Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining me for this breath awareness exercise,
Back to the Breath.
This meditation is designed to help you toward slower,
Smooth,
Rhythmic diaphragmatic breathing to help reduce stress and anxiety.
To begin,
Close your eyes and get settled into your seat.
Relax into the surface that you're either lying down on or sitting on.
And begin to relax the body.
Releasing your jaw.
Letting your mouth just drop open.
Releasing your shoulders away from your ears.
Letting your eyes relax into the sockets.
And just begin to notice your breathing.
Don't try to control it.
Just notice it.
Slow it down a little bit.
Begin to breathe in through your nose.
Expanding your belly.
And then exhale through your mouth as if you were blowing out a candle.
Begin to lengthen the exhale.
Breathe in through the nose.
And then as you breathe out through your mouth,
Make sure the exhale is just a little bit longer than the inhale.
Slowing down the breath just a little bit more.
Noticing how you feel in your body as the breath slows down.
Feeling the state of calm come in.
If thoughts start to come up,
Just allow them to pass by.
We always have thoughts coming into our head.
Just allow them to float by like a cloud floats by in the sky.
Allowing yourself to relax into this moment.
Letting your body slip deeper and deeper into calm.
Breathing in through your nose.
Filling your belly.
And exhaling through the mouth.
Blowing out the candle.
Now I want you to just scan your body.
Starting at your feet.
Feel into the different parts.
Your toes.
Your arch.
Your ankle.
And if there's any stress or discomfort,
Breathe into that area.
Allowing that stress or discomfort to just wash away with the breath.
In through the nose.
Out through the mouth.
Moving up to your calves.
And your knees.
Relaxing with the breath.
Moving up to your thighs and your hips.
Into your core and your lower back.
Moving up the spine.
Going through each vertebrae.
Releasing any tension.
Your shoulder blades.
Your shoulders.
Allowing that space between your shoulders and your ears to expand.
Letting the weight of the arms draw the shoulders down and back.
Releasing your hands.
Each finger.
Allowing the hand to just curl up naturally.
Breathing into the neck.
And the ears.
Your face and your eyes.
And your forehead.
Allowing everything to release.
Breathing in through the nose.
Expanding the belly.
And out through the mouth.
Blowing out the candle.
To bring this breath awareness exercise to a close,
I want you to tighten every muscle in your body.
In your face.
Squeeze it really tight.
And breathing in.
And out through the nose.
Expanding the belly.
Holding it tight.
And exhale through the mouth with a sigh.
Releasing everything.
Letting everything drop away.
All the tension.
Relaxing even deeper into your seat.
Now I want you to take a deep breath in through the nose.
Expanding the belly.
Holding at the top.
And then as you exhale through your mouth.
I want you to start to bring yourself back into your body.
Your awareness.
Begin to wake up a little bit.
Wiggling your toes and your fingers.
Bring your hands together.
And rub them together.
Create some heat.
Put your hands over your eyes.
Feel the heat coming from your hands.
Slowly open your eyes.
And when you're ready,
Pull your hands away from your eyes.
Thank you for joining me for this back to the breath meditation.
Remember to return to it when you need to bring yourself back to your breath and create a state of calm.
Namaste.
