Welcome to this breath awareness meditation.
By placing your awareness on your breath,
You can shift your state of consciousness and cultivate the ability to relax.
Begin in a quiet place,
In a comfortable seated position,
Either in a chair or seated on the ground.
Let yourself be at ease,
With your spine straight and chin parallel to the floor.
Relax your shoulders as you place your hands on your thighs,
With the palms of your hands facing upwards.
Gently close your eyes and shift your gaze inward.
As thoughts arise,
Gently bring your attention back to this guided meditation.
Pause to mindfully notice your breath.
What is the quality of your breath?
By observing your breath,
You become more aware of the quality.
Notice if it feels easy or a little difficult to breathe fully.
Is your breath shallow or tense?
Or is it full and deep?
Or is it somewhere in between?
Watch your breath without judgment,
Simply being curious and aware of your breath.
We will now take three rounds of slow cadence breathing,
Where you will inhale for three counts,
Hold the breath,
And exhale for four counts,
Pausing and exhaling your breath at the bottom of the exhale.
I'll guide you through the process.
If at any time you experience strain,
Let go of the practice and return to your natural breath.
Now take a deep breath in and exhale,
Let it go.
Relax your back,
Your shoulders,
And your neck.
Allow yourself to become completely relaxed as you practice this breathing exercise.
We'll begin now.
Inhale.
One,
Two,
Three.
Gently hold the breath.
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Pausing at the bottom.
And inhale.
One,
Two,
Three.
Hold at the top.
Relax the inner body.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Pausing at the bottom.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three.
Hold.
Exhaling inside.
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Pausing into stillness.
Return to your natural breath.
Become aware of your natural breathing.
Find a moment of stillness between each in-breath and between each out-breath.
Follow the sensations of air as you breathe in through your nose,
All the way into your lungs and into your abdomen.
And follow the quality of sensation as you breathe all the way back out through your nose.
Gently observing with a sense of neutrality and detachment.
See if you can simply watch the rhythms of your breath.
Breathe as you would naturally.
Steady waves of breath in and out.
See if you can witness yourself sitting and breathing.
If at any time you find your mind wandering to the past or future.
Gently invite it back to observing your breath.
Simply notice the thoughts you have and feelings that you're experiencing.
Notice how good it feels for your body and mind to breathe in a slow,
Relaxed manner.
You can always return to the simple exercise of pausing between your inhale and exhale as you go about your day.
Let all that arises be an experience for raising your own awareness.
Let your breath be an anchor for returning to this moment,
This present moment.
Let yourself breathe easy and fully as you go about your day.
And affirm to yourself,
I am aware of my breath.
I am aware of the way I breathe.
Namaste.
