Three-Minute Breathing Space Meditation

This is a really powerful little meditation tool, short enough to use out and about in your daily life at appropriate moments. It's an excellent way to recentre yourself in awareness if you notice yourself operating on autopilot, perhaps caught up in unhelpful reactivity to the hurly-burly of life.

Transcript

Hello, And welcome to this 3 minute breathing space meditation. This is a really powerful little tool, Short enough to use out and about in your life at appropriate moments. It can help to calmly recenter yourself in awareness if you find yourself running on autopilot. You can do it in any posture, Including standing or lying down, But for this one now, I'm going to guide it as a seated practice. The first stage is to actively adjust the way you're sitting so you're a little more upright in the spine, But relaxed, Signaling to yourself that you are entering into a meditation. Allowing the eyes to close if you're comfortable doing that, Or taking a soft downward gaze. Noticing how you are right now, Whatever thoughts might be here, Emotions, Sensing if there's an underlying feeling tone, Noticing sensations in the body, Not trying to change anything, Just noticing what's happening with you right now, Without judgment, Just experiencing whatever it is, Even if it's uncomfortable. The next stage is drawing your awareness in, To focus on one thing, Your breath. Feeling it wherever it shows itself most prominently in the body, Perhaps sensing the air moving in and out of the nostrils, Perhaps feeling the gentle rise and fall of the belly or the chest with each inhale and exhale. Not changing the way you breathe, Simply noticing the physical sensations as they are, Each one coming in, Each one going out. Maybe noting the brief pauses that follow each inhale and each exhale, And if thoughts pull at your attention and you notice this, Gently guiding your awareness back to the breath. Let's sit for a few more moments, Noting the breath, And moving on to the last stage, Allowing your awareness to expand out from the close focus on the breath, Taking in the whole body, Seeing if you can find a sense of the whole body breathing, Gently pulsing with each inhale and each exhale, Noting any other sensations you might feel, Not trying to change anything, Simply noting, Now becoming aware of any sounds you hear, And feeling a sense of the space around you, Letting awareness open out wide, And when you're ready, Opening your eyes or lifting your gaze, And moving on to whatever you're doing next, Perhaps calmer, More centred than awareness.