Breath Awareness For Presence & Stillness

This guided meditation will bring you into connection with your breath. We breathe unconsciously all day long and most people do not pause to breathe voluntarily. You will find a practice here to learn the difference between the two and begin practicing conscious breath awareness. This is the beginning of the practice of pranayama, yoga's fourth limb. Before you can truly practice pranayama, you must first be aware of the conscious breath and how to observe and control the breath.

Transcript

Thank you for joining me on this breath awareness meditation.

Come to a comfortable seat.

It's important that you sit upright for this meditation as we will be focusing on the breath.

Breath is the only internal function we have that happens automatically as well as voluntarily.

Let's do a quick observational experiment.

You know you've been breathing all day,

Otherwise you wouldn't be alive.

So even if you weren't aware of it,

You know it was happening automatically.

Now I want you to take a sharp breath in,

Fill up your chest,

Hold it,

Now exhale.

That was a voluntary breath.

You are able to control your breath upon command.

Now I want you to try this on your own.

In your head,

Command yourself to inhale,

Hold the breath,

Then exhale.

This awareness of and practice of voluntary breathing is the beginning of practicing pranayama,

Which is the fourth limb of the eight-limbed yoga path.

Now take the next few minutes to remain aware of your breath.

To stay present,

You may simply notice your inhale and say in your mind,

I am inhaling.

And as you exhale,

State again in your mind,

I am exhaling.

If the mind wanders,

Let it wander.

This is natural.

When you notice that it has wandered,

Simply bring your mind's attention back to your breath.

I am inhaling.

I am exhaling.

I am inhaling.

I am exhaling.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Continue this practice on your own for a few minutes,

And I will bring you back when it is time.

Now bring your presence back into this space with my voice.

I invite you to bring this breath exercise into your day whenever you remember to pause.

You can also use this exercise anytime the mind becomes overwhelming or begins to run away with its thoughts.

Bring this practice of breath awareness back into your day,

Simply observing and stating,

I am inhaling.

I am exhaling.

I am inhaling.

I am exhaling.

Thank you for meditating with me today.

Reviews

Thank you! I feel more calm and awake now. Namaste!

The practical suggestion of taking the inhale-exhale breath into my day to use as needed was valuable. 🙏