Hi and welcome to Hatha Vida.
I'm Tanya and today I will be guiding you on a five-minute breath meditation.
This is an opportunity to practice present awareness,
To reduce stress,
Anxiety,
And find peace and ease in our body.
As we cultivate a daily practice,
We'll start to slowly notice that there is a sense of ease,
Clarity,
And mindfulness that we can build,
Take off the cushion,
And carry with us throughout the rest of our day.
So let's get started.
First,
Take a moment to find a comfortable seat,
Have your spine tall,
Let your shoulders relax,
And when you feel ready,
Start to lower your eyelids,
Either slightly or fully closed.
As you slowly start to let your attention gravitate towards your breath,
You're going to take a full inhale.
And as you exhale,
Let yourself take a big sigh out.
And go ahead and do that two more times.
Breathing in all the way to the top and exhaling and sighing all the air out.
One more time.
Now gently,
You're going to start to settle into the natural rhythm of your breath.
As you inhale in and you exhale out,
Let yourself settle into your seat and give yourself full permission to ride the wave of your breath.
Now imagine that you're breathing in with your whole body as if it was one whole lung.
And on the exhale,
Slowly start to release all the tension first on the muscles,
On your face,
Letting the body grow heavy,
Grounded,
And relaxed.
And see if you can continue this way just for 10 more breaths.
We'll start by counting them from 1 to 10.
So with your next exhale,
Flush all air out and inhale in and that will count as your first round.
And now keep going on your own till you reach 10,
Just counting them in your mind.
If you feel that your mind is very chatty,
Try to press your mind on the exhale.
And if you feel sleepy and dull,
Press your mind on the inhale.
And feel good when you catch your mind wandering away and gently and kindly bring it right back.
As you reach the end of your next breath,
Bring your attention to the crown of your head.
We'll start to do a body scan.
So imagine that with your next exhale,
A wave of relaxation starts to roll down your face,
Your head,
Your temples,
Softening them,
Even your jaw.
Then allow your shoulders,
Arms,
Hands to release.
Let your chest and belly be soft.
Notice the base of your neck and let that wave of relaxation roll down your spine through each vertebra to the very base of your tailbone.
Notice the weight of your hips and let them root you down to the earth.
Then breathe down your legs to your ankles to your feet,
Letting any remaining tension flush out through the soles of your feet.
Now slowly bring your attention back to the tip of your nose.
And as you remain here for another moment,
Notice the cool air as it enters in and the warm air as it exits out with your breath.
Now as gently as you can,
Start to prepare to come back.
Breathe into the sounds of your space,
The temperature,
The weight of your seat.
And when you feel ready,
Start to flutter your eyes open.
Do any stretch you like and see if you can abide in this state for the next few minutes after you stand up.
Remember this is a state of mind you cultivate with a daily practice every time you sit on the cushion.
Thank you for joining me today.
It's been a pleasure to guide you.
