A Breathing Meditation

A simple, easy, yet profound breathing meditation, opening the pathway to inner peace.

Transcript

So we're going to engage in a short breathing meditation,

Guided relaxation and meditation.

So I suggest you turn off your mobile phone,

Take the phone off the hook and find a comfortable chair to sit in for 20-25 minutes.

When you find your chair,

Your seat,

Find a comfortable position,

Ideally with both feet flat on the floor,

Straight back and your eyes gently closed.

And just breathe normally and naturally through the nose.

And we're going to start by relaxing the body.

We're going to move the awareness throughout the body,

Gently relaxing and letting go of any tightness or tension.

So we'll start by bringing the awareness to the crown of the head,

Very top of the head.

And just let the crown,

Let the scalp go smooth,

Letting go of any tightness or tension.

And then bring the awareness to the forehead and face.

Again let the forehead go smooth,

The eyes gently closed,

Eyes resting,

Breathing through the nose,

Not clenching the teeth,

Letting go of any tightness or tension in the face.

And bring your awareness to the back of the head and the neck.

Again,

Try and let go,

Let go of any tightness or tension here.

Gently letting go.

Now we can move the awareness to the shoulders.

It can help if you lift the shoulders slightly,

Then let them fall.

Let them find their own comfortable relaxed position.

Let them drop towards the floor.

Now with the awareness at the shoulders,

You can move the awareness slowly down the upper arm,

Letting go of any tightness or tension.

Just scanning from the shoulder down to the elbow.

Then relaxing the elbows.

Then moving the awareness from the elbows down to the wrists.

Then relaxing the wrists.

And the hands.

And then the fingers.

So the hands and arms now comfortable,

Warm and relaxed.

We can now bring the awareness to the top of the back.

And we're going to move,

Move the mind down the back,

Letting go of any tightness or tension.

And if in the back you feel any pain or discomfort,

You can focus on those single points and simply visualize them dissolving down through the body,

Down through the body,

Through the legs,

And out through the soles of the feet,

Into the floor where it disappears completely.

Any pain,

Any discomfort in the back,

Simply imagine it falling down through the body,

Down through the legs and into the floor it disappears.

Relaxing the back.

Then bringing the awareness to the chest and abdomen.

Sensing the abdomen,

The breath moving down,

Letting go of any tightness or tension here.

Much of the anxiety and worries we experience during the day we hold in the area of the abdomen.

We think of butterflies in the stomach or knots in the stomach.

So for now,

Simply let go of the tummy muscles.

Let go of any tightness or tension.

Now bring the awareness to the hips.

Imagine the hips widening,

Relaxing,

Then moving the awareness from the hips to the knees.

Relax the knees,

Then move the awareness down from the knees to the ankles.

Then relax the feet and the toes.

So now the body feeling warm,

Comfortable and relaxed.

Gently sitting,

Gently breathing.

It may now appear that the level of activity within the mind has increased.

But this is actually the normal state of affairs within the mind.

But so rarely do we have or find the opportunity to notice what is happening in our mind.

And just as we relax the body,

Systematically moving our awareness through the body,

We can also systematically reduce the level of activity within our mind to begin to find and develop our own still point,

Our own sense of calm and inner peace.

And the first process,

The first step to do this,

We try and hold our mind in the present time,

In the present moment.

So for now,

For the purpose of this meditation,

We can let go of any worries and concerns associated with the past.

Simply letting go of the past.

We are powerless to affect the past.

So we can simply take this opportunity,

This freedom we have in the present moment,

To let go of the past.

Free ourselves of the burdens of all the worries and concerns we have associated with the past.

And similarly,

We can let go of all the worries and concerns we have associated with the future.

Simply letting go of the future.

Feeling our mind still and calm in our warm,

Comfortable body,

Simply in the present moment.

Beginning to develop a sense of stillness and calm in a warm,

Comfortable body,

In the present moment.

And now we can begin to draw the awareness further inwards.

And we do this initially by bringing our awareness to within the confines of our room,

Wherever we are sitting.

We draw the awareness to within the confines of the room,

Imagining that everything outside the room has now dissolved into clear,

Empty space.

Any sounds or distractions from outside the room,

We simply don't follow them,

Label them or identify them.

Gently hold the awareness within the room.

And then draw the awareness further inwards to within the confines of your own body.

So now we visualize that everything outside the body has now dissolved into clear,

Empty space.

So try and imagine your warm,

Comfortable body suspended in the center of a vast ocean of clear,

Empty space,

With nothing below and nothing above,

Nothing to the left,

Nothing to the right,

Nothing behind,

Nothing in front.

Simply our mind present within our warm,

Comfortable body.

And to draw the awareness further inwards,

We begin to observe our own process of breath.

So with each inhalation and exhalation,

We allow the mind and the breath to mingle.

The calming sensation of inhalation and exhalation,

Gently pacifying the mind.

The mind and the breath,

Gently combining.

A slow,

Rhythmic passage of breath,

Gently soothing the mind.

Gently soothing the mind.

And with this sense,

This beginning sense of stillness within the mind,

We can engage in a practice called black and white breathing.

And to do this,

On each exhalation,

We can imagine,

We can visualize,

We breathe away all negative states of mind.

So each exhalation,

You can breathe away all mental pain and anxiety.

And this leaves in the aspect of dense black smoke,

Which moves into the far distance,

The far horizon,

Where it simply dissolves into clear,

Empty space.

So on each exhalation,

Imagine very clearly breathing away all anger,

All jealousy.

Simply exhaling all your anxieties and fears,

All your confusion,

All your doubts and worries.

Simply exhaled in the aspect of dense black smoke.

This is an opportunity to clear your mind of your deepest worries and concerns,

From the safety of your own mind,

Breathing away all worries and concerns.

Beginning to develop a sense of stillness,

Not burdened by mental anxieties or fears.

And now on each inhalation,

We can imagine we inhale pure clear light.

And this clear light is comprised of all good qualities.

So as you inhale this beautiful clear light,

It gathers at the heart center and brings with it an infinite sense of peace and tranquility.

A great sense of compassion and love that overwhelm any negative aspects of mind.

You are simply inhaling all the good qualities you wish for yourself in the aspect of beautiful clear light.

All good qualities,

Great patience,

Compassion,

Wisdom and understanding,

Simply inhaled in the aspect of this beautiful clear light.

And you can imagine now this clear light pervades your entire body,

Your entire body and mind.

So every part of you is comprised of the qualities you wish for yourself.

Your mind and body transformed with love,

Wisdom,

Compassion,

Peace and serenity.

And whilst we're here with a calm mind and calm body,

We can begin to notice thoughts maybe moving through the mind,

Like bubbles rising through water.

Each thought moving up through the mind.

And as bubbles dissolve back into the water from which they come,

So the thoughts return back into the mind.

We have the clarity of our mind with bubble like thoughts rising through the mind.

All we wish to do is remain with the clarity,

The clarity of the mind,

Allowing the thoughts simply to move through the mind without identifying them or labeling them.

Thoughts simply moving through the mind.

But we have an opportunity now to sit and observe the tranquility,

The clarity at the center of our mind.

And now to conclude the meditation,

We can simply let go and enjoy the peaceful,

Easy feeling that we have generated within our own minds.

So for the last few moments,

Enjoy this sense of peace and stillness that you have found within your own mind.

And when you are ready,

Slowly open your eyes.

Thank you.

Reviews

Great for resting or falling asleep.

Very relaxing! Thank you, Mark.

Perfect relaxation for body and mind

Lovely voice. Very relaxing visualization. Great beginning for a longer, silent meditation.

Lovely short meditation. Maybe.a little less speaking would be good but all of the text was interesting and helpful.

Gentle and easy to follow
Very helpful and will def be saving for another listen
Thank you

Very effective for me. Will return to this.

Very calming voice with good talk down and visualization.

Beautiful calming voice. Very peaceful.

Wonderful meditation - very relaxing and helped calm a busy mind and alliowed me settle into my body with a great sense of ease and serenity by the end. Thank you.

Simply beautiful. So helpful. I shall listen to it again and again. Thank you.

Beautiful voice!

Very nice. Great visualization. Perfect for when you just have a brief time to meditate.

Calming and affirmative. I will return to this meditation when I need to find stillness.

In a very serene voice you are guided to very peaceful place in the here and now. Highly recommended.