So welcome.
Today we're going to be doing a breathing meditation.
My name is Evangelos.
I'm one of the co-founders of Four Ways to Freedom and one of the many things we do at Four Ways to Freedom is that we teach meditation and mindfulness practices.
And breathing meditation is such a powerful meditation to do because consciousness often needs an object to meditate on so it doesn't wander.
We all wander all the time and get distracted.
And because breath is always with us,
It becomes a powerful tool to keep us anchored in the body and in the present moment.
So find a comfortable position to sit in.
You can do this also laying down.
And try not to hold yourself up so you're feeling relaxed.
So you have a straight spine over your hips and if you're laying down you can just allow the body to sink into wherever you are like the couch or the bed.
And you can meditate with eyes open or eyes closed.
It's really up to you.
The benefit of meditating with eyes open is that it sends a message to your brain when you're out in the world that you can also be in a meditative state in the world.
And meditating with eyes closed for many people is much more relaxing.
So may this breathing meditation bring peace,
Clarity,
And calm into our bodies and into our minds.
So start to pay attention to your breath.
Start to pay attention to how you're holding your hands so they're not curled or crossed necessarily.
They're more in the open position or in a stable position or one on top of the other.
But we're not holding the hands.
And start to pay attention to the breath as it enters your nostrils.
Noticing if it's long,
You notice that it's long or noticing that it's short.
Just noticing.
Noticing if it's choppy or scattered or tight.
And just by noticing the breath will actually come to a more balanced feeling.
So paying attention to how the breath comes into the nostrils,
Tickles the throat,
Expands the heart,
And opens the belly.
So just pay attention to that,
What we call the breath line or the breath superhighway.
Nose,
Throat,
Heart,
Belly.
Nose,
Throat,
Heart,
Belly.
Belly,
Heart,
Throat,
Nose.
And just like you would never drive a highway off or a road off the highway and between the lines.
Don't let your mind wander so much outside of the breath superhighway.
Nose,
Throat,
Heart,
Belly.
Bringing awareness.
Bringing our attention there.
Nice and easy and natural.
And make sure that nothing is pressing against your belly like a belt or anything tight because in meditation we have an appreciation for big relaxed bellies.
So no reason to hold it tight.
That constricts you and actually agitates your emotional world.
Just relax.
Letting all the worries of your life just fall and dissolve into that breath highway.
Nose,
Throat,
Heart,
Belly.
Belly,
Heart,
Throat,
Nose.
The only thing that stays with us from the moment we're born until the moment we die is our breath.
It's the one constant.
Everything around us is constantly changing including our body but that breath is our life anchor.
So it's important to have a respect,
A reverence,
A love for it.
So stay with it.
Athletes,
Musicians,
Especially musicians who play wind instrument singers,
They're all trained on how to breathe.
To be great you need to know how to manage your breath.
When you're present in your breath it also helps your memory.
Just like you would park a car you want to bring your awareness to one of those four points,
The one that feels most comfortable for you.
I usually choose the belly or the heart because they're further away from my head.
So I'm gonna focus on my belly right now.
Just the belly.
I've brought awareness to that breath line and now I'm focusing in more on the belly and how breath expands and contracts the belly.
Where the inhale meets the exhale.
So just stay there.
If you've chosen the heart just stay there.
If you've chosen the throat just stay there.
If you've chosen the nose just stay there.
It's like we're tightening a microscope now gently.
So being aware of your breath helps you in challenging stressful situations.
Life will change our breath and when we learn to pay attention to our breath we can change our life.
You can manage any situation in life if you can manage your breath and pay attention to it.
This we're bringing awareness to the center of our breath.
I'm bringing awareness to the center of my belly and how the breath expands my belly.
Sometimes it can help to listen to your breath also.
There's nowhere to go and there's nothing to do and we're not running to get to the next moment.
We're just learning to be with what is here now.
And whatever arises physically,
Emotionally,
And mentally you don't need to fight it.
Just let it move through and keep returning your awareness to the breath.
Meditators are the lungs of the world,
The gills.
When you breathe consciously you're breathing also for the planet because you're purifying the past.
You're clearing the present.
You're clearing the future through an amazing filter called presence.
So with every breath relaxing.
And we will end this meditation with hands palms together at the heart.
May we learn and train ourselves to find peace in our hearts with the practice of conscious breathing.
And may we alleviate stress worry and anxiety.
And may our practice benefit all beings that cross our path.
Namaste.
