This meditation will guide you through deep belly breathing so that you can feel calmer and more relaxed.
Let's begin.
Take a moment to get into a comfortable posture where you're sitting tall and upright without feeling rigid or tense.
Feel the weight of your body supported by the surface underneath you.
Just know that you have nowhere to go,
Nowhere to be,
And set the intention to relax into this meditation.
Close your eyes if they're not already closed,
And begin by just sensing into how you're breathing right now in this moment without trying to change it.
Notice if maybe your breath feels short or sharp,
Restricted,
Or whether it feels deep and free,
Relaxed,
Flowing,
Or maybe somewhere in between.
How you're breathing can tell you a lot about how you're doing in the moment.
And wherever you're starting right now,
That's okay.
This meditation will help you relax more.
Now we will begin to deepen the breath.
So as you inhale,
Fill up your belly first,
Then let your rib cage expand out,
And finally let your chest expand and your collarbones rise.
And as you breathe out,
Breathe out from the chest first,
Then the rib cage,
And then the belly.
Then again,
Allow your belly to fill up,
Then feel your rib cage expand,
Feel your chest and collarbones rise,
And then breathe out from the chest,
Then the rib cage,
And finally your belly.
Keep breathing like this at your own pace.
And as you keep breathing,
See if maybe you can make your breath a little bit longer and deeper.
Not forcing it,
We're going for relaxed and deep.
And if you'd like,
You can imagine your torso is like a glass of water that you're trying to fill.
You can imagine the cool and soothing sound of water as you fill your glass from the bottom all the way up to the top,
And empty your glass from the top back down to the bottom.
Bring your glass up and allowing it to empty.
If you notice any tension or restriction in your body,
Maybe in your shoulders or in your belly or your neck,
See if you can soften it on your out breath,
Let it go.
Stay present with your breathing,
And if you notice that your mind is wandering,
Just bring it back to the sensations of your breath or the visualization of a glass of water.
A wandering mind is normal,
It's okay,
Just bring it back.
And just notice how your body is feeling right now.
Notice how it's probably different from just a few minutes ago.
Just take a moment to appreciate the positive impacts that deep breathing can have in just a few minutes.
Just take a mental note that the next time you become stressed,
Simply deepening your breath like this will have a really positive effect.
Deep breathing is something you can do any time,
Mindfully throughout your day.
Whenever you're ready,
You can gently start to open your eyes.
And as you go back out into your day,
Take the state of relaxed presence with you,
And know that you can always find it again if you just remember to take deep breaths.
