3-Step Breathing Space

This is a 3-step breathing space. Following the shape of an hourglass down...1) Collecting our awareness and grounding. 2) Focussed attention on the breath. 3) Expanding our newly embodied awareness to re-engage with whatever is next. A short, portable practice: taking a pause wherever you are.

Transcript

The three step breathing space.

We start by collecting our awareness,

Then bringing it into a more focused awareness of the breathing body,

Before expanding back out in a mindful and embodied way.

So just wherever you are in a comfortable position,

Just resting your eyes closed if that feels comfortable.

And noticing what happens when you close your eyes.

Can you hear sounds around you?

What's going on in the theatre of your mind?

What about in the body?

Is there any tension or holding?

See if we can just let go of that a little bit.

We don't have to try so hard as we take a pause in our day.

Tuning in now to the natural flow of the breath.

Where can you feel it?

Drawing in fresh oxygen on each in-breath,

Nourishing the body.

We can soften and relax into any areas on the out-breath.

Where can you feel the breath first entering the body?

Can we rest our awareness in that precise location,

Just as a butterfly would sit on a flower?

And from where that breath first enters,

Can we follow it down into the rest of the body?

The sense of the whole body breathing itself.

Noticing now the points of contact with the floor,

The effect of gravity.

And starting to get a sense of what you can hear around you,

A sense of your surroundings.

As our awareness gently expands back out to include everything.

And blinking your eyes open as we come to the end of the practice.

And perhaps just taking a pause before moving on.

Reviews

This is a excellent meditation for group therapy with clients who are novices at meditation. Or for a brief work break.