Let's take an intentional breath together,
Inhaling deeply,
And exhaling.
Begin by finding a comfortable position,
Either lying down or sitting with a tall spine.
Shimmy your body left to right to find your most comfortable resting spot.
Making any movements or fidgeting that you need,
Begin to notice your breath.
Without trying to change or control it,
Just notice its qualities.
Notice the balance between the inhale and the exhale.
Take a deep breath in,
Filling the stomach,
Holding at the top,
And exhale,
Releasing all the air.
Again,
Filling the torso with breath on your inhale,
Suspending the breath,
And release.
Final time together.
Inhale,
Hold,
And exhale.
Picture in your mind's eye that you are walking along a dirt path during a cool,
Crisp autumn day.
The wind is blowing,
And you pull your warm,
Fuzzy sweater tighter around your body.
The wind rustles leaves ahead of you,
Creating a little mini vortex.
You watch as the leaves dance and float,
Until finally settling on the ground.
Taking a deep breath,
You fill your lungs with rejuvenating air,
Filling your stomach with this breath,
And releasing the air through the mouth with a sigh.
The sunlight shines down on you,
And is a contrast to the cool air.
The warm rays hit your face as you close your eyes and tilt your head back,
Basking in the warmth and the radiance.
All is calm,
Balanced.
The season is so beautifully balanced.
The cool air and the warm sun.
The leaves which float in the air define their final resting position on the ground.
The way your body shifts the weight from one side to the other as each foot rises and falls.
The body is in perfect balance,
Without a conscious thought required from you.
Your hands are a little chilled,
And you rub them together in front of your chest.
Feeling the friction you create from this movement.
Feeling the heat you've created through your alive body.
Feel the blood,
The cells,
The organs,
The muscles,
All perfectly balanced,
Working and firing to keep your body alive and functioning.
Such amazing things that occur without us ever being conscious of it.
You wrap your arms around your torso to envelope yourself in a giant hug.
Take a deep inhale and feel the love you give to yourself.
And exhale,
Exhaling that love into the world.
Slipping your hands back into your pockets of your jacket,
You continue to walk the dirt path.
A tree in front of you,
Bare but one leaf that is hanging onto the branch.
As you walk closer,
You see this leaf finally break free.
Watching it float right to left,
Left to right,
Right to left,
Left to right.
Down until it nuzzles the other leaves on the ground after its graceful descent.
Balance.
The leaf did not hold on or grip or fight to try to stay on the tree.
It did not try to change the way nature occurs.
It did not yell or scream or cry as it floated downward.
It did not get upset at its part in life.
The leaf grew from the tree and fell from the tree and now creates a bed of leaves on the forest ground.
Which feed the ecosystem of this ground.
Making the insects and animals and other plants around it thrive.
Balance.
We are all part of this ecosystem of life.
We are all here in the great cosmic balance of life.
Taking a deep breath in,
All of us inhaling together.
And taking a deep breath out,
All of us exhaling together.
Balance.
I will leave you in silence for three minutes.
Focus on the inhale and exhale of your breath and sense the balance within your body.
You will hear the bell chime three times to signal your awareness to return.
Thank you for watching.
You You You You You Slowly deepen the breath bringing yourself back into this moment.
Using your hands to press your thighs.
To squeeze your shins.
To rub the ankles.
And pressing your thumb to the bottom of your feet.
Balance is always available to you if you become quiet enough to listen.
Thank you for taking an intentional breath with me today.
