This is a breathing space.
It can be done in any position,
Lying,
Sitting,
Or on the spot if you're out and about.
This is not a formal practice and so does not require you to create a space to practice in unless you wish to do so.
This can be practiced in a midst distraction and as a reset button to wake up from autopilot.
But wherever you are deliberately adopting a dignified posture,
Allowing your eyes to close if this is appropriate in this moment,
Or keeping them open if not,
Begin in step one.
Acknowledge what is going on in your body and mind right now,
Turning your attention inwards,
But not trying to change anything,
Just opening and allowing what is here to take center stage.
Are there any thoughts present?
What does my body feel like right now?
Perhaps quickly scanning the body to notice any sensation.
Really listening into your thoughts and feelings.
Really gauging the nature of your internal environment in this moment and allowing it to be exactly as it is.
Not getting caught up in the content of thought and feeling,
But instead watching it from the sidelines as it unfolds with friendliness and curiosity.
Letting go of the tendency of wanting things to be different.
And now step two,
Gathering and delivering your attention to the physical sensations of your breath.
Narrowing your focus to rest gently on your natural breath cycle.
Not changing it in any way,
But just being open to and present with your entire in breath and your entire out breath,
However it is right now.
Riding the natural wave of the breath wherever you feel it most prominent for you,
Perhaps in the belly,
The chest or the nostrils.
Wherever that is,
Using your breath to anchor yourself in this present moment.
And when you are ready,
Step three,
Broadening your sense of awareness to incorporate the whole of the body.
Allowing your breath to expand and take in the body as a whole.
Taking into your awareness all and any sensation you notice in the body right now.
Taking them all into the spaciousness and expansiveness of whole body awareness.
The body breathing itself.
If you are experiencing any strong or challenging sensation in a particular body part,
See if it's possible to guide your breath into this region on an inhale and to guide it out from this area on an exhale.
And allowing the body to open and soften.
Perhaps if you wish saying to yourself on an exhale,
I am here.
Wherever that is,
I am here.
Complete as I am.
And as we draw this three minute breathing space to its conclusion,
As best you can allowing the awareness you have just cultivated here to spill over into the next moments of your day,
However it may unfold.
