Breath Awareness Practice

Guided practice focusing on drawing awareness to the breath. This is a great practice for anyone new to breath work, or for someone curious about it but unsure of what it looks like. This is a brief, simple, guided exercise helping you to simply notice your breath in your body as it is--an important first skill to beginning a regular breath work practice.

Transcript

We're going to begin this breath awareness practice by finding a tall comfortable seat, One where your spine can be long with your shoulders stacked over your hips and your head stacked over your shoulders. Ideally you'll be seated, But this practice can also be done lying down. Once you find your seat, You'll allow your hands to rest gently by your sides, On the tops of your thighs, Or simply on your lap. Begin by slowly turning your awareness inside, Away from the noise of the outside world, And turning inward, Allowing your awareness to rest gently on your breath. Just noticing your breath as it moves in and out of your body, Perhaps even tracing the path that it makes through your nose, Down the back of your throat, Into your lungs and your belly, And then back out again through your belly and your lungs, Up through your throat and out through your nose or your mouth. Simply noticing that you are breathing. We're not trying to alter or change the breath, But we're just noticing how it moves, Noticing where it is in our body, And paying attention to the quality of our breath. Does it feel loose and free? Does it feel tight and restricted? Where do we sense it in our body? Is it in our belly or our chest, Or perhaps somewhere else? Just noticing, Simply becoming aware, And gently resting our attention on the breath. And if your thoughts begin to wander or stray away from your breath, You can simply gently direct them back, Bringing your awareness once more to your breath. Being sure to return your awareness without judgment. Just notice that your awareness has drifted away and gently guide it back. Make note of how the rest of your body feels in this moment as you bring your awareness to your breath. Noticing the quality, The temperature, The energy, Noticing any thoughts that might be arising. Just allowing those things to be and always returning back to the breath. We're going to begin to wind down this breath awareness practice. So just taking your time, Allow your attention to float out into the space. You might do so first through sounds or smells, Things you can feel, Just gently bringing your awareness back outward into your body. And then finally allowing your eyes to gently flutter open to begin to take in light. And you can gently orient to the space. And then finally, Allowing your eyes to gently flutter open to begin to take in light. And you can gently orient to the space around you by moving your head, Your neck, And your eyes around the room. Just making note of where you are, How the room might look. And then finally returning back to your body and noticing how your body might be feeling in this moment. Namaste.