Set Your Intention With Breath

This meditation invites you to use breath awareness as a way to set intention with clarity and ease. Beginning with gentle breathing through the nose and mouth, attention moves from the sensations at the nostrils through the shoulders, lungs, and into the abdomen. From this grounded place, you are invited to reflect on the intention you are carrying into the day and notice how it is experienced in your body, particularly in areas such as the throat, chest, hands, or feet. The practice closes by offering this intention as an aspiration or wish, supporting a mindful transition back into daily life. This is a recording from a live Journey You Own Meditation Gathering, so you may notice natural pauses and gentle references to shared practice.

Transcript

You can start with three deep breaths,

Inhaling through the nose and exhaling out of the mouth.

After taking those three breaths,

Just gently returning to a natural rhythm.

Today,

I invite you to become curious to the breath as it enters,

Meaning the tip of your nostrils and your upper lip,

Noticing the quality and consistency of the breath,

If it's cool or moist,

Shallow,

Dry,

Without needing to change it.

And we can begin by noticing the breath on our nose and then drawing our awareness from the tip of our nose to the rise and fall of your shoulders.

Using this breath awareness as a moment to clear the mind,

Centering the focus on the breath.

From the rise and fall of the shoulders,

Draw your attention now to the lungs themselves.

The expansion of your ribs,

Noticing with each breath if you can release any thoughts arising to become present to the physical body in this moment.

And from the breath at your chest,

Let's go a little bit deeper to the subnaval region.

Noticing how your abdomen comes out and in with each breath.

You may choose to place a hand in this area to feel the movement of the breath.

I'm taking a few minutes to notice the breath in its entirety as it enters the nostrils,

Courses through the throat,

Down to the lungs,

The rise and fall of the shoulders,

And the expansion of your abdomen and the region of the subnaval area where you are.

Where the breath settles into the central points and then the exhalation.

Now holding the breath as our anchor,

I'd like to place forth an inquiry,

Turning from the body to the mind.

As we begin this day,

What intention are you carrying forth?

Who are you being and how are you showing up?

Now notice what the experience is of this intention in your felt body in this moment.

Taking this out of the mind and now into the experience of the body.

Notice if you feel your intention more strongly in one part of the body than the other.

Paying particular attention to the throat,

Your chest,

Your hands and your feet.

Now to close out our practice,

You might modify or convert that intention to an aspiration.

Place that aspiration out to the universe.

Just make it a wish that you state.

You can take the form of a declaration or a commitment.

When you hear the bell,

I invite you to take three more deep breaths to create a transition from this space to your next activity.

And then return to your day.