Hi,
My name is Karen and this is a daily insight.
This meditation is created to really put you into a good connection with your breath.
It's a Buddhist practice known as Anapanasati.
Place yourself in a comfortable position,
Sitting with your back away from the back of a chair or if on the floor seated on a cushion and allowing your hips to tip forward slightly.
If you're comfortable with closing your eyes you will and if not just keep your eyes semi closed with a downward and softened gaze.
Take a deep breath in and exhale completely.
As you allow your breath to move freely,
Not trying to alter it or change it,
But allowing your focus to rest there with each breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Begin to draw your focus to the breath at the place where you feel it most vividly in a physical sense.
This may be at the tip of the nose,
On the back of the throat,
In the chest or in the belly.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
You may notice at the tip of the nose that the breath itself feels cold as it enters the body.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
If as you're breathing your focus is drawn to thoughts or emotions that might be bubbling up,
Acknowledge those thoughts and emotions,
But return your focus back to your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Always returning back to the breath and even welcoming yourself back into the meditation.
Perhaps by drawing a deep breath in and savouring the exhale,
Let it take a little longer to move out.
Noticing the breath as it enters at the tip of the nose,
It is vivid and there is great clarity as it enters.
Our body is warm and the fresh air as it draws in will feel chilly.
As that breath travels up,
The nasal passageway,
It's still vivid and cold.
Savor the breath as it draws up into the head itself,
Into the cranium.
Enjoy each breath in and notice the exhale moving out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Simply allow the breath to move,
To expand and to fill you.
Our in breath is quite literally inspiration.
It draws in energy.
Follow the breath now down into the back of the throat.
Breathing in and breathing out.
The breath is still cool at the back of the throat.
Follow the breath now down into the lungs.
The breath may still be experienced as cool in the upper aspects of the lung.
Breathing in and breathing out.
The breath begins to warm as it is drawn deeper and deeper into the lungs,
Pulling down toward the low belly.
Breathing in and breathing out.
If any thoughts arise,
Simply come back,
Follow the breath back,
Breathing in and breathing out.
As you breathe in,
Notice the swell of the belly.
Notice the movement of the ribs.
The downward pressure into the hip girdle.
The expansion into the kidney area of the back.
Perhaps even the gentle lifting of the collarbone.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now begin to notice the movement of the breath as it starts to shift direction.
Begin to notice the exhalation.
This is a very different sensation than the inspiring inhalation.
Breathing out,
The belly muscle softens.
The diaphragm releases.
The breath is shifted upward in the lung and out,
Traveling up through the throat and expressed through the nasal passage and nostrils or through the mouth with an open sigh.
The body's reaction to the exhalation is very different.
What do you notice as you breathe out?
It is harder to find the beginning of the exhalation.
It follows such a brief transition.
Once the body is satisfied,
It simply turns the breath around and begins to release it.
Find that point where the breath begins to travel in the opposite direction,
No longer drawing in.
Instead,
Find it when it begins to move out.
Where do you feel it most vividly in the body?
Most clearly?
If any emotions appear,
Rather than trying to name them or label them,
Simply notice the sensations in the body and then come back to the breath.
Follow the breath,
Always returning again and again to the breath.
Exhaling.
Exhaling.
How is the exhalation different than the inhalation?
What are the sensations associated with the exhalation?
Breathing out,
The belly falls and shrinks.
Breathing in,
The belly expands and rises.
Breathing out,
The air is warm.
Breathing in,
The air is cool.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Our breath doesn't simply exist in the airway passages of the head,
Throat or lungs themselves.
Oxygen is carried throughout the body to nourish all living parts of tissue and bone,
All parts.
This is a miraculous moment when oxygen passes through living tissue and is then carried on the bloodstream itself.
The heart then pushes the blood throughout the body.
Take a moment now to notice your left hand.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Keeping your focus on the left hand,
Imagine breathing into the hand just as you would a balloon.
And breathing out.
Breathing in,
What is the sensation within the left hand as you breathe in?
As you breathe out,
What is the sensation in the left hand?
Breathing into the left hand and breathing out from the left hand.
Move into the left index finger,
To the very tip of it.
Focusing there.
Can you feel the heartbeat?
It's slow pulse.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allow your attention within the fingertip to begin to expand,
To include the full length of the left index finger.
And then begin to add each finger on,
Drawing it into your focus as well.
Expand your notice to include the thumb now.
Broaden your focus further and begin to notice the palm of the hand,
The back of your hand.
Your hand is breathing.
You may notice a sense of tingling,
A sense of movement.
Notice the temperature.
Is it changing?
Our body is constantly changing in temperature from one hand to another.
The feet,
The torso.
Our body temperature regulated by the shifting of fluids.
The body breathing.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allow the focus of the left hand's breath to travel up from the wrist to the elbow.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Maintain your focus there.
The forearm through the wrist,
Through the hand and out to the end of each finger and the tip of the thumb.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Broaden your focus now again and let your attention hold also the elbow and upper arm to the shoulder.
Be with the breath as you breathe in and breathe out.
Experiencing your breath through the left arm,
The left hand,
The left fingers and thumb.
What do you notice?
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now follow your heart flow up through the underarm and into the chest itself.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
The body breathes.
It is not simply the lungs,
The throat,
The sinus,
The nasal passageways or the nostrils.
When does air become breath?
When does breath become air?
Breathing in and breathing out.
This life force drawn in.
This life force moving out.
Begin to notice the pulsing of your heart in relation to your breath now.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
The gentle yet constant pulse,
The beating heart.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Expand your focus now to another part of the body,
Whether it's the right hand,
The right foot,
The groin,
The left knee.
Find a place and study the breath there.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
You may also have located a space that follows directly after the exhale.
A space where there appears to be no breath at all.
Perhaps this is most tranquil area of our breath cycle.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Pause.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Pause.
Allow yourself a moment or two to rest in that space of stillness between the out breath and the in.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Pause.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Pause.
The body knows when to breathe in.
When we allow ourselves to become the observer of the breath,
To witness it and simply experience it.
This is a study of your own life.
A study of your own existence and survival.
It is exquisitely beautiful,
Just as you are.
When you're feeling a sense of overwhelm,
A sense of doubt,
Use the breath.
Use the breath to move inward,
To observe its miracle,
Its life-giving force.
And know just as surely as you are breathing in and out,
That you are worthy of this breath and all that that singular breath contains.
And once the breath has been used and is no longer of value,
Allow that breath to leave.
When does air become breath?
When does breath become air?
The exquisite dance of life,
Life force,
And presencing ourselves to it.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Allow yourself some time just to breathe and notice it.
You are beautiful.
Hof
