Easy Breath And Mindfulness Practice

A simple, 30-minute mindfulness meditation, focusing on the breath, including positioning, grounding, body awareness and a short silence before ending with a return grounding. Allows for awareness of the body and stillness of the mind, using the breath as the focus point.

Transcript

Begin this meditation by finding a comfortable position.

You might like to sit up with your legs crossed,

Maybe using a cushion,

A block or a bolster if you like to use props.

Or you may just prefer to sit on the floor.

You might like to put your back against a wall,

Let your legs roll out in front of you if this is comfortable.

Or you might prefer to sit back on your knees,

Buttocks resting on your heels,

Or with your feet slightly apart and your buttocks resting on the floor.

Alternatively if you don't want to sit,

You may like to lie down,

Either on your back or your stomach,

Whichever one feels best for you.

If you like you may lie down on your side,

However it is best to find a position where your body is loose and open,

Where your bones and muscles can stretch and relax and your internal organs are supported.

You can take your time now to find the position that works best for you,

Whether you are sitting,

Kneeling or lying down,

Doesn't matter.

Find your position slowly,

Give yourself as much time as you need to feel comfortable and ensure that whichever position you adopt,

That your spine is aligned and your head and neck are neutral.

You will need to be able to maintain your position for the next 30 minutes or so,

So make sure you choose the one that is best for your body.

When you are ready and have softened into your position,

You may like to take a moment to just gaze softly around the space you are in,

Just notice it all without judgement,

Take it in.

See the walls,

The windows,

The floor,

The colours,

Shapes and textures that make up this space,

Be aware of where you are in this space,

Where your body fits in amongst the shapes and colours around you and let yourself see this space with a soft open gaze,

Taking it in as a whole and seeing it in its entirety.

You may find yourself drawn to one area of the space,

That's alright,

Just take a moment to become aware of that,

Before bringing your attention and your gaze wide again and drawing your awareness back to the room and space you are in as a whole.

When it feels right for you,

You can gently close your eyes,

Just softly and take your focus deeper,

Become aware of that cool dark space behind your eyelids and be aware of where you are without needing to see,

Aware of your body,

Of the space,

Of the position you have adopted and slowly and softly bring your awareness to your other senses,

Let your attention come to any sounds you can hear inside or outside the space and simply hear them without judgement or concern,

Let them mingle with the sounds of your own body,

The perfect melody of your breath and your heartbeat and bring your awareness deeper still into the rhythm and flow of your own breath,

Let that be your focus now and notice as the breath flows in and out of your body,

Bringing with it the smells and tastes of the air and space you are in,

Any of these smells and tastes are simply to be noticed with gentle non-judgment,

Allowing your focus to be on the movement of the breath,

The feel of it entering and leaving your body,

Each breath is present in the moment and each moment is perfectly unique,

Breathe in this moment,

This one perfect moment and take each breath and each moment as it comes to you without judgement or expectation,

The breath is always present,

You cannot breathe in the past or the future,

So if you find yourself straying at any point,

Caught up in your thoughts or lost in the past or the future,

You can gently return to the present moment by bringing your focus back to your own ever present breath and as you breathe into your body,

Breathe with love and compassion and notice with a gentle sense of non-judgment,

Any sensations that you might feel in the physical body,

You might notice the floor or cushion beneath you,

The touch of your clothes against your skin,

The movement of your breath across your face,

You might notice internal sensations as well,

Sensations of tension,

Tightness,

Discomfort,

Feelings of emotion,

Just be with whatever you find,

Just notice the sensations of your physical,

Your internal body,

Practice non-judgment of whatever you find,

Discomfort or comfort,

Tension or relaxation,

Fear or happiness,

Simply allow whatever you're feeling to be and linger now in your physical body,

Notice your feet and your ankles,

Feeling whatever is there and noticing it with openness and non-judgment,

Take this same awareness to your shins and your calves,

Experiencing the sensations in your lower leg just as they are and bring it up over your knees and up further into the big muscles of your thighs and quads and your hamstrings,

Pause here and feel into these large powerful muscles,

Being conscious of how they feel right now,

When you're ready continue to bring this awareness and non-judgment up over your pelvis and buttocks,

Being present with the sensations you feel in these areas,

Then feel into your belly and your hips,

Take a few moments to become aware again of your breathing as you notice your belly,

Feeling it gently rise and fall as you inhale and exhale and remember that if you become lost or your thoughts drift during your practice,

You can bring yourself back to the present moment by bringing your focus back to your breath,

When it's right for you,

You can take this awareness over your chest,

You can notice any sensations there,

The movement of your lungs,

Perhaps the beating of your heart,

You may even feel the slow rise and fall as the chest moves in time with the belly,

Just notice whatever is there,

Whatever you feel and allow it to be without judgement,

The same goes for any emotions,

You may feel the chest and the heart centre often where people may hold emotions,

This is alright,

Whatever you feel here,

Just take it with non-judgment,

With awareness,

With acknowledgement,

And take these feelings up into your neck and your shoulders,

This non-judgment,

This awareness of your body and the sensations in it,

And then bring it down into your biceps and elbows,

Just letting the sensations be there,

You can notice your forearms and wrists,

Then your hands and fingers,

Allowing yourself to be present with whatever you feel in these places,

Next in your own time,

You can bring new awareness to your back,

Notice your back as a whole,

From the back of your neck all the way down to your tailbone,

Your spine,

Each vertebrae,

The planes of the skin,

Just notice it all,

Notice the sensations,

Just allow anything to be there,

If your back is a common source of irritation or discomfort,

Now is a good time to bring a feeling of non-judgment to these sensations and allow your back to rest and simply be,

Now you can take this sense of non-judgment,

This awareness and openness to your face,

To all the little nooks and crannies you can feel into,

Then over the top and the back of your head and skull,

Be aware of what you find here,

Of the sensations you feel,

But just allow them to be,

This is mindfulness,

Simply being aware of what you feel without needing to change it,

And when you are ready,

You may like to pause for a moment,

Then take your awareness to your whole body,

From the top of your head all the way down to the soles of your feet,

Feel into your whole body,

Noticing the sensations,

But allow yourself to experience them as an impartial observer,

Simply feeling,

Letting them be,

Without needing to change or alter them,

And as you feel into your body,

Becoming aware of how you feel in this moment,

You may get the urge or desire to move or shift,

If at any point during this meditation you feel the need to change positions or adjust yourself,

Just pause and bring that mindful attention you brought to your body to this desire,

Feel it,

Allow it to be without judgement,

And if you do move,

Do so mindfully,

Being aware of your body as it moves,

Then let it settle softly once again,

Being aware of the moment and how you feel within it,

Can be challenging in a world that is constantly seeking change,

To just be may even feel uncomfortable and confronting,

But it is by giving yourself permission to pause,

That you can cultivate mindfulness and non judgement,

Notice if there are any feelings of resistance,

Any challenges as you settle into this moment,

And know that it is okay if your attention wanders,

Or you find yourself lost in thoughts and daydreams,

If you do notice any of these moments,

Simply pause and return gently to the present by connecting again to your breath,

If it feels comfortable,

You may like to take a particularly deep breath in now,

Filling your lungs and your belly with air,

Feeling the sensations as you draw the oxygen in,

If it feels good,

You may even like to hold that breath for a few seconds,

Allowing the oxygen to flood into every corner of your body before exhaling,

Allowing your breath to fall back into a gentle natural rhythm,

Allow your breath to be both your guide and companion as you settle into silence now,

Let it be your anchor to the present,

Now allow it to hold you gently in the moment,

If your thoughts drift or your focus shifts away,

Bring yourself back to the present by bringing yourself back to the breath,

And if you do drift away,

Simply notice it with that same feeling of non judgement you brought to your body,

And then anchor yourself back to your breath,

Stay with your breath now in the quiet,

And simply allow yourself to be.

Anyway,

Close the eyes of your awareness,

Quiet it down in your wellness Ascendant feeling,

It's your water,

It's your focus,

It's your motion,

It's your recognizing,

It's your slowly now consciously it is time to come back if your awareness shifted bring it back to your breath now to the rhythmic rise and fall of your belly or your chest the feel of air moving in and out of your body as you bring yourself back you may like to bring your attention back to your body notice your body as a whole again and become aware of the sensations you can feel both inside and outside your body they may feel different you may feel different and it is okay to take your time and be with these new sensations as you slowly return to the room and the space around you as you are returning to the space you may start to hear the sounds again you may like to stretch move your body within the room becoming aware once more where you are in space wriggling your fingers and toes shifting in a way that feels good for you having a stretch allow that sense of mindfulness you have cultivated to remain with you as you come back let yourself feel into your body as you gently awaken it and then when you are ready you can open your eyes slowly and come back to the space back to the room with its shapes its colours its textures and you can feel and take your time slowly becoming aware of it again and when the moment is right for you you can get up and bring the mindfulness you have cultivated here to the rest of your day