Breathing Space (MBSR Practice)

Take a short breathing space with this 6-minute practice. When you find yourself stressed or somewhat overwhelmed and need to take some time out to re-group and calm the nerves, try this guided practice. It is suitable in the morning, evening, or anytime in between.

This version of the practice has no background music. If you would like to try the meditation with the music, it is also available here on Insight Timer.

You do not need any previous meditation experience to do this practice.

Transcript

Mindfulness Meditations guided by Una Keeley,

Professional MBSOR,

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor.

Taking a breathing space.

Six minute meditation.

Beginning now by making a definite change to the posture.

Moving into a posture that embodies a sense of being alert and awake.

So closing the eyes if possible.

And beginning with step one.

Tuning in now and seeing what's going on internally in the mind and the body now.

Seeing what internal weather pattern is here.

Checking in and seeing what thoughts are around.

And tuning in and seeing what feelings are here now.

What you're becoming aware of.

And now turning towards sensations in the body and seeing what sensations are around now.

What sensations are showing themselves to you in this moment.

We're not trying to change anything.

We're not trying to make anything different to what we're finding.

We're just being curious and practicing opening to what's already here.

Realizing allowing it to be and practicing just being with it,

Breathing.

And now moving to step two and bringing the attention now to the breath.

So beginning to narrow the spotlight of the attention towards the sensations of breathing.

Becoming aware of the physical sensations of breathing.

Becoming aware of the in-breath for its full duration.

And then becoming aware of the out-breath for its full duration.

And if we notice the mind wandering,

Practicing acknowledging where it's gone and then gently escorting it back to the sensation of the breath.

And now moving into step three.

So expanding the focus of awareness around the breath to take in the whole body as if the whole body was breathing now.

Becoming aware of your posture,

Your facial expressions,

Sensations perhaps on the surface of the skin and then from right inside the body.

Holding in your awareness now all the sensations in the body as best you can without trying to change anything,

Just allowing them to be.

Coming home now to the body.

And coming home to this moment here now.

Reviews

Short but sweet and well done. A perfect little MBSR checkin