Three-Minute Breathing Space

Good for centering yourself when stress is increasing. This is my recording of the traditional 3-minute breathing space meditation from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program. In this mini-meditation practice, you are invited to bring awareness to your posture first, then thoughts/feelings and sensations in the body, then focus on the movements of the breath, and finally expand your awareness to the body as a whole.
A helpful switch into the being mode when most needed.

Transcript

Taking a breathing space.

Making an intentional change in your posture,

So that you're sitting with a sense of wakefulness,

A sense of dignity.

In step one,

Becoming aware of what's here in your experience right now.

As best you can,

Noticing sensations in the body,

Noticing moods and feelings,

Noticing thoughts,

Bringing interest to whatever you find and simply recognizing and acknowledging what's here.

And now moving onto step two,

Narrowing the focus of awareness and bringing your attention to the breath.

Moving in close to the sensations of breathing,

Following the full duration of an in-breath and the full duration of the out-breath.

And moving onto step three,

Gently expanding the field of awareness to the body as a whole,

Aware of your posture,

Facial expression,

Bringing awareness to the whole of the body,

And softening and opening to this experience,

To what's here right now.

And then as best you can,

Bringing this expanded,

More spacious and more accepting awareness,

This openness to the next moments of your day.

Reviews

Very effective. Thank you for sharing