Mindfulness Meditation - Breath Awareness

This is an 18-minute long mindfulness meditation that will help you bring back all your attention to your breath and be present in the here and now. This is a calming meditation that will allow you to notice thoughts and emotions without any judgements.

Transcript

Welcome to the mindfulness meditation that will relax you deeply and make you feel at calm.

This will also make you aware of your breath.

Do not listen to this meditation while driving or when your mind requires your conscious attention.

So leave your life behind for a few moments.

Take a deep breath in and sit down comfortably.

You may cross your legs and sit up straight or you may rest your back against a cushion and straighten your legs out in front of you.

Take another deep breath in and gently exhale.

That's right.

On your next inhale raise your arms along with your breath and keep raising them until you cannot breathe in any more air and your lungs feel full.

So breathe in now.

Hold your breath for a second and now as you exhale gently lower your arms and continue lowering them with the rhythm of your exhale.

Keep lowering your arms until they reach the ground and you cannot exhale any more air.

That's right.

Take another deep breath and raise your arms along with the rhythm of your inhale slowly and gently.

When your lungs feel full hold your breath for a second before you begin exhaling again and here again as you exhale gently lower your arms until you have emptied your lungs out.

Follow the cycle once more.

Only this time open your hands and spread the fingers as far as they may comfortably spread and focus your gaze on the movement of your arms.

Take a deep breath in and begin lifting your arms with the palms facing up and fingers spread out wide.

Follow the rhythm of your inhale.

Raise your arms and your gaze along with your inhale until your lungs feel full.

Now pause for a second and begin gently exhaling.

Following the rhythm of your breath to gently lower your arms and your gaze.

Slowly,

Gently,

Gracefully and politely.

As you complete your exhale and your arms do not go any further down.

Gently let your arms rest wherever they may rest and softly allow your eyelids to close.

Allow your breath to come back to its normal rhythm.

Take a moment here to notice all of the sensations you're experiencing in this moment.

Notice if your shoulders feel stiff.

If they do,

Gently let them relax.

Notice here if your hands have slightly curved into a fist.

If they have,

Slowly relax your fingers and leave them open.

Notice if you're putting in too much effort to keep your legs crossed or straight.

And if you are,

Let go of that effort and allow your legs to relax.

Whether the rhythm of your breath is slow or fast or maybe it is deep or shallow,

It doesn't matter.

All that matters now is that you're breathing.

Do your shoulders tense at the thought of noticing your breath?

If they do,

Allow them to rest easy and relax.

Play around a little with your fingers like how you would count on them.

Gently touching each fingertip with the tip of your thumb.

Notice how that feels?

Then gently let go and relax.

In these moments,

You are free.

Allow your body to feel free and relax wherever and however it may want to.

Now that you have allowed your physical body to relax,

Bring your focus back to your breath.

And how does it feel to breathe in the air that you're breathing with each inhale?

And how does it feel to breathe out the air with each exhale?

Perhaps it's cool or warm.

How does it feel to notice your chest and belly expanding with each inhale and collapsing with each exhale?

See if you can notice the air passing through your nose,

Reaching the back of the mouth and filling your lungs with each inhale.

Is it not wonderful to connect with such a beautiful process of your body and the various little things it does for you without your conscious awareness?

Your breath is a steady anchor.

It helps you relax.

It helps you feel your surroundings without the need to see them or touch them or taste them.

Your breath does so much more for you.

And in this moment,

Allow yourself to feel the gratitude for this simple yet essential part of your existence.

That you're breathing.

That you're alive.

Allow yourself to connect with the rhythm of your inhales and your exhales.

The expanding and collapsing rhythm of your chest and your belly.

Your mind may wander every now and then from one thought to another.

And that is alright.

Every time that happens,

Simply bring yourself back to taking note of the beautiful rhythm of your breath and the sweet melody of your inhales and exhales.

As you continue to admire and feel grateful for your breath,

Notice if there are any thoughts in your mind at this instant as I'm sure there shall be some.

Allow these thoughts to come and go.

Just like falling leaves on a stream of water.

Let them come,

Let them fall onto the surface of this lovely gentle stream and watch them being carried away with the water.

Allow yourself to observe this from a distance.

You may at some point come across thoughts you may want to hold on to or thoughts you may feel the need to address immediately.

Let them pass too.

For in this moment it is all about the view.

You are allowing yourself to unlearn the process of labeling your thoughts with your judgments.

And it starts with the smallest to the most persistent thoughts that tend to stick around long after they have passed.

Let them go too.

If they stick to you like dry leaves on wet palms,

Gently let them go.

Bring your focus back to the rhythm of your breath and the melody of your inhales and exhales.

Anchor yourself with your breath.

Take a moment here to notice if any of the falling leaves have any emotions written on them.

Just get the knowing of those emotions and their intensity.

Do they pass easily or do they overwhelm you?

If so,

It is okay.

Let those leaves be blown away with the breeze and carried far away from you by the water in the stream.

Sadness helps maintain the equilibrium within us.

It is what helps us appreciate joy and feel it stronger than ever.

Now bring your attention back to your breath.

Notice if you find any other emotion in any of those leaves.

If you notice the emotion,

Learn the purpose of it and then let it go.

Let it be taken away by the stream of water until it is so far out of sight that you do not feel it anymore.

Now bring your attention back to your breath.

Do you notice any tension in the muscles of your forehead?

If so,

Let the tension go and feel at ease.

Your mind may wander every now and then from one thought to another,

From one emotion to another.

Allow your breath to remind you to let those thoughts and emotions come and go just as you breathe and notice the rise and fall of your chest.

Embrace the uniqueness without judgment.

Allow your thoughts and emotions to wander without the need to hold on to them.

Now bring your focus back to your breath.

Notice how lighter it feels to have let go of the need to judge your thoughts and your emotions.

And every time you close your eyes and bring your focus to the rise and fall of your chest,

You will come back to here and now,

To the present moment focusing only on the breath and that will bring your attention back to all of the gratitude you felt for your breath.

Now gently open and close your palms.

Wiggle your toes.

Shake your arms and legs as you come back to being consciously in sync with your surroundings.

Eyes open,

Wide awake.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four and five.

Eyes open,

Wide awake.

Reviews

Captivating,unique. Thank you!!

The most calming voice and presentation I have ever heard. So soothing. I want her voice in my head all day.

Very calming / relaxing. Quickly brought me to a meditative state.