Hi everyone,
This is the Counting Your Breaths meditation.
Hope you enjoy.
Just take a moment here to find a comfortable seated position with your back straight,
Hands resting gently on your lap or on your thighs.
Or if you're more comfortable,
You can lie down on your mat or on a bed and gently close your eyes.
And let's all take in a deep breath here and feel at ease in your posture,
Spending a few moments to develop a gratitude for where you are right now,
With the ground beneath you or the building around you,
For your body and your breath as it enters and leaves your body.
With this practice,
Your breath is completely natural.
It is not forced or hurried,
Slow or heavy.
Attention is on the flow of the breath,
Watching it come into the body and leave again.
We're going to begin to start by counting our breaths.
And we do this by silently counting,
And at the end of each out breath,
You count one.
I'm going to do this all the way to ten.
So let's all do this together now.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Count one,
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Count two,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Three,
Breathe in,
Breathing out.
Four,
Breathe in,
Breathing out.
Count five,
Breathe in,
Breathing out.
Breathe in,
Breathing out.
Seven,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Eight,
Breathe in,
Breathing out.
Nine,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Count ten.
And when you're doing this on your own,
You can continue in this way until you reach ten,
And then start at one again,
Counting number one at the end of each breath.
And if you lose the count or find yourself counting beyond ten,
Just bring your attention back and start at one again.
Use the counting as an anchor to keep your mind focused on the breath.
Stay in the present by breathing just one breath fully,
And then breathing another,
And then another.
One flows into the next.
Nothing else is going on.
You do nothing.
You do nothing but give way to the waves of relaxation and the wonderful feelings of serenity and calm that come over you more and more,
Further and further.
Just as the mind is easily distracted,
Wanting to go in different directions,
Just notice any thoughts or labels,
Any thinking,
And just let it all go.
See them as birds in the sky that fly away.
Keep coming back to the counting,
And as you continue the counting,
Your mind will become quieter and your sense of the world around you will withdraw into the silence of your own being.
And after about ten minutes,
When you do this by yourself,
You can change the counting at the beginning of each breath.
So this time,
Instead of counting one at the end of the sequence,
You can count one at the beginning.
Something like this.
Count one.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Count two.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Count three.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Count four.
Deep inhale in through the nose,
Lengthening the exhale.
Now for counting five,
I'll let you do this part yourself.
Count six.
Count seven.
Count eight.
Count nine.
Counting ten.
Right in.
Inhaling in,
Letting it go,
Lengthening the exhale.
Long,
Slow exhale,
Letting it all go.
This shifts the focus of your concentration from awareness of the breath.
After you have breathed to becoming aware of the breath before it enters your body,
You are now having to concentrate more deeply.
And no matter what distractions may be going on,
Keep your mind focused and at one with the rhythm of the breath.
You do nothing,
You do nothing but give way to those beautiful waves of relaxation,
Those waves of serenity and calm as your muscles begin to ease off further and further,
More and more.
You are calm and serene,
More calm and serene than ever.
After 10 minutes,
Stop counting and simply watch the flow of the breath.
As you do this,
Your individual self begins to dissolve into the breath as if you are being breathed.
After a few more moments,
You can go on for as long as you wish.
And whenever you're ready,
Gently come back into yourself,
Becoming aware of the seat beneath you or the mat beneath you,
The room you are in,
And the world outside.
And you may want to dedicate the benefits of this practice to all beings or to someone you love,
Or simply just to feel thanks and gratitude for taking this time for self-care for yourself.
And slowly come back to the room,
Opening your eyes if they're not already open,
And wiggle your fingers and toes,
And enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
For Finding Your Bliss,
I'm Judy Liebrakh,
Reminding you all to take one step closer to finding your bliss.
