Hello and welcome to another guided contemplation exercise led by Leo Maceo.
I am a psychotherapist and the author of That Place Within,
An experiential self-discovery mindfulness program blending western and eastern wisdom and psychology with creative healing activities and contemplative exercises.
I hope you enjoy this experience.
Watching the breath on the stage is an exercise for us to continue with our investigation about our friend,
The breath.
This time we will imagine it as a ballet dancer.
We are going to keep our inner eye,
Our awareness on some specific aspects of its choreographic moves as if it were on the stage performing a dancing show.
To do that and to keep ourselves as one of its loyal and attentive audience,
We will be paying close attention to the qualities of the breath dancing performance,
The length of each movement,
The speed,
The temperature,
The depth,
The texture,
The feel of the prana,
The feel of this lively performance.
Enjoy the show!
Okay,
Take a moment to settle in a comfortable meditation position.
You may choose to sit,
Lie down,
Stand up,
Whichever position suits you best.
You may choose to close your eyes or leave them open with a gentle and relaxed gaze downwards.
I invite you to take three long and deep breaths,
But rather than thinking of it,
Pay attention to the feeling of the air entering and exiting your body.
Locate where in the body you feel the breath more strongly as you breathe in and breathe out.
Do it a couple of more times at your own pace,
Feeling the movement of the breath inside your belly and chest.
Now,
Keep breathing naturally without forcing the breath in any way.
Let's imagine the breath as a dancer and your body as the stage where this dancer is performing.
Imagine the breath dancing inside you,
Paying attention to its movement and its place in your body.
You feel this performance more clearly.
Try to feel this dance in this place.
If it is in the belly,
Try to notice whether this movement is long or short,
Fast or slow,
Cool or warm,
Deep or shallow.
Try to imagine the breath dancing around your nostrils,
Moving gently down to your chest,
Your abdomen,
Your whole body.
Observe this dance,
Watch the movement,
The aliveness of the dance.
Of course,
That it helps if you are able to visualize it,
But it is perfectly fine if you can't.
Just try to visualize,
To accompany it in the best way you can.
Just keep tuning with the movement of the body as you breathe in and breathe out.
Feel the dance of the breath in your chest,
Your abdomen,
Your abdomen,
Your chest,
Belly,
Your whole body.
You may imagine the dancer's costume,
The texture of the dancer's costume.
Imagine the dancer's dress.
Does the fabric feel rough or soft?
Can you tell it?
Now,
Pay attention to the feel of the movement and the rhythm of this dance.
Does it feel controlled or free?
Controlled or free?
Natural or forced?
Smooth or rigid?
Tight,
Loose,
Dense,
Relaxed?
Let's try now to notice some of the more abstract aspects of this lively dancing show.
Is there any color shining as you breathe in and out?
You may imagine this color shining brighter and brighter as you breathe out.
Inhale.
Then it fades away gradually as you exhale.
Inhale.
Brighter and brighter.
Out.
Fading away.
Inhale.
Brighter and brighter.
Exhale.
Fading.
Brighter and brighter.
Fading.
Okay,
This exercise is now complete.
You may make some movements with your hands and feet.
And when you are ready,
Blink your eyes open.
Again,
Thank you very much for letting me guide you in this very simple,
But very nice and very important exercise.
I hope you have enjoyed it.
You take care.
