Bell Hello,
Lindy here,
And welcome to this 15 minute practice of affectionate or soothing breathing.
So first,
Finding a comfortable sitting,
Standing or lying position,
In which we'll feel supported for the duration of this meditation.
Closing the eyes fully or partially as we prefer.
And taking a few easy,
Slow,
Deep breaths.
With a sense of letting go on the out-breath.
And if we like,
Placing a hand on our heart or on our belly or anywhere else that we find reassuring.
Maybe rubbing the arm perhaps.
And taking a moment to really feel the hand there and those sensations of contact.
Really receiving that warmth and comfort.
As a reminder of our intention to bring loving awareness to ourselves in this practice.
And leaving the hand rest there or anywhere else that feels comfortable.
And now opening up the awareness to feel sensations throughout the whole body.
Maybe noticing some tingling or throbbing somewhere.
Noticing the weight of the body on the chair or the mat.
Maybe there's some physical tension somewhere.
And as best we can,
Allowing sensations to be there as they are,
Without trying to change them.
And now beginning to notice the sensations of breathing in the body.
Feeling the body breathing in and breathing out.
Feeling the breath wherever we feel it the most vividly,
Which could be the chest,
The abdomen,
The nostrils.
Or maybe we feel it the most easily throughout the whole body,
Rising and falling with each in-breath and out-breath.
Letting the body breathe itself.
We don't need to change the breath or do anything.
Our bodies know perfectly well how to breathe by themselves.
So just allowing that to happen naturally.
Feeling the body breathing in.
And feeling the body breathing out.
Affectionate or soothing breathing also invites us to incline our attention lovingly towards the breath.
In the same way that we might towards a child or a puppy.
So maybe here we might want to use a soothing touch again.
And noticing how this lovely one breathes.
Feeling the whole body rising and falling with each breath.
Like waves on the ocean.
And from time to time our minds will wander off.
Like a child or a puppy.
Kind of curious about something else.
So when this happens and we notice,
There you go mind.
And kindly but firmly bringing the attention back to the breathing.
Noticing the soothing rhythm of the breath flowing in and out.
Taking a few moments to really feel and enjoy this rhythm.
Allowing the whole body to be rocked by this rhythm.
Kind of inwardly caressed by the breathing.
Breathing.
Continually nourished by the in-breath.
And continually relaxing on the out-breath.
Taking in nourishment and oxygen.
And releasing.
Letting go.
And if we like,
Even surrendering to the breathing.
Letting the breath be all that there is.
And really becoming that soothing breath.
Just breathing and being.
Nothing but the breath.
Moving.
And when the mind wanders and we notice,
There you go.
And bringing the mind gently but firmly back to the breathing.
Even enjoying the breathing,
Perhaps.
And now we're coming to the end of this practice.
So knowing we can return to this soothing breathing at any time.
Gently releasing the focus of our attention from the breathing now.
Opening up our awareness.
Opening the eyes if they've been closed.
And sitting quietly in our own experience.
Allowing sights and sounds,
Thoughts and feelings to come and go.
Just as they are.
Giving whatever arises a lot of space.
And as we conclude the practice,
Perhaps just taking a moment to really appreciate this time that we've given ourselves to self-care.
Thanks for taking time to reconnect.
