Take a moment to find a comfortable position for your body.
You can sit up in a chair with your feet firmly on the ground.
You could sit in a cross-legged position on the floor.
You could even lie down if that feels most appropriate for you today.
The position doesn't matter as long as you can remain there comfortable and at ease for the next few moments.
If you are slightly uncomfortable,
That is all you will focus on.
Take time in the placement of your body,
Not allowing the body's discomfort to draw your attention away from the breath.
If you have any discomfort in the low back area,
It may feel better to lie on your back,
Keeping the knees bent,
And allow the feet to be wide,
Melting the knees into one another.
Yogis call this constructive rest.
Now that you are in a comfortable position,
Allow the eyes to close gently.
Soften all of the tiny muscles around the eyes,
The cheeks,
The jaw.
Invite the sensation of heaviness within,
As we begin to just notice the breath,
Without changing anything at all.
Begin to observe your breath just as it is.
No need to change a thing.
Become aware.
How does your body receive the breath?
Do you feel the breath moving in and out of your nose?
Or do you breathe through your mouth?
We may not have ever taken the time to notice.
Imagine you are simply collecting data about your breath.
Become curious about all of the muscles required to assist the breath moving in and out of your body.
If you discover that you breathe through your mouth,
Explore how it feels to close the mouth now,
And just breathe in and out of your nose.
Does it flow easily in and out,
Or does it feel like you have to force it?
Practice a relaxed and easy breath in and out of your nose,
And observe that the breath begins to just naturally slow down.
No need to force a change of pace.
It just happens all on its own.
As you continue to breathe in and out through your nose,
Without judgment,
Attempt to sense where the bottom of your breath is in this moment.
As you breathe in,
How deep does your breath go?
Do you feel as if the breath only moves in as far as your chest?
This is where most people get stuck.
By breathing only into the chest,
We communicate with our nervous system to stay in high alert,
Fight or flight,
The sympathetic side of our nervous system.
Now let's feel the breath moving deeper into the body with ease.
Imagine the chest and the ribs are like a tunnel for the breath to move through.
Soften the belly so much that you feel the rise and fall of the breath in the belly,
As if your belly was a balloon.
With each inhalation,
Fill up your balloon a little bit more.
Become curious about the breath moving into your belly with the inhale.
With each exhalation,
Empty your balloon out completely,
As if you could squeeze out every last drop of air.
At the top of your inhale,
Can you sip in a little bit more breath?
With each exhale,
Can you squeeze out even more air to create more space for your next inhalation?
Remember,
There is no struggle or strain.
We want to encourage easy,
Peaceful waves of breath moving in and out of the body with as little effort as possible.
Inhaling belly rises,
Exhaling belly melts.
Take five more slow,
Easy breaths into your belly.
This type of breath is called abdominal breath,
Or complete breath.
It is a calming breath that brings balance to the mind and body.
Complete breath is a great way to dramatically reduce emotional overwhelm,
Sadness,
And anxiety.
When we choose not to acknowledge or address our emotions,
They literally get stored in the tissues of our body.
The stress of repressing our feelings leads to many physical problems in our body.
By taking care of our feelings,
We can take care of our physical body too.
Now let go of the effort of that abdominal breath,
And allow your breath to simply fall in and fall out once more.
Take some time to notice how you feel after that breath.
Do you feel more calm?
Do you feel more at ease?
It's harder to access the lower vibration emotions when we are in this place of calm within.
Notice,
Is there any residual tension,
Fear,
Anxiety,
Stress,
Or anger hiding out within?
If so,
Take some more time to explore this breath deeper.
This simple breath helps with so many different emotions,
And it is the foundation upon which many other breathing techniques are supported.
Please never be in a rush to learn all of the different breathing techniques.
Instead,
Stay with each one until you feel comfortable and ready to move on.
Now begin to cultivate a sense of gratitude for the breath.
Thankful for the life force it brings to us.
When you are ready,
Slowly blink your eyes open with a smile.
Thank you for joining me today for this breath awareness meditation.
Until next time,
In the words of my teacher,
Wishing for all of us a strong body,
A quiet mind,
And a gentle heart.
