10 minute breathing practice.
This practice will help you to identify patterns by sensing into bodily sensations to promote resilience.
This effect helps you to manage stress,
Anxiety and notice what's beneath the surface.
So finding a comfortable position,
What feels right for you.
Maybe that's sitting on a chair or lying on a bed.
Closing your eyes if that feels right or dropping your gaze.
So finding your posture and adopting something that feels right for you.
Noticing your connection to your body.
So your mind and your body.
It might be your feet on the floor,
Your back on the bed or your chair and just really taking notice of any sensations there and feeling open and grounding within the body.
Creating space through the spine and the ribcage and allowing your body to feel free and open to allow the breath to flow freely in and out of the body.
We're going to draw our attention to the belly.
And it might be helpful to place your hands on your belly to feel any movement there for your experiences you might be feeling right now.
Otherwise perhaps placing them down by your side.
So we're not trying to change the breath,
We're not passing any judgement,
We're just simply noticing the fact that you're breathing right now.
As the breath comes in and out of the body and just noticing any sensations there that it brings.
It might be as you breathe in you feel your belly expand and open as you exhale and seeing it come back towards your spine.
We're not trying to force the breath in any way,
We're not passing any judgement,
We're just noticing.
And it might be that you don't feel very much movement and that's okay too.
So it might be helpful if that's the case to move your hands up a little bit and have them resting on your belly.
And just around your belly to feel the movement and sensing into any movement there or lack thereof and that's okay too.
Bring your attention in with your awareness.
If your mind is wandering which is normal,
Bring it back with kindness and compassion and gentleness to the awareness,
The belly awareness as you breathe.
Noticing how that makes you feel and sensing into your experience and the whole of you where the attention rests.
And as the breath ebbs and flows,
Maybe at first just noticing any bigger movements,
Perhaps the rise and fall of the belly.
And as the awareness grows,
Perhaps playing attention to more subtle movements.
So you might feel the movement in the side of the body or gentle rocking movement in the lower back.
What does that feel like?
Mobilising into the muscles softly and gentle in and out of the breath.
Maybe a subtle movement there,
Just noticing with a sense of curiosity.
What does that feel like as you anchor your awareness to your belly moving?
Bringing your mind back to the practice once again and noticing the effect and resting your attention here for a while.
Notice how you feel,
What's happening for you and take this time for yourself.
Allowing your mind to settle into this and giving space time to heal.
Obtaining the movement of your belly as you breathe in.
Feeling centred,
Breathing out.
Allowing your mind to settle and giving your body space to breathe.
Obtaining your awareness in your belly,
Feeling centred and grounded as you continue to practice.
When you're ready,
Allowing your movement in your belly to expand out to the whole of your body.
So you have a sense of physical body as you sit or lie.
Feeling into the sensations arising from the whole body,
Enquiring into how you feel right now.
As we come to the end of the practice,
Drawing your attention back to your breath,
Noticing any changes of breathing there and whenever you're ready,
Open your eyes.
