Hi,
My name is Raquel and I'll be guiding you today through this simple practice of cultivating concentration through breath,
Sound and sight.
Find yourself a comfortable position and make sure you won't be disturbed for a few minutes,
Turning off any notifications,
Making any adjustments necessary,
Bringing all of your awareness into this present moment as you gently close your eyes.
We'll start today's practice by simply counting our breaths back from 10 to 0.
On your next exhale,
I want you to remain completely empty for a few moments.
Take a deep breath in,
Filling all of your belly with air,
Your chest,
And holding on full.
Exhaling through your nose,
10.
Simply inhaling through the nose,
Filling your body with air,
Holding,
And exhaling,
9.
Breathing in,
Filling your body all the way up to your head,
And breathing out,
8.
Deep breath in from your toes to your head.
And out through your feet,
7.
Breathing in,
And breathing out,
6.
Breathing in and imagining your entire body being filled with light,
And breathing out this light and sharing it with the world,
5.
Deepest breath in,
Relaxing your entire body.
And out,
Breathing out any tension,
4.
Deep breath in,
And out,
3.
As you breathe in,
Become aware of the breath.
And as you breathe out,
Release the tension,
2.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in,
And breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing out,
1.
And your last,
Deepest breath in,
And breathe out,
0.
Breathing out,
Consciously bringing your full awareness to your breath,
Noticing if it becomes more difficult to stay with the count on this next round.
Inhale and completely empty your body of air.
And inhale.
Hold at the top.
And let it out,
10.
Breathe in,
Hold,
And breathe out,
9.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
8.
Breathe in,
Hold,
Breathe out,
7.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
6.
Continue with the counting and the breathing on your own now.
Also your final breath before you 10.
16.
And gently releasing the counting,
But staying with that slow and steady relaxing breath.
Watching your breath with your full awareness.
Let's switch now to the sensation of hearing.
I want you to find a relatively constant noise in your environment.
This can be any sound.
I want you to focus on your hearing as the object of your awareness.
And when your mind wanders,
Just come back to that sound.
Stay with this for a few minutes.
For the next few moments,
Just become aware of the sounds around you as examples of life happening.
I invite you to gently open your eyes and find one object on which you can focus your attention.
I want you to look at it with curiosity.
Noticing every single detail of the object.
Its texture,
Its color,
And so on.
If any other sight,
Sound,
Or thought should distract you,
Just return to that object that you've chosen.
Focus your awareness on this object for the next few moments.
Great.
You can come back to this practice at any time to deepen your concentration,
Your awareness,
And just cultivate an overall sensation of peace.
Gently bringing your hands to heart center in prayer and bowing your head in gratitude for these few minutes of practice.
Namaste.
