Breath Awareness For Deeper Calm & Connection

The breath awareness meditation helps us to focus our attention closely on our breathing. Noticing how we can experience the breath in a number of ways. We begin by grounding the body and mind. And then in 3 steps, firstly we focus narrowly on breathing in and out, then on the movements, the breath generates, and then broadly on the breath in the body. It is a powerful way to deepen present moment awareness and calm, focus the mind and body, and connect ourselves to healthy breathing and healing.

Transcript

Welcome to Waking Waves.

There are few things in life more reliable than our own breath.

For most of us,

It is with us from the moment we are born,

And then every day of our lives,

Steady and consistent,

Whether we pay attention to it or not.

But the breath can be a really powerful tool for us,

Both in meditation and in daily life.

A few breaths can help bring calm in difficult or stressful moments,

Sending signals to our brains and bodies to return us to a stable or relaxed state,

To rest.

And by bringing regular attention to our breath,

It can train our body and mind to respond self-supportively in these situations,

So we can navigate the many ups and downs that life sends our way,

Helping us relax and focus or feel energized in daily life,

And long-term building waves of health,

Happiness and well-being.

Today's breath awareness meditation is an invitation to do just this.

So,

Taking a moment to find a comfortable position,

Whether sitting,

Lying down or standing up.

And if you are sitting down,

Bringing a sense of awakeness to your posture,

So that you are alert and present,

Feeling of being here,

Right now,

In this moment.

Your shoulders and arms can be relaxed by your sides or resting on your lap,

And your eyes can be closed or your gaze slightly lowered.

You may wish to bring cushions for support or a blanket for warmth.

And perhaps taking a moment to recognize that you put this time aside for you,

An intention to be here with the breath in the body for the time ahead.

And as we settle in,

Becoming aware of what is going on right now in the mind and body,

Whatever is present for you.

There might be sensations,

Perhaps feelings of tension or tiredness,

Tingling or vibrations in the hands or feet,

Or no sensations at all.

That is okay too.

You might feel the connection with the surface you are sitting or lying upon,

A sense of pressure and contact.

You may be able to feel the air on your skin,

Perhaps a feeling of coolness or warmth.

And there may also be thoughts running through our minds,

Thoughts about the day ahead,

Thoughts about what you have experienced in the day so far,

Memories,

Images or daydreams.

Whatever is present,

Sensations,

Thoughts,

Feelings or emotions,

For the moment just noticing them,

No need to push them away.

At the beginning,

Middle or end of a busy day,

There can be a lot going on,

But that is okay.

We are not here to judge or push away what is present.

We are simply noticing.

And if at any point in the practice ahead,

You get caught up in thoughts,

Distractions or the busyness of the mind,

We can simply notice where the mind went and then with kindness and without judgment,

Return back to wherever we were focusing our attention.

And the first focus of our attention will be our breath.

Wherever you notice the breath right now,

This could be at the nose,

The back of the throat,

In the chest or down in the belly.

And remembering we are not seeking out the breath or trying to breathe in a particular way.

There is no right or wrong way to breathe.

Just bringing our attention to where the breath is most noticeable for you right now and staying here in the silence ahead.

And if focusing on the breath is uncomfortable right now,

It is okay to focus our attention on sensations in the body or even to sounds in the room.

And when you are ready,

Returning back to the breath,

Do this in-breath and this out-breath.

And now we will bring our attention to the sensations of breathing at the belly.

And if you choose,

It might help to rest one hand on the belly.

Feeling the belly rise on the in-breath and fall away on the out-breath.

And we don't have to take any deeper breaths than normal.

Just following your breath as it is right now.

Feeling the belly rise or expand as you breathe in.

And following your breath as you breathe out.

Feeling your belly fall away.

And doing this now for the next few breaths ahead.

Noticing the tendency of our mind to create distractions,

To pull us into stories,

Thoughts or memories.

And if it does this,

Recognizing that this is what the mind does.

This happens for all of us.

And it can happen once or many times.

But each and every time this happens,

We can acknowledge where the mind went to a thought,

A story,

A plan,

A memory.

And gently return our attention back to where we were focusing.

In this case,

The sensations of breath in the belly.

Next we will pay particular attention to the sensations of our in-breath.

Following the breath all the way in from the tip of the nose,

Past the throat and chest and down into the belly.

Noticing the sensations present each step of the way.

And doing this for the next few in-breaths ahead.

And switching now,

We will pay close attention to the sensations of each out-breath.

This time following the breath as it leaves the belly,

Up through the chest,

Out past the throat and tip of the nose.

Noticing in reverse now the sensations present each step of the way.

And doing this for the next few out-breaths ahead.

And now we will bring both together the in-breath and the out-breath.

Following the breath all the way in,

Past the nose,

Throat,

Chest and into the belly.

Perhaps noticing the slight pause before the breath is pushed back upwards through the chest and ribs,

Out past the throat and nose.

And then the slight pause before the cycle resumes.

Your breath coming in,

A slight pause and your breath going out,

A slight pause.

Doing this now for the next breath ahead.

And as we did earlier,

Noticing where in the body you feel the breath most noticeably right now.

Tuning in as best you can if it is comfortable and staying here for the silence ahead.

As we focus closely on the breath in this way,

We may notice movements throughout the body.

Some movements in the body are bigger than others,

The rise of the chest or belly,

The lifting of the shoulders and back as the lungs fill with air.

Becoming open to whatever movements are noticeable for you.

What movements do you notice in the body that accompany the breath?

Perhaps the ribs expand on the in breath,

The belly sinking on the out breath,

The shoulders lifting with the in breath and gently falling away with the out breath.

And then perhaps with a sense of curiosity,

Noticing any smaller movements,

The subtle or softer movements we only tend to notice when we are still.

The head perhaps or chin gently rising as we breathe in and then dipping slightly as we breathe out.

Small movements in the face,

Parts of the arms or back moving.

What smaller movements do you notice?

Sometimes,

When we pay close attention to our breath in this way,

We can notice intense or even uncomfortable sensations in the body.

We might feel distracted,

An urge to pull away or the mind might even carry us off in thinking.

But if this happens,

It is possible to use the breath to explore that area of the body.

Asking yourselves what sensations are present.

Is it possible to accept or allow the discomfort?

And then breathing into it on the next in breath and letting go on the out breath.

With the next in breath,

Bringing kindness or acceptance towards your experience.

And with the next breath,

Letting go of any judgement.

Seeing if it is possible to soften or release.

And if it stops pulling for your attention,

Returning again to the focus on the breath.

And now broadening our attention to the breath in the whole body as you are right now.

Noticing how the breath travels through each part of our body and all of the movements that accompany the breath.

The bigger movements and the smaller movements and the bigger sensations and the smaller ones.

The pauses at each end of the breath.

And the full sense of the breath moving in the body.

As if your whole body were breathing.

Rising and falling.

Ebbing and flowing.

Coming inwards with this in breath.

And going outwards with this out breath.

And staying with the breath in the whole body in the silence ahead.

And as we move towards the end of our practice,

Taking this opportunity now to reflect on the work you have done with the breath today.

How we can zoom in and focus narrowly on the sensations of breathing in different parts of the body.

And how we can zoom out to the broader sensations as the breath passes through us.

To the sense of movement and being with our breath from moment to moment.

Noticing how the breath changes and how it's possible for us to explore different sensations through our breath,

Whether comfortable or difficult.

And to how we can deepen our connection to the life and energy that flows through us daily without doing anything.

Simply being with the waves of our breath coming in and going out.

And bringing this sense of calm and connection with the breath.

This feeling of space and awareness into the next moment of your day.

Clients.

Reviews

This was wonderful. Soothing. Patient. Kind. Full of acceptance.

I feel like I'm floating.

Thank you very much.