Breath awareness practice with Megan Keir.
Begin in an upright posture,
Make sure you're comfortable,
Obviously not using any machinery or driving a vehicle while you do this meditation.
And begin the practice by noticing your body.
Bring your awareness to your feet,
Your ankles,
Calves,
Knees,
Notice your thighs,
Hips and abdomen.
Bring your attention now to your chest and your back.
Notice your shoulders,
Arms and hands.
Allowing the body to be just as it is,
Simply bringing awareness to sensation,
Temperature,
Felt sense experience of the body.
Bring your awareness now to your neck and head area.
And notice the body in its entirety.
Allow the awareness to move to the inhale,
The inward breath.
Notice the quality and the sensation of the inhale as the air enters the nose,
Passes through the back of the throat and fills the lungs.
You might notice there are areas of tension or relaxation as the air enters the body.
Allow the breath to be natural,
Normal in its own rhythm.
And notice how far into your body your inhale travels.
Not trying to get it right or make the inhale show up in any particular way or form,
But just being aware of body's natural inhale.
As the body continues to breathe,
Continues to naturally inhale and exhale,
You might notice the rise and fall of your belly.
How does this feel in this moment?
And now let's bring our attention to the body's out breath,
To the exhalation.
Notice that sensation as the breath leaves the body.
Notice any movements in the body as you exhale.
You might notice the air leaving the lungs.
You might notice the change of shape of your belly as you exhale.
The air leaves the lungs and travels through the back of the throat,
Through the nose and exits the nose.
And your awareness might rest at the very tip of the nose for a few breaths.
If you're willing now,
Bring spacious awareness to full cycles of inhale and exhale.
Notice as the air enters the nose,
The tip of the nose,
Air enters the nose,
Travels through the back of the throat,
Lungs fill and expand,
Belly may become fuller,
Softening.
You might notice a pause at the end of the inhale and turning your awareness to the exhale now.
As the belly changes shape,
The air leaves the lungs,
Travels through the back of the throat,
The nose,
Exiting the nose,
Awareness is at the tip of the nose.
You might notice a pause at the end of the exhale.
Allow your awareness to rest with the breath,
Following the breath as you inhale and exhale in your own time,
In your own rhythm.
Allow the thoughts to come and go.
If you notice that the mind wanders,
No problem.
Simply return awareness to noticing the breath.
Tracking full cycles of inhale and exhale within the body,
Noticing sensation.
Returning awareness to the cycles of breathing,
Noticing the inhale,
The exhale and the space in between.
Notice the rhythm of breath and body.
And for the next few moments,
You may let your awareness rest on an anchor point that might be at the tip of the nose,
Simply allowing awareness to rest here.
Or it might be resting with the rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
And when the mind wanders or thoughts arise,
No problem,
You simply return awareness to this anchor point.
No matter how quickly or how often the mind wanders or thoughts arise,
You kindly return awareness to the anchor point that you have chosen and rest with your awareness here.
Preparing now to conclude the practice,
Letting go of any awareness of breath,
Just noticing the body and any physical sensations that are available to you.
Moving toes and fingers,
Head and neck,
Whatever part of the body feels comfortable to move gently.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes with a soft gaze and receive the information from the world around you.
