Expansion and Contraction Breath Meditation

A gentle guided meditation on the breath, exploring the themes of expansion and contraction.
Recorded live at a workshop in Amsterdam (2016).

Transcript

So we're taking a moment to settle in.

And for a moment,

Inquiring into the possibility of your breath being nothing more than your body's passive response to its need for oxygen.

Inquiring into the possibility of your breath being nothing more than your body's passive response to its need for oxygen.

In other words,

Letting the body dictate the rate,

The rhythm,

And the depth of the breath rather than imposing a rate,

A rhythm,

A depth,

Or a symmetry on the breath from the mind.

Letting go of ideas for the time being such as a deep breath is a spiritual breath,

And to let go of ideas for the time being such as a deep breath is a spiritual breath,

And And then tuning in to the expansive quality of your inhale.

Tuning in to the expansive quality of your inhale as the space in the torso expands.

Also tuning in to the contractive quality of the exhale as the space in the torso collapses,

Inhaling expansion,

Exhaling contraction.

And then tuning in to the expansive quality of your inhale as the space in the torso collapses.

And then tuning in to the expansive quality of your inhale as the space in the torso collapses.

And then tuning in to the contractive quality of your inhale.

Tuning in to the contractive quality of your inhale as the respiratory muscles contract.

And tuning in to the expansive quality of your exhale as the respiratory muscles relax and spread,

Expand.

Inhaling contraction,

Exhaling expansion.

And then tuning in to the expansive quality of your inhale as the respiratory muscles contract.

And then tuning in to the expansive quality of your inhale as the respiratory muscles contract.

And then tuning in to both the expansive and contractive qualities of your inhale.

As the space in the torso expands,

The respiratory muscles contract.

Also tuning in to the contractive and the expansive qualities of your exhale as the space in the torso collapses,

Contracts.

The respiratory muscles relax,

Expand.

Inhaling expansion and contraction,

Exhaling expansion and contraction,

Simultaneous expansion and contraction.

Ever changing in a dynamic interrelationship.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Good.

And then letting go of this inquiry.

Reviews

Thank you for this new experience of breath awareness🙏🏻

Soothing way to feel the sensations in the body. Really surprised how quickly I landed into the mediation. Very easy to follow.

Very simple and lovely. Thank you!

Very minimalist.

very helful if you can focus. thank you!

I enjoyed this. Simple and effective and I felt peaceful after.

I suspect this meditation is not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it quite a lot.

It is a type of body-centered meditation. It does demand a degree of discipline from mind and soul, so those in need of a more or less self-working method of inducing calm or peace may want to try a different meditation. On the other hand, if you are comfortable with minimal instruction and relying on your own skill at managing attention during periods of silence, you may find value with this.

On my first listening, I was left with a very Zen-like experience of undisturbed stillness. I plan to use this meditation repeatedly for a time; upon mastery, it offers a useful technique of meditating on one's own, without guidance.

A short, "opening" meditation. I loved it!

Feel calm after concentrating beyond my breath

Instantly calming.

I liked the different way of thinking about when expansion and contraction happen, but was that a TV I heard in the background?