Welcome to this guided practice.
It's called four-part breathing and I found this very helpful during this time that's happening all over the world where there's been a lot of worry and anxiety in relation to the current health concerns.
So I've been adding this into my self-practice most days.
So taking a comfortable seat you can also do this lying down if that feels more supportive for you.
Finding a posture where there's a sense of ease with a neutral spine.
You might join me by closing the eyes or you might prefer a soft gaze down.
When the eyes close you can have a felt sense of the position of the body.
Noticing where the body meets the surface that you're either lying on or whether you're sitting on the floor or on a chair.
And begin by noticing that you're breathing,
Breathing naturally.
And when we tune into the natural breath you'll be aware that there's four parts to the breath.
The in-breath,
The end or the top of the in-breath there's a slight pause and then the out-breath there's another slight pause at the end of the out-breath.
Simply observing the four parts to the natural breath now as you breathe.
And as you observe the four parts to the natural breath you might like to add in some mental noting.
When we mentally note the natural flow of the breath you can support attention control.
You might like to try this mental noting in as you breathe in pause when you notice the pause out as you breathe out and then the slight pause at the end of the out-breath.
So joining in with me in pause out pause and so on.
Whatever it's comfortable for you to feel the rhythm of your own breath and you might add in the mental noting where you quietly note the movement of the breath and the pauses of the breath.
And then the final note of the breath is the final pause.
So you've just noticed the movement of the breath and the pauses or spaces in between.
And when I've been observing my breath recently I've really been resting in the pauses between the breath and I've found this has become a lovely inner breath.
And I've been able to feel the movement of the breath and the pauses between the breath and I've found this has become a lovely inner resource particularly with all of the worry that you may be experiencing right now.
So just by resting in the pauses between each breath can be a place where the body becomes relatively still and you might just experience a moment of quiet.
So continuing your practice now inviting that gentle mental noting and really observing the spaces in between.
And you might like to drop deep into the belly.
This is where I've been finding the most comfort with this practice.
When I'm in the middle of the this practice when I drop into the belly and really notice the pauses there can have a soothing effect gives the mind a little bit of space from all the racing thoughts.
So know that you can try this practice anytime during the day or even in the night as a way of calming and soothing as you really focus on the full part breathing and the spaces in between.
So now I'm going to take a moment to take a deep breath and I'm going to take a deep breath as you really focus on the full part breathing and the spaces in between.
So thank you for your practice and I hope it can support you.
