You you Taking a breathing space Reminding ourselves of the intentions of this practice Whenever you feel troubled in body or mind It provides an opportunity to step back from autopilot and bring awareness To what is going on in the present moment Not to make unpleasant experiences go away but allowing them to be present see them clearly and Remain in contact with them in a new way so Starting by making a deliberate change in your posture Adopting a posture that is stable upright and open The back erect but not stiff And allowing this change in posture to signal stepping out of automatic pilot Now if it feels comfortable for you closing your eyes Or if you prefer Lower in your gaze And when you are ready step one Noticing what is going on for you right now in thoughts feelings and body sensations you may choose to put your experiences into words for example saying in your mind a Feeling of sadness is arising or self-critical thoughts are here or A feeling of anger is present Or there is tightness in my neck naming it or whatever it is you're experiencing And just staying with that experience just for a few moments And now moving to step 2 narrowing the focus of attention And however Thus future you because Narrowing the focus of attention down to the sensations of breathing in the stomach.
Tuning into the sensations of the in-breath for its full duration and the out-breath for its full duration.
Using your breath to anchor yourself in the present moment.
And if the mind is very busy,
Gently bringing it back to the breath.
Perhaps noting at the back of your mind.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Or counting each breath if you choose to help focus your attention.
In-breath one.
Out-breath one.
In-breath two.
And so on up to five.
And then starting over.
And now moving to step three.
Expanding the field of awareness around your breathing.
So that in addition to the sensations of the breath,
It includes a sense of the body as a whole.
As if the whole body were breathing.
And if you become aware of any lingering thoughts or feelings that are troubling.
Becoming aware of any sensations of tension,
Discomfort or resistance that they bring with them.
Breathing in to the sensations on the in-breath and breathing out from them on the out-breath.
Perhaps feeling a softening and opening of each out-breath.
And perhaps saying to yourself,
It's okay.
Whatever it is,
It's already here.
Let me feel it.
And if it stops pulling for your attention,
Returning to the sense of just sitting here,
Just as you are.
Your whole body.
And if you feel it,
You feel it.
And if you feel it,
You feel it.
And if it stops pulling for your attention,
Returning to the sense of just sitting here,
Just as you are.
Your whole body.
Breathing.
And now as best you can,
Bringing this expanded,
More spacious awareness to the next moments of your day.
