Breath Without Pressure

Breath can bring up anxiety, hyperfocus, and confusion for many people. In this meditation, we will explore breath and reactions to breathing using a gentle mindfulness approach. Learn new ways to approach breathing so that you can decide how to use this tool in meditation.

Transcript

In this meditation practice, We are going to work with breath. And this is for anybody who may have trouble working with breath in meditation. Whether that brings you anxiety or just overthinking about your breathing, This is something you can try to work with that experience. So get comfortable wherever you are. Let's just take a moment to settle the body. You might even shake the body for a moment. Wiggle the body. I like to see if I can wiggle my weight downward so it feels almost like a waterfall. I'm bringing the energy down out of my head, Down through my neck, Down my shoulders, Into my belly, Into my hips. And down further into my legs. It's a really good way to start a meditation practice, Especially to release some of the overthinking we do in the head area. Now often when we take this next step in meditation, We might begin to pay attention to the breath. So I'm going to give you that instruction, But I'm going to give it to you lightly with the awareness that this already tends to be hard. So when you turn to your breathing in this moment, I don't expect it to be relaxing for you. Simply begin to take notice. What happens when you do turn your attention to the breath? For me, I notice tightness in my breathing, Right in the middle of my chest. And then I notice that this tightness makes me feel anxious. There's a response in my head of worry or discomfort with the physical sensation I'm feeling. Then there's an efforting, A trying to breathe. My breathing becomes labored. You might find other sensations of restricted breathing in other areas, Feeling discomfort in the nose, The throat. You might feel like a racing heart or breathing too fast. So whatever it is that's coming up here, This is why we're practicing and I want to invite you, As you notice the discomfort that comes up, To be able to choose whether to stay with that discomfort or whether to turn your attention to something that's more regulating and soothing. If you want to turn your attention elsewhere, You may either open your eyes if they're closed. You may turn your awareness to hearing, Just using your ears with the sensation of listening to sound. Or you may tune your awareness to a different part of your body, Just holding awareness of body in a way that's less triggering or less confusing. So try one of those now. Take awareness away from the breathing and choose a different place for your awareness. Notice if this feels different. Notice what happens when you take awareness away from breath. For me, I notice it disperses my awareness outward from the tightness and fixation in my chest to a more rounded, Expansive awareness surrounding my body. It's not as tight and constricted. It's more open. Now we'll practice turning the awareness back to the breathing. When you do this, Again notice how does it change the sensations of your focus and of your body. If it's ever at any point overwhelming, To focus on the breathing, Now you have a choice to turn your awareness elsewhere. Going back and forth between breathing and a different anchor point can be a useful way of working with uncomfortable sensations. If you're able to stay with awareness of breathing, Even though it may be difficult or uncomfortable, Take the time to notice what other sensations are here. I'm going to take a moment to again wiggle my body and drop my awareness down into the heart space, Lower down into my belly, My hips. And I find when I do this that my sensation of breathing changes. I don't have as much constriction and hyper-focus around my breathing because I've loosened my body. And then I can find a breath rhythm that is more calm. Notice if you are feeling any sense of calmness in the breathing, Anywhere in your breathing. That could be in the rhythm of the breath. It could be in the gentle sensation of air coming in and out of the nose. I encourage you to use physical pressure on your body to help with comfort, Creating a sense of comfort and ease. So take your hand and press gently on your chest. You might also do this on your face, Around the nasal passage. You could gently place your hand along your throat or down further on your belly. Play around with pressure from your hand to work with awareness of breathing. Notice again what patterns are arising around breath. Worry, Am I doing this right? Is this the right kind of breath? Allowing all of this experience to be part of this meditation. Even with breathing, There's no right or wrong way to experience this in meditation. I hope that this practice gives you something to work with and play around with. We'll close our practice here. Feel free to stay in silence if that's something that feels supportive to you. You'll find more neurodivergent meditations on my InsightTimer profile. Thank you and may you be well.