10:08

Mindfulness Breathing To Relieve Stress And Anxiety

by Josephine Sweeney

Rated
4.5
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
69

Mindfulness breathing techniques help to relieve stress and anxiety so we can cope with everyday challenges in a more mindful way, cultivating a sense of calm into our present moment awareness. Our thoughts can take us away from the present moment creating a story that we get caught up in, so when we focus on our breathing we anchor ourselves back into the present.

Transcript

Taking a breathing space,

Making a definite change in your posture.

And if you're sitting,

Allow your back to be a little bit away from the back of the seat.

And bring your hips slightly forward so that your back feels aligned and relaxed.

Head is tilted slightly towards your chest.

Your shoulders are back and relaxed down and your hands are resting on your thighs.

This is a 10-minute meditation,

So as you leave the stimulus of this world,

You may want to switch off all notifications from your device.

Allowing you to have 10 minutes to yourself.

And as we sit with our feet firmly on the ground,

Being aware of this,

Let's turn our focus to our breathing.

So as we breathe,

Let's inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

And as you become aware of the rhythm of your breathing,

Become also aware of the coolness as you inhale and the warmth as you exhale.

Allowing your breath to anchor you in this present moment.

And if you find that your mind is wandering,

Just notice where your thoughts have taken you and gently bring your awareness back to your breath.

Becoming aware of your posture and the sensations in your body.

So scanning from the crown of your head all the way down to the tips of your toes.

Picking up any sensations along the way through the body,

Just becoming aware of them.

And if you find there's any tension in the body,

Use your breath to breathe into that part of your body.

So breathing in through the nose and exhale through the mouth,

Softening the edges of the tension that's in that part of your body.

And if you find that your mind wanders,

Again,

Notice where your thoughts have taken you and gently bring your awareness back to your breath.

And if you find that your mind is wandering,

Just notice where your thoughts have taken you and gently bring your awareness back to your breath.

And if you find that your mind wanders,

Again,

Just be aware of where your mind has taken you and then gently bringing it back to the breath.

Using your breath to anchor you each time back into the present moment.

And as we spend now a couple of minutes in silence,

Repeat this,

Bringing yourself back over and over without giving yourself a hard time.

Do it with ease and gentleness towards yourself,

Perhaps in this new practice for you.

And over time,

It's going to become easier.

And as this practice comes to a close,

Reminding ourselves that the deep stillness that we seek doesn't arise because the world stays still or the mind is quiet.

Stillness comes from allowing ourselves to be in this present moment without judgment,

And with kindness towards ourselves.

Meet your Teacher

Josephine SweeneyDublin, Ireland

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© 2025 Josephine Sweeney. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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