Presence Through Breath

This is a mindfulness meditation created to carve out a pocket of stillness whenever it feels like the day is getting a little overwhelming. Sometimes all it takes to continue on, moving gracefully through your day and all the many challenges you face.

Transcript

Hi, My name is Karen. This is a brief mindfulness meditation to help presence you in the now. Using breath, Any sounds in and around you, Or body sensations, Hopefully we'll find a way to let you feel really grounded and safe wherever you are. If you'd like to join me, Find a place where maybe it's a bit removed from the chaos, The noise of life. This meditation can be done seated or laying down, But if seated in a chair, Rather than crossing your legs, Let your feet both rest firmly on the ground and rest your hands into your lap, Palms facing up. Let's take a moment to check in. Become aware of your thoughts, Your emotions, And any sensations in your body. Not viewing these as something that needs to be changed or altered. Instead, Simply seeing these as present in this moment. While we're meditating, If thoughts or emotions bubble up in you, Acknowledge whatever's there in the thought, And then just set it aside. Not saying you won't ever deal with it, But just saying to the thought, Not right now. Speaking to emotion rather than needing to label it or explain it or justify it. Instead, Just notice the sensations that you're experiencing in your body. A change in breath pattern, A rush of heat, Perhaps fidgeting. All signs of agitation of one form or another, As expressed through sensations in the body. Let's begin by taking a deep breath in through the nose and then exhale slowly through your mouth, Breathing in again and exhaling completely out. Where do you notice your breath? Is there a way that you can draw the breath a little more deeply down into the softness of your belly? And as you exhale, Begin to exhale through your nose, Allowing all the breath to tumble out in whatever pace is right for your body, Whether it's a rush of air out or a slow and gentle stream. Our breath can be studied in a cycle. The cycle itself contains four parts. The inhalation, The pause between the inhalation and the exhalation, The exhalation, And then the pause that exists between the out breath and the next in breath. Begin to notice with curiosity how each breath changes. There is no one singular breath that's like another. Some breath is deep and resonant, Some quiet, Hardly noticeable. If while watching your breath cycle, You become aware of any sounds near or further away, Acknowledge them and then let them go. These sounds in this moment are not relevant to the work. What can you discover in each in breath? Perhaps a sense of building tension as the body makes space in the thoracic body itself, The chest, The lower abdomen, The upper back, And the sides of the body. The body is satisfied without any strain. The breath changes direction and moves out of the body. How does the body know that it's satisfied? The body knows exactly when to breathe in, How much is required to breathe in, And has been handling this since the day you were born, Whether you're conscious of the breath or not. Begin to notice the exhalation. How are the sensations that accompany the out breath different than those that accompany the in breath? As you exhale, Perhaps you experience a wonderful sense of release of the tension built or created during the in breath. Now become aware of the space between the out breath and the next in breath. The body may still hold some breath in it, But to the best of your abilities, Try to release the breath, Leaving the body open and spacious to receive the next in breath. Perhaps you notice while breathing a sense of tingling in fingertips or toes. Our breath travels throughout the body itself when not in the airway passages such as the throat, The nose, Or the lungs. It travels on the bloodstream. Blood rich in oxygen nourishes all the living tissue. Find your heartbeat in your belly. It will likely be easiest to discover if you will find it on a long exhale or in the space that follows the exhalation. This is the pulse of your heart. Well generated in the heart, You're experiencing it in the lower abdomen as expressed through the aorta, The largest artery in the body. Follow the pulsing of the aorta up into the chest to the heart space itself. You may have to refine your senses a little bit here. It won't be as obvious as in the belly. From the heart space, Follow the heartbeat out to the left underarm. And from the left underarm, Follow it down the length of the upper arm. With each pulse, Noticing a gentle wave-like movement. And then continue to discover this wave-like movement through the length of the lower arm, Watching its progression, Noticing with interest how the body responds. Draw your focus out to the length of the hand, The palm, The back of hand. What do you notice there? And now begin to extend your notice out to the end of each fingertip, Perhaps following one finger at a time. The thumb, The index finger, The middle finger, Ring finger, And fifth finger, The little finger. What do you notice in the wave-like patterns? Is there tingling? A change in temperature within the body? A sense of the body being very heavy or weightless? See the entire movement from the heart space to the left underarm, All the way down to the very tips of each finger and thumb. Bring your attention back to the heart space now. And then travel out to the right underarm. How is this different than the left underarm? Follow the flow of the blood for the length of the upper arm now on the right side body and the lower right arm. Become aware of the movement of the blood in your hand. Right palm of hand and back palm of hand. Right palm of hand and back of hand. Let the sensations extend now to each fingertip, Moving from the thumb to the index finger, The middle finger, The right ring finger, And the littlest finger, The fifth. Hold your attention now on the full length of each arm all the way down to the fingertips, Left and right. What do you notice? Let's return our focus to the beating pulsation you first discovered in your belly from the aorta. Shift your attention there again. And then bring it downward toward the groin. From the groin, Move down each thigh from the inside of the thigh, Left leg and right leg, And then to both lower legs below the knee. Now into each foot and into each of your 10 toes. Explore the sensation and discover what this feels like for the entire left leg and foot and right leg and foot. Expand your notice now to include the pulsing in the belly, The beating of the heart in its heart space, And the shifting of fluids in each arm and down to each hand and to the tip of each finger and thumb. Now shift focus from the base of the neck up on either side of the throat and see if you can feel the blood life force coursing through your head. Perhaps you feel its pulse or perhaps you hear it. Begin to breathe in and out and just marvel at the beauty of the human body, Of all bodies. And in this moment of now, Whether you're aware of it or not, This happens with each breath and each pulse of your heart. And for these few moments, Perhaps you didn't think about anything else. Begin to breathe in and out more deeply and know that you are enough. Know that anything you need, You already have within you. I'd like to thank you for taking this time today to sit with me. Until we sit again, Namaste.

Reviews

It’s true. I didn’t think about anything else. And that made me cry. So grateful for you Karen ❤️thank you.

This is so unique, Karen. I want to relate to this internal practice again and again. I've never had a teacher focus on blood flow in this way before.