Welcome to your mindful meditation practice.
For this meditation,
We will be using our breath as the anchor point for our practice.
I invite you to take a good seat,
Ensuring that your spine is straight,
Your shoulders are relaxed,
And your hands are gently resting upon your thighs.
Bring your attention to your breath.
Inhaling through the nostrils and exhaling through the nostrils.
Noticing the way that your body moves as it is being breathed.
Every day,
All day long,
Our breath moves in and through us,
Connecting us to ourselves and to the rest of the world.
Our breath is what allows us to live.
And so often,
We do not notice it.
Yet,
It is there and present for us in any moment where we bring mindful attention into our breath.
It's available to us to help us to calm our bodies,
Open our hearts,
And quiet our minds.
So I invite you to notice with curiosity the way it feels when you breathe in through your nostrils.
Can you notice the feeling of cool air going in and the feeling of warmth on the exhale?
Bringing a fresh awareness to your breath,
I invite you to explore the sensations present on the inhale and on the exhale.
You will find that your mind naturally wanders away from the breath.
That is not a problem.
Notice your thought and smile and come back to your breath.
Now breathe into your torso and chest area.
Do you feel your breath naturally moving in your belly,
In your torso,
Or in your chest?
See if you can follow your breath down into your belly,
Noticing how your stomach expands like a balloon on the inhale and relaxes back on the exhale.
I invite you to put your hand on your belly to notice the sensation of your breath from within your body.
Now I invite you to breathe into your heart space,
Noticing the expansion and contraction of your chest.
Moving your hand to your heart,
Noticing your heartbeat.
Does your heartbeat change on the inhale or the exhale?
We're just noticing.
Now I invite you to inhale following the breath in and then following the breath out,
Noticing what happens at the point where the inhale turns to the exhale and the exhale turns to the inhale.
How does it feel as your breath flows in and out of your body?
Don't have to change anything or manipulate your breath.
We're just noticing for the sensations that are already present within your breath.
Now I invite you on the inhale to smile,
Noticing what that feels like.
Bringing attention back to your body,
Noticing how you feel.
I invite you to bring movement back to your fingers and your toes and whenever you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Palms together at your heart space.
I invite you to take a bow and give gratitude for the breath that is yours.
Thank you for your practice.
