The three minute breathing space is a brief exercise that you can practice in any moment.
It's especially helpful when we notice that our thoughts or our feelings are headed in a negative direction.
So taking a moment just to adopt a posture that's upright,
Your back is straight,
But not rigid,
And allowing the posture to set the intention of being present and awake.
Closing your eyes if this is comfortable.
And the first step is to become aware of what's going on with you right now.
Becoming conscious of any thoughts entering your mind or any feelings.
And as best you can,
Just noticing these thoughts and feelings as mental events.
So we note them,
Create space for them,
Allow them to be here without getting caught up in the story about the thoughts or the feelings.
Allowing and turning towards any unpleasant thoughts or feelings.
So rather than trying to push them away or shut them out,
Just notice them.
Perhaps saying to yourself,
This is my experience right now.
And again,
Becoming aware of your thoughts,
Simply noting whatever is arising in this moment.
And by having a sense of what's going on right now,
You've stepped out of automatic pilot.
The second step is to collect your awareness by focusing on the breath.
So gathering your attention and focusing it down on the movement of the breath at the abdomen,
Noticing the rising and falling of the breath at the abdomen,
And spending a minute or so here,
Focusing on the motion of the breath as it breathes in and out.
Moment by moment,
Breath by breath,
Allowing it to breathe naturally without trying to control it.
Noticing it as it moves into your body and out.
The third step is allowing your awareness to expand to the entire body,
Bringing a more spacious awareness to your experience.
Still letting the breath be present,
But allowing it to fade in the background.
Bringing your attention to the entirety of the body from head to toe,
Including in your awareness any sense of discomfort or tightness,
Allowing these experiences to be present in your awareness without trying to push them away or ignore them.
Making space for them and perhaps saying,
Again,
This is my experience right now.
And as this practice closes,
Expanding your awareness back to the room around you,
Opening your eyes and seeing if you can maintain this present awareness as you go about your day.
