Welcome to this guided breath awareness practice.
This is a five-minute meditation for you to quiet your mind,
Focus on your breath,
Build a relationship with your breath as a tool for peace and presence.
Start by finding a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
Close your eyes or find a soft gaze and start to bring awareness to your breath.
Give your mind permission to quiet.
Give your body permission to relax,
Softening your forehead,
Dropping your jaw,
Relaxing your shoulders.
Give yourself permission to just focus on your breath,
Becoming aware of the inhales,
Aware of the exhales,
Noticing where your breath is in your body.
Is it shallow in your chest?
Is it deep in your belly?
Do you feel it in your nose,
In your throat,
In your neck?
Just noticing.
Without judgment,
There's no right or wrong way to breathe.
There just is.
If your mind starts to wander,
Which it likely will,
That's what minds do.
Just notice the wandering with gratitude,
Thanking your mind for doing what it knows how to do,
And just gently bringing your attention back to your breath,
Focusing on your inhale,
Focusing on your exhale.
On your next breath,
Allowing yourself to deepen your inhale into your belly and lengthen your exhale,
Letting it all out.
Deep inhale belly,
Deep,
Long exhale,
And just keep coming back to the breath,
Letting it guide you,
Trusting your breath as your life force,
The bridge between your mind and your body,
Allowing it to be your anchor to the present moment,
Allowing for it to quiet your mind and soften your body,
Allowing for yourself to become aware of your breath,
Become aware of the present moment,
And to build a relationship with your breath based on love and gratitude.
Slowly as we close out our practice,
Closing out your practice in a way that feels true for you,
Another deep breath,
Another sigh of gratitude,
A prayer,
Honoring the lineage of the breath and honoring you for taking care of you.
