Breath Awareness Meditation - Counting

In this short breath awareness meditation we use a counting technique to help us stay anchored to the breath. Perfect for beginners or busy minds.

Transcript

Welcome to the Stillpoint Meditation.

Today I'm going to be taking you through a short breath awareness meditation that uses counting as the anchor to help us to stay focused on the breath.

This style of meditation is perfect for beginners or if the mind is feeling very active and overloaded and sitting for an extended period of silence just doesn't feel possible.

So we begin by finding your seat.

A comfortable position that allows you to sit tall with a straight spine but still at ease.

And place the hands wherever feels natural on the legs,

In the lap.

Close down the eyes now and begin the journey of bringing your awareness from the external world to the stillness that resides within you.

Start by listening to the sounds that you can hear around you.

Listen for sounds that are close by and far away.

Send your awareness out in all directions to hear sounds that are both loud and very faint.

Keep listening to sounds for a few moments longer,

Rotating your awareness from sound to sound to sound.

Good.

And now start to tune into the feeling of your body sitting in stillness.

Notice the sensations you might feel on the surface of your skin.

A soft breeze,

Maybe the light touch of clothing,

The feeling of the floor or the carpet underneath the feet.

And then begin to tune into the muscles and the tissues that lie under the skin and surround the bones.

Let them get really soft now.

Feel a wave of relaxation wash through the body that allows all muscular tension to just drop away.

And then drop your awareness inwards further still to the bones.

Start to feel the weight of your bones.

Let them get really heavy.

Allow yourself to sink,

To let go into this depth.

Good.

And as you're resting easily in this softness,

This heaviness in the body,

You begin to notice the ebb and the flow of your breath now.

So as you inhale,

You might start to feel parts of the body swell,

Fill up,

Expand.

And as you exhale,

You notice a gentle drawing in,

A contraction.

And see if you can observe these sensations happening naturally in the body rather than trying to control or manipulate them.

Almost as if you're noticing yourself being breathed rather than you doing the breathing.

Just a few more moments here,

Connecting with the rise and the fall of the in-breath and the exhale.

Now that we've connected to our breathing rhythm,

We're going to start to add a count to the inhale and the exhale.

We're going to start at the number 21 and slowly make our way back to zero.

Perhaps.

The goal of this meditation is not to reach zero.

The purpose is just to be with the breath and we're using a count as a way to help us to do that.

So just take your awareness back to your breath now.

And starting to tune in once again to the natural rise and fall of the inhale and the exhale.

And we're going to begin to count the in-breath and out-breath from 21 back to zero.

So on your next inhale,

21.

Exhale,

Also 21.

Inhale,

20.

Exhale,

20.

And so on.

These numbers should just be a whisper in the mind.

A hint of awareness,

Not a shout.

If you find that you get to zero,

Just start again.

And if you find that you forget what number you're at,

Also just start again.

If you're finding here that you're drifting into thinking a lot and forgetting your count,

That's okay.

The mind is designed to have thoughts.

Getting angry at ourselves for thinking is as futile as getting angry with an ocean wave for slipping past our cupped hands.

Just softly smile to yourself and say,

Ah,

Thinking.

Come back to the breath and then start your count again.

Just a few more moments with your breath.

There's no rush at all,

But after your next exhale,

Let go of the count and sit in stillness.

Just noticing here how you feel after spending these few moments being and breathing.

Be aware of any shifts and changes in how you feel physically,

Mentally,

Perhaps even energetically.

And just thanking yourself for taking the time to nourish and calm yourself in this way.

Your practice of meditation is now complete.

Namaste.

Reviews

Good short meditation to connect to your body and breath. Thank you 🙏

Thank you. I appreciate you sharing this gift with us. Namaste.

That was a wonderful way to begin my day. Thank you 🙏

Great meditation 🧘🏾‍♂️

Professional and helpful

This meditation helps keep me focused on my breathing

The counting really helped me stay in the present moment!

Love this one! After feeling too challenged to sit for practice, since a move 4 weeks ago, finally able to settle in a good space, this recording helped me slip back into ease of practice. So beautifully. Best voice to listen to. Thank you so.🌹🌺🧡🙏💫

I like that it's very gentle and suggestive so my mind doesn't rebel

So simple, yet so effective. Just fantastic. Thank you!

Perfect. I don't have much else to add other than thank you.

Perfect. I feel calm and relaxed, not easy with my monkey mind. Thank you.

I like to keep my practice simple and basic. This was perfect.

Excellent technique and your soothing voice made it easy to lose myself in the count and rest in the breath. Thank you!
Ann

Simple, calming and beautiful.
Bookmarked!
Thanks and namaste.

Perfect mix of focus on sound, body, and breathe. And short enough that you always have time for it. No excuses.

Wow, this was such a n amazing experience! I will come back to it often 🙂 Thank you!

Straightforward, kind voice, helpful strategies, overall fantastic meditation.

Rediscovered this one in my bookmarks today. Really Great guided meditation. Will return to this more often now for sure. Excellent work 💗

This was so peaceful and calming! Bookmarked to return to this one often!

It is the first time i was using couting breath during a medidation and i must say it realy helped me to slow down my breath and relax. Thanks!