Breathing Our Way To Peace And Freedom

Awakening a full relaxed presence with the breath, then resting fully in this presence is the gateway to deep peace and inner freedom.

Transcript

Let yourself be aware of this body sitting here breathing.

And gently extend the in-breath so you breathe in and fill the chest and the lungs so it's a long deep full in-breath.

And then let the out-breath be very slow,

Slow enough so you can feel the sensations of releasing the breath as it goes out.

And again a full deep in-breath.

And a very slow release,

Letting go,

Relaxing outward,

Releasing.

And again a nice full in-breath,

You might count to five slowly with the in-breath.

And matching it with the out-breath,

Counting to five,

Slowly letting go.

And continuing breathing in,

Nice full in-breath.

So the in-breath and the out-breath are matched and there is not a pause between,

Fully filling up on the in-breath and that slow release with the out-breath.

Keeping the attention with the flow of the breath.

You might sense when you are breathing in that you are opening fully to receive even on a cellular level.

And with the out-breath a full releasing,

Letting go into the universe around you,

Relaxing outward.

Feeling connected with the breath.

Beginning to receive with the in-breath,

Filling the chest and the lungs.

A slow conscious release with the out-breath,

Letting go,

Letting go.

And again a nice full in-breath.

And now gently allowing the breath to resume into its natural rhythm,

Yet still resting with the breath,

Relaxing with the breath.

Letting the breath be in the foreground.

And yet aware of the sounds around you,

Other sensations in the body.

Aware of the quality of presence that is right here,

That alert inner stillness,

That which is aware.

Bringing the breath and scanning through the body to notice if there is any areas of particular tightness and tension.

And sensing that you could bring the breath and the attention right there.

Softening,

Loosening.

You might feel the shoulders from the inside out.

Let whatever knottedness or tangles that are there just float in awareness.

Breathing with the life that is there.

Letting go with the out-breath.

Feeling the breath and feeling the hands,

Perhaps softening the hands a little.

Feeling the hands from the inside out as you soften them.

After breathing and feeling the aliveness in the hands.

Feeling there being openness in the chest so that you feel the breath right at the heart.

Breathing and feeling the sensations,

The feelings,

The felt-sense at the heart simultaneously.

Softening in the belly.

Letting this movement of the breath be felt in a softening belly,

Deep in the torso.

The hands are soft,

Chest is open,

Belly soft.

Feeling the breath deep in the torso,

Moment to moment.

You might feel the breath and feel the sensations in the feet.

Feel the places of contact and warmth where the feet touches the floor,

Inside the feet,

The aliveness.

You feel the feet,

The hands,

Soft,

Chest open,

Belly soft.

Feel the breath through the whole body.

So breath comes in,

Opening to receive,

Prana,

The life-force,

Through the whole body.

Soft and receptive.

As if you are expanding like a balloon with the in-breath.

And with the out-breath of settling or releasing or letting go,

The whole body breathing.

So the whole body is priorities.

And continuing to rest the attention and the experience of this whole body breathing moment to moment.

Or if you find it easier to feel the breath in one particular area,

The inflow-outflow at the nostrils,

The rising-falling at the chest,

The expanding-settling at the belly,

You can rest the attention there too.

Just letting the breath be exactly as it is,

No need to control it.

If you feel there is a controlling of the breath you might listen to sound for a few moments,

Noticing that sound is known spontaneously,

There is nothing to do.

And then bringing that same receptive attention to the inflow and outflow of the breath.

An intimate presence with the sensations of breathing.

And then bringing that same receptive attention to the inflow and outflow of the breath.

If some other strong experience calls your attention,

Some strong unpleasant sensations perhaps in the body or difficult emotion arises,

What we call the inner weather,

Sadness or fear,

Anger,

See if you can bring the breathing to wherever you are experiencing a strong emotion or sensation,

Just breathe with it,

With interest and care,

Being with that weather until it changes or disappears.

And then come back gently to the simple movement of the breath,

This whole body breathing.

If you notice the mind has drifted,

Not a problem,

Just simply sense this as a moment of waking up and gently relax back and coming back to the next inflow or outflow of the breath,

Sensing how it feels in this moment,

This body breathing,

Sensing if it is possible to relax even more right now with the movement of the breath.

A relaxed yet intimate presence as the breath comes in and the breath goes out,

Letting the breath be in the foreground and sensing in the background that alert,

Inner,

Present,

That stillness,

That which is aware.

And notice if you let go of the breath now and just be that presence itself.

Something to do.

Letting go into what is,

At home in your deepest nature.

Letting go.

Letting go.

Reviews

Such a supportive meditation, beautifully paced. Thank you 🙏

This is the best I’ve felt in a long time, and that includes a recent period of prolonged happiness.

Excellent meditation for focus on the breath. Thank you.

Great meditation by Tara, mainly focused on the breath. She offers gentle guidance with her calming voice.

Relaxing, healing and insightful! Thank you for your offering!

First time hearing this one by you, Tara. Given some personal challenges right now, listening to this each morning for a while sounds exceptionally wonderful. Thank you!

Freedom and peace is being at home in our deepest nature. This meditation is an invitation to reside there and embody our aliveness. Thank you Tara.

Very calming, centering, and grounding.🙏

This meditation which focuses on the breathe allowed me to come to inner awareness and peace

Tara Brach is a master guide and my biggest mentor. I am so grateful for her.❤️

I geek so connected to myself right now and aligned with a spirit.

Helpful to be more in my body, relaxed, and connected with my nature. Thank you Tara.

I always benefit from all your meditations and talks, Ms Brach. Thank you 🙏

She is my favorite.

Peaceful practice

Esta meditación se concentra en la respiración y en las sensaciones corporales que se derivan. Crea espacios de silencio, me ayudó a calmar la mente.

Went so fast. Breathing is an amazing tool to meditate. Thank you for your guidance

Thank you 💜🙏💚

Tara is such a gentle guide. In this one, she really helped me connect with my breath and stay connected.

Very calm, very peaceful and I could really feel ‘my inner weather’. Thank you 🙏