Hello and welcome to this guided breathing meditation.
Sit comfortably on a chair or on a cushion.
Place your feet firmly on the floor and keep your spine straight.
Relax your jaw and open your mouth a little bit.
Put your shoulders to the back and close your eyes.
Just be at ease.
Remember,
No one can see you,
So you can just relax.
Now take two or three deep breaths.
Feel the air as it enters your nostrils,
As it fills your chest,
And as it fills your abdomen.
Just feel the air as it happens,
Without trying to change it or improve it.
You're breathing anyway.
All you have to do is just to feel it.
Notice where is it that you feel your breath most vividly.
Is it in the nostrils?
Do you feel the cold air coming in and the warm air coming out?
Is it in your chest,
As you feel it expanding?
Or is it in your abdomen?
Now rest your attention on the breath.
Very gently.
Like a butterfly that rests on a flower.
Just be aware of your breath.
Don't try to influence it.
One breath at a time.
In and out.
Keep focusing on your breath.
Follow the inhale and the exhale.
If you like,
You can say silently to yourself,
In when you inhale and out when you exhale.
You can also start counting your breath from 1 to 10.
And the moment you realize you've been distracted,
That's the magic moment.
Because in this moment you can change your response.
Instead of belittling yourself or giving up in frustration,
Or telling yourself that you just can't meditate.
Simply let go of it.
Let go of that thought.
Return back with a lot of kindness.
And breathe again.
You can even thank yourself for having spotted that you are distracted.
And this is something that you can thank yourself for.
This act of being distracted,
Noticing it,
And returning back to your breath,
To begin focusing on it again,
That's the essential part of meditation practice.
And if you have to let go of distractions a thousand times,
That's alright.
That's not an obstacle to the practice.
This is the practice.
This is life.
Starting over.
One breath at a time.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Or lift your gaze.
Try to bring some of the qualities that you have just practiced.
Calm,
Observation,
Presence,
And the willingness to start over and over again.
Bring these qualities to your daily life.
Bring these qualities to your next encounters at work,
At home,
Among friends,
Or among strangers.
I hope you enjoyed this guided breathing meditation.
And I hope you were able to relax and let go.
And even if you haven't,
Just the act of sitting down for meditation is meditation itself.
