Welcome to this breath awareness meditation.
Please begin by finding a comfortable seat if you haven't done already.
You can sit in an upright position in a chair with both feet on the floor,
Or you can sit on a cushion with your legs crossed.
If you're cross-legged,
Feel free to support your thighs with some cushions or,
If you have them,
Some yoga blocks,
So that you feel no sensations of stretch or tension.
Whichever way you choose to sit today,
The most important thing is that you're upright but comfortable.
Relax the muscles of your face,
Head and neck.
Soften your jaw and your shoulders.
Breathe in and out naturally,
Through your nose if you can.
To start with,
Please pay attention to your breath and notice the qualities of your breath that you might not usually notice.
Is your breath silent?
Or does it have a sound?
Does it have a texture?
Smooth or rough?
Does it flow continuously or does it stop and start?
Don't feel like any of these things are good or bad,
Right or wrong.
Just notice.
And spend a few moments committed to observing the inhale and the exhale,
Observant and curious,
Without judgement.
So now I invite you,
If your breath is quite short or shallow,
To breathe a little fuller and a little deeper.
Into your belly,
Into your chest and out from your chest and from your belly.
Not forcing it,
Just a little longer on the way in and on the way out.
Keep your attention on it,
Observant and curious,
Without judgement.
Please bring your attention to the moment that the breath changes direction.
So watch for the top of the inhale as it becomes the exhale.
And then without needing to rush,
Watch for the moment the exhale ends and the inhale begins once again.
So you're switching your attention from the qualities of the breath to focus on the top of the in-breath and the bottom of the out-breath.
It may just be the smallest moment of exchange or it could last for a beat or two or more.
Let it be as it is,
Just as you were doing with your natural breath,
Being observant and curious,
Without judgement.
Now if you feel comfortable with it,
Please add a short pause at the end of the inhale and again at the end of the exhale.
Inhale a gentle,
Sweet breath,
Pause for a moment and then exhale,
Releasing the breath and pause again for a moment.
Inhale,
Pause,
Exhale,
Pause.
Don't worry about whether you're matching the pace I'm guiding.
It doesn't matter how long or short your breath is or how long or short the pause is.
Relax into it.
As you continue to observe the space between your breaths,
See if you can let go of some of the effort.
Just allow the simple,
Silent pause between the breaths to be there and allow it to open up naturally.
Immerse yourself in awareness of the space between your breaths.
If your mind wanders,
Just gently escort your attention back to your breath when you notice.
I'll leave you for a few minutes to pay attention to the space between your breaths.
Observant and curious.
Without judgement.
Don't force it.
Relax into it if you can.
I'll let you know when it's time to complete the practice.
We're coming to the end of our practice for today.
So after your next exhale and short pause,
Take a lovely big inhale,
As big as you can,
And open mouth exhale,
Sigh it out.
Then begin to let your breath flow smoothly.
If you want to move a little,
Go ahead and stretch and bring your awareness back into your whole body.
Lift your hands up to rest in a prayer position in front of your chest.
And feel a sense of gratitude in your heart to yourself for taking time to practice today.
Let's once more take a full breath in and out.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
