Take A Breather (Guarding The Breath)

Often, we are overworked and burned out. Let's take a breather and use our breath to bring life back into ourselves. How? By communicating with our bodies in a language they understand: breathing. The way we breathe can tell our bodies that it is time to rest, replenish, and grow.

Transcript

Peace and blessings.

Thank you for giving me the gift of your time and your focus as we embark on this meditation mindfulness journey.

I want to thank you for being here and today I want to introduce a seemingly controversial idea into your mind.

Today I want to introduce the concept of resting when you are tired.

Today we are going to take the time,

Not ask for the time,

Not hope for the time,

And not pray for the time.

We are going to take the time to allow ourselves a moment to breathe and rest so that we can rejuvenate,

Re-energize,

And resurrect our bodies.

We are not going to rest so that we can get back up and continue the horrible trudge of doing things for everyone else.

We are not going to rest and take this time to force ourselves to continue to push ourselves beyond the limits of our endurance.

We're gonna take this time to rest simply because we need to rest and when we are done we will feel rejuvenated,

We will feel re-energized,

We will feel resurrected,

And we will take these positive feelings and sensations and use them to continue to bless ourselves with health,

Mindfulness,

And self-love.

Now what I want you to do is find a comfortable place.

I want you to sit or lie down as you see fit and I know because there's often so much to do the idea of sitting down or lying down it seems almost forbidden doesn't it?

It seems almost as if we're breaking the rule somewhere,

The rule that says that we can't have time to ourselves.

But the same way you work for everyone else and exhaust yourself for everyone else without permission,

Without questioning yourself,

I want you to take this time and don't ask permission.

Don't question yourself.

Don't judge yourself and don't feel ashamed and we are not gonna ask permission.

We're gonna take this time and take this space simply because we need to rest and I want you to say out loud in a calm voice,

A voice without judgment,

I want you to say I need to rest.

I need to rest.

Give yourself permission.

Let your inhibitions go and allow yourself,

Allow yourself to rest and when you find somewhere comfortable to sit or lie down I want you to just notice without judgment,

Notice your breathing.

Just be aware of how your body is responding to the stress.

Be aware of how your breathing is being altered by the state of constantly working,

Pushing yourself beyond your endurance.

Just notice.

Within your breath is the secret,

The secret to your inner state of calm,

Your inner state of peace.

Sometimes it's hard to be fully aware and self-aware enough to know what's going on inside.

The breath will communicate to you what's going on inside and sometime you're breathing in short shallow breaths because your body is trying to communicate that you are overworked and tired and it's okay.

It's okay to be aware of that.

Take a moment for yourself.

Now I want you to simply breathe in and breathe out.

We're gonna breathe in on the count of three and then breathe out to the count of three.

Breathe in one two three and breathe out one two three.

Breathe in one two three and breathe out one two three.

Breathe in one two three and breathe out one two three.

Breathe in one two three and breathe out one two three.

And now that our lungs have been warmed up a bit and our bodies are warmed up,

Let's extend the amount of time that we're gonna breathe in and breathe out.

We're going to breathe in to the count of four.

Then we're gonna hold the breath for a moment and then breathe out to the count of four.

And all of this inhalation and exhalation will be done very slowly,

Very gently.

Breathe in one two three four.

Hold it.

Now breathe out one two three four.

Breathe in one two three four and breathe out one two three four.

Breathe in one two three four and breathe out one two three four.

Breathe in one two three four and breathe out one two three four.

And I want you to notice what your mind is doing and what your body is doing.

If your mind is racing,

That's okay.

If you feel your mind drifting,

That's okay.

Allow yourself in this moment to simply be who you are and feel the sensations and feel the thoughts,

But without judgment,

Without resistance.

Then you'll begin to notice that without judgment,

Without resistance,

Your mind and your body automatically calm down on their own.

The thoughts slow down.

The muscles begin to relax just by breathing and accepting.

The breath is the secret.

Now we're gonna continue to breathe in and out.

This time we're going to extend the time of inhalation and exhalation to five seconds.

So to count to five,

We breathe in.

To count to five,

We breathe out.

As you breathe in,

Expand your chest and expand your belly.

Take in as much air as you can,

But gently.

And then breathe out slowly,

Pushing your belly in to exhale all the breath.

Breathe in.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

And breathe out.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Breathe in.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Hold it.

And breathe out.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Breathe in.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Hold it.

And breathe out.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Breathe in.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Hold it.

And breathe out.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Breathe in.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Hold it.

And breathe out.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Continue to breathe in and out slowly and gently.

And this is not about breathing perfectly.

It's not about having the same inhalation and exhalation as my count.

If you can only exhale or inhale to four,

That's fine.

If you need to begin with three and work your way up,

That's fine.

The key to relaxation is to let go of judgment.

Let go of self-criticism in this moment.

Simply allow yourself to be.

And as you continue to breathe,

Just notice,

Just notice how your senses become heightened in this moment without judgment,

Without criticism.

Just being in the moment,

The sound in the room around you get a little bit louder.

Smells become a little sharper.

The things you see become a little bit more distinct,

More colorful,

Brighter.

The textures of where you are sitting,

The taste in your mouth,

Everything is heightened.

Almost as if the inner senses inside of you have been commanded to draw in more information from the outside world.

And that's what happens as the inner you becomes more peaceful,

More relaxed.

The outside world becomes more beautiful.

This is why the mystics dance with intoxication.

This is why all the poets write poetry and the singers sing.

And just take a moment to enjoy this quiet.

Enjoy this silence.

Continue to breathe.

And as you continue to breathe,

Understand that you can end this exercise when you choose.

But this feeling that you have,

You don't have to ever let go of it.

Allow yourself to be calm throughout the day.

And as the outside world sometimes tries to distract you and call for your attention,

As things around you become hectic,

Continue to breathe slowly and keep that inner peace.

The eye of the storm.

Peace and blessings.

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