Hi there,
This is Clemens from MindAnchor and today I would like to invite you for this 20 minute pause meditation.
The pause meditation is an invitation to simply rest with the rhythm of the breath,
Taking a break from everyday life and finding stillness in the never-ending in and out flow of the breath.
So to start,
Find a comfortable position that is upright on your chair,
Or a cushion on the floor,
Placing your hands on your lap or on your knees,
Wherever feels most comfortable.
And when you are comfortable,
You can close your eyes and simply allowing yourself to arrive to this very moment.
Arriving to this place,
The spot that you are sitting on,
Arriving to this time,
Letting go of anything that's in your outer awareness and simply allowing yourself to drop in.
Notice your body making contact with the floor,
The seat beneath you and allow your body to relax with every exhalation.
Dropping deeper and deeper into the floor or your seat and then simply bringing awareness to the breath,
The breath as it flows in through your nostrils,
As it flows out through your nostrils.
There's no need to change your breath in any way.
Simply notice how your breath is flowing at this moment.
Is it rather long or short?
Perhaps it is very deep into the belly or maybe it is more shallow and stays up in the chest.
However,
Your breath is flowing at this very moment.
Simply observe that since it is exactly how it is supposed to be.
Maybe you notice your chest rising and falling with each breath.
Perhaps you notice that more clearly in the belly or you notice it most clearly in any other part of your body.
There are inevitably going to be moments where your mind is drifting off into any thoughts about the past,
Something that happened earlier today or last week or your thoughts might wander off into the future and how things are going to go in the near or far future.
That's okay.
That's completely normal.
Whenever that happens,
Just notice that.
Just gently guide your mind back,
Back to the focus point,
Back to each inhale,
Each exhale.
Right now,
There's nothing else to do than to simply observe.
Observing the details of each breath with a sense of curiosity.
Wow.
Without me doing anything consciously,
My body draws in fresh air,
Oxygen and breathes out CO2.
In doing so,
Each and every breath is slightly different from the one before,
Maybe a bit deeper,
A bit more shallow,
A bit longer or a bit shorter.
Now,
Adding the element that is giving this meditation its name,
Adding awareness to the pause between each inhale and each exhale because,
Yes,
There is a little pause.
We're not constantly breathing.
Our body takes a little rest from this task of drawing in oxygen and putting out CO2.
After each inhale,
You can notice a very small break from breathing before the air starts leaving your nostrils again.
The same goes for the pause between the exhale and the inhale.
Really becoming aware of the entire length of each breath with the pause being a part of the breath rather than a separate entity.
Again,
If you lose yourself in thoughts,
Then view that as a little child that needs a little guidance to stay on the path.
A child wants to wander off into areas next to the path and wants to explore and see,
Okay,
What's there?
And that's our mind.
Our mind wants to explore all the possibilities of how the past could have gone or how the future might go.
So just like a little child,
Our mind also sometimes needs a hand to hold onto that is guiding it back to the track back on the path.
So with that sense of compassion,
Whenever you drift off,
Guide your mind back to the breath,
Back to the inflow,
The outflow,
And the pause between each of them.
And just staying with the sensation of breathing,
The sensation of air flowing in,
Filling up your body with air,
The sensation of air flowing out,
Air leaving your body,
And the pause between each inhale,
Each exhale,
Each exhale,
Each inhale,
Viewing that pause with curiosity.
How long is that pause?
Or how short?
And then slowly,
Steadily returning the awareness also a bit more towards the outside world by noticing any sounds around you,
Bringing awareness to your entire body,
How it is sitting here,
Taking one very deep breath in all the way into the belly,
Breathing in,
And letting go.
And allowing some very gentle movement in your fingertips,
Slowly waking up your body again,
Wiggling your toes,
Allowing those movements to become a bit bigger,
Spreading out throughout your body,
And once you feel ready,
You can slowly,
Gently open your eyes again.
Welcome back.
Thank you so much for your trust and for following this meditation,
And I hope to see you soon.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
