This is the three-stage breathing space and you can do this in any posture that's comfortable for your body.
I'll lead the practice as though you're sitting.
So noticing your posture,
The body in the chair,
Your spine rising up,
Your feet on the floor.
And this practice is something to do maybe when life's a little bit tricky,
You're feeling a bit stressed or a bit challenged,
Just taking a few minutes to resettle yourself.
So bringing awareness to the body,
So what sensations if any are you aware of in this moment?
So perhaps there's tension,
Tightness,
Holding.
Noticing your posture,
Maybe there's aches and pains or stiffness or any pleasant sensations,
Softness,
Warmth,
Comfort.
Just accepting all the sensations as far as you can and allowing them to be here in this moment,
Whatever the bodily sensations are.
And then I invite you to notice any emotions that are present.
And maybe checking in with the chest area,
Around the heart,
Maybe around the belly,
Areas where we tend to carry our emotions.
So what emotions are you sensing right now if any?
You might find it tricky to find the words,
That's okay.
Just noticing whatever the sensations and the emotions are.
Might be a bit of tingling,
Churning,
Tightness,
Lightness,
Heaviness.
Just feeling into your emotions in this moment,
Whatever they are.
We're letting them be here rather than pushing them away.
Then noticing what thoughts are here.
So what thoughts are coming in and out of your mind right now?
Maybe your mind's really busy and there's lots of thoughts,
So noticing them.
And maybe now that you've come to notice your thoughts,
Your mind might have gone a little bit blank,
There might be gaps between the thoughts.
So just noticing that if that's the case.
Noticing the thoughts and the gaps between the thoughts.
Just observing them,
Not getting carried away with them,
Not judging them,
Just letting them come and go at their own pace.
And then letting go of the thoughts and coming to the breath as an anchor if that's comfortable for you,
Or alternatively come to the feet or the body resting on the surface it's resting on.
So if the breath's comfortable,
Just sensing the breath in this moment,
Sensing the movement in your body because you're breathing.
And if you can,
Can you sense the breath lowering the body,
So in the belly.
It might be subtle,
But can you let your awareness drop into the belly and notice any movements as you breathe in?
And you breathe out.
Noticing the expansion of the belly as you breathe in.
And the release and relaxation as you breathe out.
The skin expanding on the in-breath and releasing and relaxing on the out-breath.
We're not breathing a particular way,
You're just following your natural breath,
The natural rhythm of your breath as you breathe in and you breathe out.
And every time your mind wanders,
Gently mindfully bring it back to the sensations of breathing.
Noticing the movement in the body as you breathe.
And then letting go of focusing on the breath and expanding your awareness to the whole of your body in this moment.
So holding any sensations,
Noticing any sensations that might be there.
So maybe it's your posture,
The weight of the body going down,
The air against the skin,
The temperature in the room,
The feel of your clothing against your skin.
Just noticing the whole of your body,
From your inner core to your outer skin in this moment.
And as you're sitting here with a sense of spaciousness or other quality,
See if you can take this into the next moments of your day as you gently open your eyes or raise your gaze and go about the rest of your day.
