This is a six minute breath exercise to settle and collect the mind and it includes a 16 second exercise which you can use throughout the day when you notice a bit of stress.
So starting now by taking an upright posture and maybe letting the eyes close if that's comfortable in your particular setting and feeling physical sensations in your body as you take a few deep breaths breathing in fully maybe holding the breath for just a second at the top and then exhaling and so continuing to do a few of those and maybe feeling a little taller on the in-breath letting the belly expand and the lungs completely fill holding for a moment and now letting go on the out-breath feeling the body maybe let go of any unnecessary tension so we'll repeat this with an in-breath now to a count of four so and then we'll hold for a count of five and breathe out for a count of seven so it's four five and seven and this is a 16 second exercise you can do any time during the day and it down regulates our autonomic nervous system so starting now breathing in for a count of four filling the lungs all the way in letting the belly expand filling the lungs even more three four now holding at the top three four five and letting go breathing out for a count of seven four five six seven and again we'll be filling the lungs filling them fully letting the belly expand filling the lungs even a bit more for a count of four that's probably four right there and now holding for a count of five three four five letting go breathing out for a count of seven five six seven so continuing this now a few times on your own filling the lungs completely to a count of four holding for five and exhaling for a count of seven on your own a few times now and we'll do one more together so breathing in now all the way in for a count of four filling the lungs expanding the belly all the way full that's about four now holding it for five the count of five three four holding it longer five and letting go with some relief it's okay to make some noise breathing out for a count of seven six seven so for the last few minutes of this exercise we'll let the breath return to its natural rhythm and noticing where in the body you feel your breath most distinctly might be in your nose throat maybe the chest or abdomen rising and falling and so making sensations in that particular area the target for this meditation and just following the sensations of the breath in that area parking your mind in those sensations the sensations of breathing in breathing out and noticing how easy it is to feel these sensations with the lightest touch and when the mind wanders just noticing no need to make it into a problem and bringing the mind back to these sensations over and over coming back this is where the work of training the mind is done training the mind to be steadier it's a learning curve and eventually the mind will stay longer and longer so staying with these sensations and coming back if it if the mind strays for the last few moments of this meditation so you can use the four five seven exercise in daily life takes only 16 seconds or so if you notice some increased stress to downregulate your autonomic nervous system and also feel free to continue right now if you have more time continue to practice with the breath meditation and then going on with your day
