Welcome to this meditation for relaxation and rest.
I'm Victoria and I'll be your guide.
Begin by getting really comfortable.
Giving permission for your mind to settle as your body begins to settle.
Noticing whatever is here now,
Whatever thoughts,
Whatever body sensations.
Just letting them all come and letting them all go,
Just like the sound.
Everything in life is impermanent.
Everything comes and goes.
It's always changing.
One of the gifts of being human is getting to experience all of those changes without clinging to them,
Without being swept away in suffering when they inevitably happen.
Instead,
Resting in loving awareness as all of life comes and goes right on time.
Just like this breath,
Coming and going.
And this one.
And this one.
The breath is our biggest teacher.
It's always changing,
Always in metamorphosis,
And yet always constant.
This practice is an opportunity to connect more deeply with your breath and with the idea of impermanence.
Breathing in,
Being aware that you're breathing in,
And breathing out,
Being aware that you're breathing out.
Breathing the beginning of this inhale,
The ending of this inhale,
And the ending of this exhale.
Being aware of four parts of the breath,
Noticing the inhale as it begins,
And as it ends.
Noticing the exhale as it begins,
And as it ends.
Breathing this breath beginning.
Noticing when you're filled up with air,
And paying attention to the moment it releases.
And the moment you're out of air and ready to breathe again.
We'll sit for a few moments just experiencing the four part breath,
Aware of the beginning of the inhale,
The completion of the inhale,
The beginning of the exhale,
And the completion of the exhale.
And shifting your awareness now from the beginning and end to those little,
Brief pauses in between.
So as you breathe in,
Just casually being aware of yourself breathing in,
But notice,
Really hone in on that moment right in between,
Breathing in and beginning to breathe out.
And bringing that same intentional awareness to the end of the out-breath,
Noticing that tiny pause between the end of the out-breath and the beginning of the next cycle of breath.
Placing your attention on these moments in between,
Aware of the spaciousness,
Aware of breathing in,
Aware of the space between end and out-breath,
Aware of breathing out,
Aware of space between out and in-breath.
Moving on for a few moments at your own pace,
Concentrating,
Being the observer,
Being curious.
When will the pause come?
For how long will it last?
Not trying to force or change your breath in any way,
But being aware as the observer of the impermanence.
The breath is flowing.
There is a pause.
Breath is coming in.
There is a pause.
Breath is flowing.
There is a pause.
Observing with awe and wonder the impermanence of every single breath,
And cultivating a sense of gratitude in your heart for each unique breath,
Recognizing that you do not have to force yourself to breathe.
Breath effortlessly flows through you exactly when it should,
Exactly as it should,
In this moment and in this moment and in this moment.
Experiencing so much gratitude for the gift of life that is being breathed through you in this moment.
Sometimes in the midst of great change,
We get swept away in strong emotions.
We forget about gratitude.
We forget about the breath.
We can always come home.
We can always come back to what is real.
The breath tells us a lot about our state of being,
And we can choose consciously to elevate our state of being through the breath and through an intentional focus on gratitude.
Breathing into the heart a little to the right,
And feeling yourself fill up with gratitude.
Breathing out and letting that gratitude wash over every cell of your body.
Breathing in,
Tapping into the eternal wellspring of joy,
Love,
Bliss,
Gratitude.
Breathing in,
Tapping into that eternal wellspring of joy,
Bliss,
Love,
Gratitude,
Your birthright.
Breathing elevated emotion as you breathe in,
And as you breathe out expanding that feeling so that it washes over every cell of your body and expands into the field around you.
Breathing in,
Perhaps using the mantra,
I am grateful for this in-breath.
And breathing out,
I am grateful for this out-breath.
I am grateful for this in-breath.
Each time as you repeat those phrases,
Really feeling into the somatic experience of gratitude in your heart,
In your whole body,
In your lungs especially.
Feeling so much gratitude for every single unique breath that allows you to live the life of your dreams,
That allows you to love your family,
That allows you to be healthy and strong,
That allows you to be creative,
Being grateful for the impermanence and the ever-changing nature of life that you get to experience as you watch each breath come and go,
Right on time,
Perfectly aligned,
Experiencing the divine living,
Breathing,
Loving through you,
Through your breath.
Feeling your awareness,
Perhaps drifting sweetly to sleep.
And breathing out,
I am grateful for this out-breath.
