So we're in sittingness and our feet are where they are and our backs are where they are.
The rest of our bones are just in our context of positioning.
So we can feel that support under us or behind us.
Let the muscles and the bones and the flesh be supported here consciously through the chair or floor.
And then very gently,
Slowly bringing attention to the nostrils.
And there is not a right or wrong way to do this so we're just going to play.
So I want you to feel the air coming into the nostrils and out.
And as I'm speaking just keep doing that.
You can use imagination if it's useful to breathe up to the eyeballs.
That's what a kid said to me once with nostril breathing.
Like I breathe up to my eyeballs in my head,
Yes.
So you breathe through the nostril tunnel,
Cavity,
Whatever you want to call it,
Until it kind of all the way back to where the eyeballs come.
And then we breathe back out from where the eyeballs are.
So the air,
We're taking the air outside of us,
Kind of inhaling it in through the nostrils up to the eyes and then back out from the eyeballs back out to the space around us.
It's kind of like our nostrils are straws.
So we're just noticing the air coming in and out.
And it may be kind of weird,
Maybe uncomfortable,
Maybe awkward,
That would all be normal if this is new to you in any way.
So not kind of judging the quality,
We're just playing with this territory for a little bit.
And we're just noticing.
One of my favorite things to notice is the temperature of the air coming in and then the temperature of the air that goes out.
And I like to discern if they're exactly the same.
Are they a little different?
Or are they a lot different?
And that will depend on the context of a room,
It will depend on the context of a breath.
So you can just experiment with the temperatures of your experience.
And you can experiment with how deeply you breathe in and out of the nostrils will also be a variable.
So I'm going to be quiet and just notice the temperatures that come in and out through the breath.
Let the cheeks be soft and the facial muscles be soft here.
There's nothing to do but notice what is already happening.
So noticing the temperatures that you perceive and your own preferences.
Some people like to feel the inhalation more than the exhalation and some people like to feel the exhalation part of that exchange more than the inhalation.
Letting you have your own inclinations and regardless just continuing to feel that breath coming in and out.
Maybe your attention wants to stay with a component of that breath.
Sometimes my attention likes to stay right in the middle of the nostril tunnel place.
And I imagine that even feeling the nose hairs in my exchange.
Other times I like to rest my attention more just outside of the nostrils and kind of feel that air in my upper lip as it comes in and out.
So let your attention kind of travel a little bit.
And while you're noticing the nostrils and the breath coming in and out there,
You might also notice other parts of your breathing mechanism.
So you might notice peripherally that the chest is moving or the belly is filling and emptying or even that the shoulders are rising and falling.
So your attention might start to share itself with the nostrils and other parts of the breathing.
So if that is true for you,
Just stay curious with that.
But there is no right or wrong or supposed to here so just noticing what wants to be noticed or what feels easy and kind to include.
I'm going to invite the mouth to soften.
And just keep this noticing that the breath will effortlessly come in and out without any effort or trying on our part.
We are receptacle so to speak for breath.
We just receive it and release it.
We don't need to make that happen.
But we accidentally still use effort sometimes even when we don't need to.
So in this moment we are just inviting ourselves to relinquish effort that is not needed and letting the softening of the embouchure,
The mouth,
The jaw or other areas.
The breath will breathe itself.
And we want to invite ourselves to receive that grace of breath.
To receive the grace and wisdom of breath.
However it is very easy and safe to do.
And staying with the breath.
However the breath is in this moment.
Staying with that as you gradually start to move your body.
Letting the arms and the legs be engaged a little bit.
Staying with the breath and as your eyes start to softly open and you come back into this moment.
