This is Sally inviting you into meditation on the healing quality of the breath.
As you take a firm and comfortable posture,
Feel the support of the seat you're sitting on.
Sense your body being held and supported by the seat and by the earth.
Inhale with the feeling that the breath flows down the body towards the base,
Grounding your buttocks and thighs.
Exhale and feel your torso rising up from this grounded base,
Lengthening through the crown.
The shoulder blades clasp the back.
The chest lifts and opens.
As you take a deep breath,
Allowing the breath to flow down towards the base and up through the crown,
Feel your body softening.
The buttocks soften.
The thighs.
The belly softens.
The lower back softens.
The shoulders soften.
The neck releases.
Often the forehead,
The cheeks,
The eyes.
Have the thought,
May this practice be of benefit to all beings.
Now allow your attention to center itself in the region of the heart,
Behind the breastbone.
Feel that you're seated there,
Within the heart.
And from within the heart,
Begin to sense your body in space.
You're centered.
You're present within yourself.
And you can also feel how the air touches your face,
How the sensations at the edge of your body meet the air.
And as the breath flows,
Begin to feel that you're surrounded by a healing,
Feminine presence,
A subtle energy of knowingness,
Vitality,
And love.
This felt presence is the energy that supports our life.
It is the self of the universe.
It is goddess.
It is pure,
Compassionate presence.
See if you can begin to allow the breath to bring you in touch with this presence,
As if the breath is flowing through your pores,
Making you aware of how at every moment,
At every second,
This universal breath is holding you.
As you inhale,
Have the sense that you're drawing in healing presence,
Healing love,
Feeling currents of energy flowing through the front of your body,
Through the back of the body,
Through all sides,
Allowing the breath to nourish you,
To soften,
To heal.
With every breath,
Sense the benign and loving clarity of this presence that breathes you.
It sees you with utter compassion,
With unconditional tenderness.
It holds you in a subtle embrace.
It is the force of your life,
The compassionate witness,
The nurturing energy of the universe,
Utterly personal and absolutely universal.
This presence supports you.
This presence intends for your health,
For your well-being.
Allow yourself to accept the love that flows through the breath.
As you breathe in,
Open yourself to receive the full nourishment that lies within every breath.
As you exhale,
Breathe this healing,
Nourishing energy back into the universe.
Sense the flow,
The giving and receiving.
Open to it.
Let the pores of your body open to the presence that surrounds you.
Sense how every breath draws in healing,
Nurturing presence.
Sense how every exhalation offers kindness back to the universe.
As each breath flows in,
Have the thought,
May I and all beings be happy.
As the breath flows out,
Have the thought,
May we be healthy.
As the breath flows in,
May we be safe.
As the breath flows out,
May we be kind to one another.
Allow this breath,
Allow this prayer to extend itself to family,
To friends,
To your community.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we be kind to one another.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we be kind to one another.
Your breath is love.
Your breath is light.
Your breath is healing.
Wait on the kindness,
The love,
The healing support of every breath.
