Hello and welcome to our practice today.
I'm grateful you're here.
Take the next few moments to settle into a comfortable position and allow yourself to explore a couple of different options while you fine-tune what's right for you in this moment.
When you feel settled,
Offer yourself the opportunity to turn your attention inward.
If it's comfortable to you,
You might close your eyes.
If it suits you best to find your path inward to follow the breath,
Perhaps do that.
Spend a moment or two observing your breathing.
What does it sound like?
What gentle movement is necessary from your body to make breathing possible?
Is there a rhythm?
Is it shallow,
Deep,
Somewhere in the middle,
A combination?
Do your best to observe it as it is right now,
No changes,
No judgment.
Perhaps ask yourself if there's a message in your breath.
Is it communicating information to you?
Allowing the breath to be exactly as it is allows a connection with something that typically doesn't get our attention granted.
What a gift it is that we can choose to focus on our breathing.
What if you saw it as your body being breathed?
What a gift it is to breathe.
The perfect confirmation that we are here,
We exist,
We are living.
Now I invite you to breathe with purpose,
Choosing a particular length for your inhale and choosing a length longer than your inhale for your exhale.
In the upcoming moments,
Explore what seems right for you.
I invite you to try on for size a timed breath that I'd like to offer guidance on if you choose to join me.
Let's inhale for a count of four and hold for a count of six and exhale for a count of eight.
Begin with me now.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And pause,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And release through the mouth,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
And breathe in through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And pause or retain,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And release through the mouth,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
One more time,
Breathe in through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And retain,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
And release through the mouth,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
And let that go.
Allow yourself to be breathed once again,
The choice made by your body and honored by your observation.
Perhaps take a scan or an inventory to see if your feeling has changed,
The sensations in your body after breathing in that pattern.
Without judgment,
Just notice what might be different.
You might choose to thank yourself for prioritizing your attention on the breath or these minutes we've spent together.
Maybe it's new to you,
Maybe it's not.
Either way,
You chose it today,
And I respect you for choosing you,
Your awareness,
Your observation,
And your choice to prioritize your well-being.
As we wrap up our practice together,
Bring your attention slowly towards your environment.
Maybe start with your ears and listening to what's around you,
Or perhaps the path is through wiggling your fingers or toes or maybe stretching,
Or maybe the path is also just opening your eyes to take in information if they were closed.
If it feels right to you,
Offer yourself the gift of a yawn,
Just by pretending as though you feel the urge to have a yawn,
And allow it to naturally join you.
Perhaps take one more deep breath at your own pace to signify your return to the day,
Your commitments to your choices,
Your actions.
And if you haven't already,
Honor the transition with a change in your body position,
Arriving ready for the rest of your day,
Whatever that may entail,
Knowing that at any time you can pause and join your breath once again.
Thank you for choosing to practice with me today.
Be well and thrive.
