find a comfortable position sitting or lying on your back or even standing.
Just make sure your spine is long but your body is as relaxed as possible,
Finding balance and ease in your body.
Let's begin.
Close your eyes and take a moment to tune your awareness inward.
What are you feeling?
What messages is your physical body giving you?
Any aches or pains?
Notice the movements your body makes as you breathe.
What is your mental state like?
Is your mind moving quickly from one thought to the next?
Or is it persevering on a single train of thought?
Just notice the movement of your mind.
What emotions are living inside you right now?
What feelings are stirring?
Do these feelings create any physical sensation in your body?
Where are they percolating?
How do these feelings affect your breath?
There's no need to try and change any way about what you're feeling or the thoughts that are running through your mind.
Just take this moment to observe what's happening inside you right here,
Right now.
Now take a moment to zoom your awareness into your heart center,
The space just under your breastbone.
What physical sensations,
Thoughts or feelings live in this area?
You might want to place one hand softly on your heart to encourage your awareness to draw deep into this area.
Feel the warmth of the palm of your hand against your heart.
Allow your heart to soak in some of that warmth.
It might help to bring to mind a person or an animal to whom you feel easy,
Uncomplicated love.
Maybe a close friend,
A family member or a pet.
As you bring their image to mind,
How does that change the sensations at your heart?
With every inhale,
Imagine that you're drawing support and loving energy from knowing that this being is in your life.
With every exhale,
Let that warmth spread throughout your body,
Nourishing every part of you with that loving breath.
As you draw this warmth into your heart,
Infuse the sensation with the intention of offering love and compassion to yourself.
With every inhale,
Allow your heart to receive that healing energy.
True compassion requires an active awareness of suffering coupled with a drive towards alleviating that pain.
What suffering are you aware of that you can offer compassion to?
How does it feel to offer that loving kindness to yourself?
To others?
Maybe you have a specific person in mind who could use some extra love?
Or maybe you want to dedicate this heart-centered exhale to someone you don't know personally,
But you're aware of their suffering.
Or maybe you'd like to breathe love to the planet Earth herself.
Keep your awareness on the warmth of the heart.
Keep noticing the sensations inside your body,
The thoughts or the feelings.
Continue to breathe and drink in the sensation of the heart.
Stay with this sensation breath after breath.
If your mind wanders,
As it likely will,
Just gently guide it back to the sensations of the heart.
Take a moment now to bring your awareness back to the other parts of your body.
If your hand is on your heart,
Maybe you'd like to drop it back onto your lap.
Breathe and notice the sensations throughout your whole body.
The sensations in your mind.
Your emotional state.
How has it changed from the start of this practice?
Know that this heart-centered breathing practice is always available,
Always something that you can draw on at times of stress,
Or any time that you feel either yourself or someone you know could use some compassionate intentions in their life.
Thank you so much for sharing this time in this practice with me.
Namaste.
Thank you.
