3-Step Breathing Space

This is a lovely simple practice that helps us to come back to the present moment. It can be done right in the middle of your day and is particularly helpful in the middle of stress or anxiety. Recorded in the west of Ireland by mindfulness coach Keith Horan.

Transcript

This is the three step breathing space,

And it's a short practice that you can do at any time during the day.

Beginning then by taking a deliberate posture,

A sort of a dignified posture.

Maybe your back is more straight than usual.

Shoulders are open,

But you're still relaxed.

You're not straining.

The first step then is just to check in with your own experience.

Just trying to see how you are right now.

Maybe looking at your thoughts,

Like are there loads of thoughts or not so many?

Are they loud?

Are they quiet?

And you're not trying to change anything.

You're just being curious,

Like what thoughts are here?

And the same,

Just checking in,

Seeing can you notice any emotions?

Just seeing what's here.

Is it possible to notice emotions?

And the body,

How's your body feeling right now?

And just noticing nothing to change,

But just taking this moment to check in on your experience.

The second step then is to gather your focus and bring it towards your breathing.

And it's often helpful to notice the breathing at a specific point,

Like maybe the movement at the stomach as you breathe in and out.

So just bringing your awareness to this region,

Noticing the in-breath,

Noticing the out-breath,

The movement as you breathe in,

The movement as you breathe out,

Just for a few breaths.

And if your mind wanders,

As it's pretty likely to do,

Just gently coming back to the breathing.

And then the third step is to expand your awareness out beyond the breathing and out to the whole body.

Being aware of your feet on the floor,

The trunk of your body,

The legs,

All the way up to the top of the head and out to the ends of your fingers.

Just aware of the whole body in whatever room or space you're in.

Aware that you're here right now.

You're breathing.

You have a body.

And then bringing this more spacious awareness into the next moments of your day.

Reviews

Quick yet powerful practice that really helped me drop into my body today. I was stressed and rushing but took the time to do this.

I feel more grounded and less agitated now. Voice calming and it felt very easy 😊