Three-step breathing space.
As you chose this short meditation,
You are ready at the most important mindful moment.
You realized that you need a break and acted on this realization.
Take a moment to congratulate yourself on that.
And now,
Let's begin with the meditation.
Step 1.
Grounding ourselves in the present moment.
If you haven't done so yet,
I'd like to invite you to change the place and the position.
If possible,
Closing the eyes or softening your gaze.
Bringing attention into the body,
To the feet on the floor,
The connection with the ground.
Feeling the clothes on the skin,
The temperature of the air.
Guiding the attention to focus on the area where the breath can be felt most vividly.
Maybe in the nostrils or moving in close to the sense of the breath in the belly or chest.
Feeling the sensations of expansion as the breath comes in.
And falling back as the breath goes out again.
Practicing following the breath all the way in and all the way out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
With the next breath,
You move to step 2.
Investigation of what is here.
As the breath flows naturally,
Dropping into the present moment,
Becoming aware of how things are right now.
With gentle curiosity scanning through the body.
What is there to recognize?
What's the weather like inside the body?
What body sensations are here right now?
Perhaps tightness or bracing.
Areas of tension where emotions tend to manifest.
What is written in the body today?
What emotions are here?
As best we can turning towards any sense of discomfort or unpleasant feelings.
What thoughts are going through the mind?
Acknowledging them as mental events.
Labeling them without getting caught up in the story.
Thinking,
Thinking.
Planning,
Planning.
Justifying,
Justifying.
Thoughts are real,
But they are not necessarily true.
Recognizing them,
Labeling them,
And letting them go again.
Acknowledging the vivid play of life inside ourselves.
Slowly moving into the last step of the meditation.
In your own time,
Letting go of the exploration of thoughts,
Emotions and sensations,
And coming back to the breath.
Following the sensations of the breath flowing through the body.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Taking a long,
Deep in breath,
Filling the lungs.
Followed by an equally long and deep out breath.
And another one,
A deep in breath,
Letting the breath fill the body with kind attention.
And a long out breath,
Sending the body the intention of relaxation.
And another deep in breath,
Becoming aware of the body as a whole,
The posture and the facial expression.
If there are sensations of discomfort,
Tension or resistance,
As best we can,
Gently turning towards and breathing into them.
Having the intention to soften,
Release and letting go on the out breath.
And one more time.
A deep,
Long in breath.
Becoming aware of how the body is moved by the breath.
And a long,
Slow,
Deep out breath.
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go.
Resuming the natural breath.
Opening to the sounds in the room.
Opening the eyes.
And as best we can,
Bringing the expended awareness to the next moments of the day.
The three step breathing space is now complete.
