Welcome back.
Before we begin,
Know that it is okay if your mind wanders throughout this practice.
The real practice of meditation lies within your ability to draw your attention back to the present moment when you drift off too far.
With consistency,
This will become easier,
Allowing you to become better at managing your emotions and the thoughts in your mind.
If you continue the practice of meditation,
You will be able to live your life from a place of centerness in the here and now.
Let's begin.
Finding a comfortable position,
Begin to connect to your breath,
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the nose.
We will become the observer today by simply noticing our breath.
Inhaling in and exhaling out.
Begin to notice the rhythm of your breath,
Noticing if it is fast or slow.
Begin to focus on intentionally slowing down the rhythm,
Elongating the inhales and lengthening the exhales.
Slowing down the breath allows you to shift your nervous system into a state of relaxation by signaling to the body there is no threat and you are safe to be in this moment.
Gentle breaths in,
Gentle breaths out.
Noticing how you feel now that you have relaxed the breath,
Shifting your awareness,
Your observation to the depth of your inhale breath.
As you inhale,
Witness where your breath goes within the body.
Now,
Focus on intentionally sending your breath into the chest,
Taking shallow breath.
Breathe into the chest and release,
Breathe out.
Noticing that when you focus your breathing in the chest,
The breathing is shallow,
Faster.
Simply notice how it feels to breathe into this area of the body.
Gently guide your attention to your body.
Now,
Begin to lengthen the breath and intentionally send the breath down into the diaphragm,
So much so that your belly begins to rise.
Notice that this will require a deeper,
Deeper,
Slower,
And more full breath with every inhale.
Maybe you place one hand on the belly to intentionally send the breath and feel the rise and fall of the stomach.
Notice if there is any resistance on the path this breath takes.
Does the breath effortlessly flow into the belly or does it require some effort?
No need to judge,
Just observe.
Notice,
Become the witness.
With time,
It will become easier to shift the breath into the belly.
Now,
Begin to notice how you feel.
Notice the difference between shallow chest breath and deep belly breath.
Now that you have become an observer of the mind and witness your breath,
Its rhythm,
Its step,
And notice the difference between shallow breath and deep belly breathing,
You can use this technique,
This practice of deep belly breathing to relax and calm the nervous system whenever you feel necessary throughout your day.
With focus and consistency,
Breathing into the belly and expanding the diaphragm will become easier with time.
Once you strengthen your lungs and the muscles in between the ribcage,
Please continue with this practice for as long as you desire.
If and when you feel ready to extend your practice,
You can move up to the 20 minute practice that has been crafted for you.
Honor yourself as the observer.
Thank you for practicing and I will see you tomorrow.
