Welcome to this mindful breathing meditation.
I invite you to close your eyes.
And if you're new to meditation,
Do this meditation in an upright position.
Sometimes lying down can bring on a sense of sleepiness.
Your feet might be placed on the ground.
You might be sitting on the floor with your legs crossed.
Your arms might be in your lap.
They might be placed on your thigh.
It doesn't matter as long as you're comfortable.
And now bring a gentle sense of awareness to your body.
Perhaps your shoulders feel a little bit tense.
Just bring them down.
Make sure they're not touching the bottom of your earlobes.
Make sure your jaw isn't clenched.
A good way to prevent this is by just parting your lips ever so slightly.
Feel the solid foundation of the ground beneath you.
And just be aware of your body.
Sitting here,
Now.
Just being.
Sitting.
There's nowhere else you have to be but here,
Right now.
Take notice of your breath.
Moving in and out of your body.
Knowing that it's there.
When you breathe in,
Just know you're breathing in.
And when you breathe out,
Just know that you're breathing out.
There's no effort.
No forcing.
Just a beautiful awareness.
And noticing.
Perhaps notice where you actually concentrate your breath.
Is your awareness of the breath as you feel the coolness of the air as it enters your nostrils?
Perhaps as it touches the back of your throat as you breathe in.
Perhaps you focus on the rising of your chest or the rise and fall of your belly.
It doesn't matter where you focus your attention on your breath.
It's just the noticing.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
There's no right or wrong.
Just simply noticing.
Simply breathing.
In and out.
And thoughts may come and thoughts may go as they do.
And that's okay.
It's the noticing of these thoughts that's important.
The moment you notice you've moved away from your breath,
Just guide yourself back to your breath.
You may notice noises.
The noticing of the noise.
Bring it back to your breath.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Being aware of your breath.
Being aware of where you are.
Aware of noises.
Aware of thoughts.
Aware of the itches and the scratches that you suddenly feel.
When you notice this and you notice that you've moved away from your breath,
Just gently guide yourself back.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
And to know where else you have to be but right here,
Right now.
And as we come to the end of this meditation,
Let's take in three cleansing deep breaths.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Thank you for sharing your time with me.
I hope to meditate with you again.
