Settling into a comfortable seated posture,
Closing your eyes or taking a downward gaze to help eliminate external stimulation for this practice.
Bringing your attention to your body,
Sitting on whatever surface you're sitting on to practice today.
Just taking a moment to check in,
Noticing where you feel the breath most prominently.
Noticing any sensations that you're aware of in this moment in your body.
Aware,
Acknowledging and accepting the body just as it is in this moment without judgment.
This practice is a concentrative meditation because you'll be concentrating on the breath and on the words soft and belly.
So begin by consciously extending the breath into the abdomen as you inhale and then noticing the breath leaving the body as you exhale.
For this practice you'll inhale through the nostrils and exhale through pursed lips.
Allowing your belly to be soft,
Allowing the belly to expand fully on the in-breath and then inviting relaxation into the body on the out-breath.
And beginning to silently say to yourself soft as you breathe in and belly as you breathe out.
This will help you focus your mind and remind you that you want your belly to be soft and relaxed as you engage in this practice.
It's normal for the mind to get distracted so as thoughts come just note that you've been lost in thought or thought has entered your mind and then gently bring your attention back to the phrase soft as you breathe in,
Belly as you breathe out.
As you breathe in this way you're inviting more oxygen into the bottom of your lungs.
Oxygen is entering your bloodstream and feeding and nourishing all the cells in your body.
Feeding in this way also activates the vagus nerve which is a long wide nerve in the body that runs from your abdomen up through your chest all the way to your brain.
The vagus nerve is an antidote to the stress response of the body,
The fight or flight.
By breathing in this way it helps all the muscles in your body relax,
Slows your heart rate,
Decreases your blood pressure and improves your digestion.
You're also helping to quiet your amygdala,
The part of your brain that is concerned with fear and aggression and you're promoting activity in your prefrontal cortex,
The part of your brain that helps you to be more self-aware and compassionate.
As you sit here and breathe in this way you're supporting your body to release any tension.
You're focusing your mind and increasing compassion for you and the people in your life.
Then the mind wanders off,
Which it will,
Guiding the attention right back to lengthening the breath into the abdomen,
Exhaling through pursed lips,
Silently saying to yourself,
Soft as you breathe in,
Belly as you breathe out.
As we get ready to close this practice,
Just taking a moment to acknowledge that you've taken this time to show up for yourself,
For the stress in your life and you've actively done something to support your health and well-being today.
And as you're ready,
Opening your eyes and proceeding with your day.
