Affectionate Breathing

This practice allows us to be comforted and soothed by the rhythm of our breathing. Notice the feeling of the rhythm of our breath and the sensation of coming home to our breathing. If there is any struggle with attending to your breath, allow the feeling of warmth and ease to travel into your body.

Transcript

Hello, My name is Lisa Bayliss. I am a mindful self-compassion teacher as well as an educator and counselor and I'm so grateful to be able to share in this moment and this practice with you. This practice is called affectionate breathing and it gives us the opportunity to allow kindness, Care, And even that practice of affection towards ourselves, Towards our breath that is with us always. So to begin this meditation I invite you to find a posture in which your body can be very comfortable and allow yourself to be fully supported through the length of this meditation. And then if it feels right to you to gently close your eyes or settle your gaze downward. Begin to take a few slow easy breaths, Letting these breaths come up to release any unnecessary tension and allow a sense of ease to come into your body. If you like you may choose to place a hand over your heart or any other soothing or supportive place as a reminder that we're not just bringing awareness but an affectionate awareness to our breathing and to ourselves in this moment. You can leave your hand in the soothing place or let it fall at any time but to allow yourself this ability to attend to whatever it feels in your body in this moment to let it be just as it is. And if it feels right to begin to notice your breathing, What it feels like to breathe in your body, Feeling the breath travel inward, Feeling your body and breath travel outward, Just coming home to this sense of breathing in and breathing out. You may even wish to notice within a tent of awareness maybe even offering words like as I'm breathing in I know I'm breathing in, As I'm breathing out I know I'm breathing out. You may even allow yourself to be aware of how your body is nourished on that inhale on that in-breath and how it can release through your exhale, Exhale, Out-breath. There's no right or wrong here, There's no striving to make it a certain way, We're just allowing your body to breathe you. Nowhere to go and nothing else to do except inviting the awareness to our breath, Really noticing the rhythm of your breathing, The gentle and slow movements that occur as you practice breathing in, Practice breathing out, Flowing in, Flowing out. Take a moment to really feel the sensation and the rhythm of breathing. Let your body move in any way it needs to move, Let your body feel in any way it needs to feel. As you settle into these rhythms of breath, I'm thinking to bring to mind a person whom you love and imagine them breathing while sleeping, Could be a person or a pet, Any being, Perhaps it's a child or a baby, And in your mind's eye just gazing at this being as they peacefully sleep and breathe. Perhaps notice the love and affection you can feel as you gaze upon this being or you imagine this being being at so at ease, Perhaps inclining that same care and affection and attention towards your own breathing. Seeing if you can hold all that warmth in your heart that you may experience for others, Bring it back to just this beautiful breath, And while that warmth spreads, Continue to feel your whole body subtly moving, Moving with the breath, Like the movement of the sea, Waves of breath, Waves of care, Waves of love, Waves of affection. You may have noticed at some point your mind has already wandered off, It loves to do that, It's doing what it's best used to. That happens. When it does, When you become aware of the storytelling in your head or the list making, Or the future or past thinking, Oh so gently just guide yourself back to this sensation of the breath or the rhythm of your breathing, Just coming back to waves of breath. There's no forcing your breath or trying to manipulate it or change it to do anything, Except just be here right now, Really allowing yourself to be with your breath, Just feeling into it, Just experience being, Breathing, And allow yourself to be gently rocked and caressed, Internally caressed by these beautiful waves of breath, By this wonderful sensation of breathing, Giving yourself over to your breath. If waves of warmth and care continue to come up, Just let them be a part of these ongoing breaths. Let the warmth and kindness and love fill every cell of your body as your breath fills every last part of you, Letting your breath just be, Just breathing, Being breathing, Trusting in your own breath as a place to come home to warmth, Love, And affection, Knowing you can access this beautiful wave of breath, This beautiful rhythm of breathing, Anytime you choose to give your attention to it. And with the same ease that you started, Gently releasing your attention to your breath, Allowing yourself to just come back to your own experience right now, Allow yourself to feel whatever you're feeling, And to be just as you are when you feel called. Slowly and gently lift your attention and go on with your beautiful day. Thank you for practicing with me.