This is a brief meditation practice of three minutes.
It's a wonderful way to support your intention to be present and fully awake and to check in with what is happening with the body and with inner experience.
One of the best things about this practice is that because it's only about three minutes long,
It can be done very easily during your day without needing to make special arrangements or take time away from your busy life.
So let's get started by getting comfortable wherever you are.
This usually means sitting in a chair,
Feet flat on the floor,
And adopting a position that is comfortable,
Upright,
And at ease.
The first step in the three-minute breathing space is closing the eyes if it feels available or softening the gaze,
Whichever feels comfortable and supportive at this moment.
By closing the eyes,
We are inviting our attention inwards to the inner landscape of experience and sensations.
Doing this in a way that is kind and accepting,
Being present to what is here in the mind and body without trying to change it.
So settling into these next few moments,
What are you noticing?
What is present right now?
Body sensations,
Sounds,
Thoughts,
Emotions.
Taking these few moments to be present with what is being noticed.
Being with whatever may be here,
Regardless of whether it is pleasant or unpleasant or neutral.
You're not pushing anything away or struggling with anything or chasing after anything.
There is simply a sense of observing your experience without the need to change what is present.
And once we've turned our attention to what is actually here in our experience,
We have stepped out of automatic pilot.
Our second step of the three-minute breathing space is to bring our attention to the breath.
So gathering our attention and bringing awareness to the physical sensations of breathing wherever it seems most noticeable to you.
This might be at the nostrils where the air enters and leaves the body or at the level of the chest or the abdomen.
Noticing the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.
The full length of each inhalation followed by the full length of each exhalation.
Allowing the physical sensations of breathing to be an anchor for your attention and bringing a sense of gentle and kind exploration to being present with each breath as best you can.
And now the third step of the three-minute breathing space is expanding the awareness from this single focus on the breath to include the body sitting.
Paying attention to areas of physical sensation,
Areas of ease,
Or you may notice regions of discomfort or tension.
Gently exploring what is being noticed.
It can be helpful if you become aware of areas of discomfort or tension to bring your full attention to those sensations,
Breathing into them on an in-breath and then breathing out from those sensations,
Softening with each out-breath.
In a few moments,
We'll be coming to the end of this three-minute breathing space.
So allowing your eyes to open if they have been closed or widening your gaze and bringing this awareness to the next moments of your day.
