Day 23 - Feel Flow In The Breath - UM 30-Day Challenge

This short meditation with lots of guidance is part of a 30-day Unified Mindfulness challenge I offered at CarMax, and am now happy to share it with the Insight Timer community. The 30 sessions are designed to be done in order, however you can jump around if you wish, just keep in mind I may refer to a previous recording. There's a short introduction followed by a 5 minute practice.
In this session you'll focus on the flowing sensations of the breath.

Transcript

We'll explore feeling flow again today.

This time,

We'll narrow our focus range to the breath.

Any sensations of breathing in which you notice movement or change.

So you could focus on your abdomen as it rises and falls.

You could notice changing pressure in your nostrils.

It might be the rising and falling of your chest.

So we'll just notice movement or change with breathing and label it as flow with a calm,

Neutral tone every few seconds or so.

If anything else comes into your awareness,

Just let it be there in the background.

Let's begin.

Stretch up tall.

Close your eyes if you wish.

And release any tension in your shoulders,

Face,

And anywhere else you notice it.

Bring your attention to the sensations of breathing.

Notice the qualities of movement or change in the breath.

Can you notice it flowing in and out?

Pay attention to the motion of it.

Labeling it flow as you do.

Label every few seconds or so to help you maintain concentration on it.

Track it as it continuously flows.

Note each instance of flow.

Remember that noting here means to clearly acknowledge it and then focus intently on it.

Labeling it using the word flow can be helpful.

Labeling is optional.

So if you'd rather drop labeling and just note,

That's your choice.

You might even use your attention to follow each breath as it comes in through your nose,

Flows down into your lungs,

Expanding your chest,

Takes a pause,

And then reverses,

Following your chest contracting,

The air coming up and back out your nose,

Making a full cycle.

As best you can,

Allow your breath to flow at a natural pace,

Following it without attempting to control it.

Have background equanimity with any other sense experiences you may notice.

Allow them to be there in the background.

Keep focusing back on the movement of the breath.

Have foreground equanimity with the sensations of the breath.

This means you allow it to come and go without push or pull.

Do your best not to interfere with it,

But just observe it in as much detail as you can.

Try and be fascinated with the movement of the breath,

Exploring it deeply.

Very good.

You're getting first-hand experience with what flow feels like.

It's just that quality of any sensory experience of movement or change.

Keep going if you'd like,

Otherwise end your practice gently and see if you can have some awareness of flow in your experiences today.