Find a nice,
Comfortable seat or lay down.
Make sure that you are very comfortable,
Very supported.
And bring your attention to your breath.
Don't try to change it.
Just be with your breath.
Notice that drawing attention to the breath makes it almost impossible not to change it in some way.
But as much as you possibly can,
I want you to be the observer of your body breathing and have very little involvement with the process.
Be aware right now of the breath coming in and out of your nostrils.
And if your nostrils are plugged,
Then your mouth.
Notice if the breath is coming in and kissing the outer nostrils or if it's more that you can feel it at the septum.
Be aware of the breath coming into the nostrils,
Into the nose,
Entering the body.
Stay with the breath if you can.
Stay with the inhale.
Every time you inhale,
Notice the breath as it comes in through the nostrils into the back of the throat,
Back down,
Down into the throat,
From the throat all the way down to where there is this really cool apparatus called the epiglottis.
That when you're breathing will close down on the food portion of your tubes,
The esophagus.
And when you're eating will close down on the breath part.
We'll just notice with your inhale that the epiglottis moves over to cover the food tube and the air enters into the trachea,
Into the bronchus,
Breaks off into two different bronchi and feel the air split evenly between the two lungs.
Just like branches from the tree breaking off smaller and smaller and smaller all the way down to the alveoli,
All the way down to where the gas exchange takes place.
These like clusters of grapes at the very,
Very end of the bronchioles.
And then follow the exhale from the gas exchange all the way back up the tiny little branches to the bigger branches,
To the bigger branches,
To the biggest branches from the lungs into the bronchi,
Back into the bronchus and all the way back up the trachea,
Past the epiglottis into the back of the throat and back out through the nose or the mouth.
That's the path of air.
Just be present to the path of air,
The path the oxygen molecule takes to get to every cell in your body and stay present to the way that your body reacts to the inhale.
What happens to your belly every time you take a breath in?
What happens to the belly every time you exhale?
Stay really present to what's happening in your body,
The connection of your breath and your body.
Just notice how very likely your breath has slowed since the beginning of this practice by becoming aware and alert.
Notice the quality of your breath.
Notice the rhythm of your breath.
It's one of the most important things that you do in your life.
If you do not breathe for just a couple moments,
You cease to live.
It's one of the most important acts in your life and yet how often are you present to it?
How often are you aware of your breath?
Be here in your body and inhale and exhale.
Go back to being that observer,
Being the part of you that doesn't breathe but sees the breathing,
Notices the breathing,
Feels the breathing,
Is aware of the breathing.
Watch your body breathing itself.
Stay present to the importance of this act.
Notice the relaxation in your body from totally letting go,
From being present.
All the tensions melt away because you're not thinking of the future or the past.
You're thinking of this moment right now and this most precious nutrient entering your body and all of the waste from cellular metabolism leaving your body with the exhale.
Stay present to your breathing.
Can you use your breath to help or support your body in relaxing even more?
Can you let go of more tension?
Feel free to stay here with your conscious breath or wiggle and come out.
