Hi,
Welcome to this guided meditation.
In this meditation,
We're going to explore a new technique.
Having practiced following the breath,
The mind might require an additional challenge to stay interested and focused.
This new challenge is going to be to connect the breaths.
By connecting the breaths,
We're going to compare different parts of the breath to strengthen attention and peripheral awareness.
Let's begin.
Make a comfortable posture and close your eyes.
We're now going to transition from daily life to a meditative state.
Start by following the present moment to unfold on its own.
Bring to mind the sounds that surround you.
The feeling of air touching your skin.
The overall feeling of your posture.
Everything that surrounds you is unfolding naturally.
There is nothing you need to do here.
And now we're going to look at what's happening inside of you.
Can you notice some sensations?
Perhaps in your legs,
In your face or in your arms.
You may feel certain tensions,
Vibrations,
Tingling,
Itching,
Heat or cold,
Pressure or numbness.
All these are sensations.
They may be pleasant or unpleasant.
Watching these sensations will bring the mind to the present moment.
And can you see sensations related to the breath?
Can you feel your chest or abdomen expanding and contracting?
Can you feel the air passing through your nostrils and entering your lungs?
You might even feel your shoulders rising and falling.
And to sharpen our attention even more,
We're going to look precisely at the region above the upper lip,
At the entrance of the nostrils.
We're going to watch the breath sensations in this specific spot.
See if you can notice the air as you inhale.
See if you can feel certain other sensations when you exhale.
Before we begin to practice connecting the breaths,
We want to make sure that the breath is clear,
Meaning that we can clearly observe several sensations during the in-breath,
The out-breath and the pauses in between.
Once we can clearly perceive the breath,
We're going to take a little step back.
We're going to try to observe if we can see which pause is longer.
Is it the pause between the in-breath and the out-breath?
Or the pause between the out-breath and the in-breath?
And while we do this,
We still are aware of the sensations that make up the breath.
But as an additional task,
We also notice the different lengths of the pauses between the inhale and exhale.
And then we'll compare the in-breath with the out-breath.
Is the in-breath longer?
Or is the out-breath longer?
So not only are we looking at the sensations that change over time,
But we also notice more globally the changes taking place.
We're looking at micro changes,
Which are different sensations following one another.
And we also notice bigger changes,
Like between the in-breath and the out-breath,
Between the pauses,
Between the in-breath and out-breath,
And out-breath and in-breath.
As we meditate,
Is the breath getting shallower or is it getting deeper?
The actual answer to these questions is not that important.
What's important is that we adopt an investigative attitude towards the breath.
We're closely monitoring every sensation and every change across time.
And we're using these techniques to increase the power of our attention and mindfulness.
Let's go back now to the sensations of breathing throughout the body.
Are these sensations more vivid than they used to be?
Can you feel other sensations in the body?
Can you notice that these sensations change?
They appear in different places and disappear in different places.
Are these sensations more vivid than they used to be?
Can you feel the touch of air on our skin?
Notice the light coming through our eyelids.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
This was the technique of connecting the breaths.
The purpose of this technique is really to look more fully and attentively at the breath.
And by looking at changes over time,
For example,
Is the breath getting shallower or deeper?
Or which of the pauses is longer?
We're connecting more fully with the breath and seeing it in more details.
You can practice connecting the breaths when you've reached the stage where you can feel many breath sensations during the in-breath,
The out-breath,
And the pauses in between.
Practicing connecting the breath in this context will strengthen your attention and your mindfulness.
