Breathing Meditation For Beginners

Breathing comes very naturally to us, incorporating our awareness when we breathe can be a simple way to connect with our humanity. Mindfulness of the body is at the center of this short breathing meditation. This is a short practice you can do anytime throughout the day, and it’s helpful when we feel stressed or overwhelmed. If you’re an experienced meditator, it is also a practice you can incorporate more formally into your sitting meditation. With love, Elaine

Transcript

Welcome!

In this short meditation,

We will explore a little bit of mindfulness of the body through our breath.

This is something you can do anytime throughout the day,

And it's mostly helpful when we feel stressed or overwhelmed.

Before we begin,

I want to say that if you have any discomfort with your breathing,

Or if you feel uncomfortable being awareness to it,

Please listen to yourself and take care of yourself first.

With that said,

Let's begin by sitting on a comfortable surface,

Maybe a cushion,

A chair,

Or maybe lying down.

As you settle in,

Close your eyes,

Or if that feels uncomfortable,

You can keep a low gaze.

Feel your body relaxing.

Notice the breath as it is without trying to soften or deepen it.

Is it fast?

Is it slow?

Is it agitated?

Or perhaps it's relaxed and pretty normal?

Just notice it without judgment and know that it's okay for the breath to be as it is right now.

Now we're going to move towards a more conscious type of breathing.

You may deepen it as it feels most comfortable to you,

Repeating the words,

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

And breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

And breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Let's keep repeating those words for a few seconds.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

And breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Thoughts may come,

And whenever you feel like your mind has taken over,

Just try and redirect your awareness to the breath again.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

A few more seconds on your own.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

When you hear the bell,

You may slowly open your eyes and come back into your room.