This is a short breath meditation to help you release stress.
Make sure you're in a comfortable,
Supported seat.
Let's begin.
Take a breath in,
Draw your shoulders up to your ears.
Exhale,
Let that go.
Inhale,
Squeeze your shoulders back up and in.
Exhale,
Just let it go.
Inhale,
Draw your shoulders up,
Squeeze.
Exhale to release.
Start to notice how your breath is moving naturally in your body.
Bring your hands to the part of you that feels the biggest symptoms of stress.
It could be your heart beating,
Some constriction in your throat,
Or tightness in your jaw.
Just bring your hands there.
And begin to breathe in and out through your nose if your nose allows.
Notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
Inhale,
The expansion,
Pause at the top.
Exhale,
Softening,
Pause at the bottom.
Without feeling the need to change your breath in any way,
And see if you can embrace each part of each breath cycle.
Notice where you tend to linger,
Whether it's at the top of the inhale,
The bottom of the exhale,
Or somewhere in between.
See if it's possible to exaggerate the pause that you feel at the top.
And at the bottom of your breath.
Lean into the space between inhale and exhale.
And then gently slide your hands down to rest at your low abdomen.
Bring your fingertips in,
Palms come to rest on your body.
As you continue to embrace the space between each inhale and exhale,
Begin to direct the movement of your breath into your hands.
As you continue to embrace the space between each inhale and exhale,
Begin to direct the movement of your breath into your hands.
Notice where your attention is,
Can you bring it back into your hands?
Feel your hands up with breath.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Start to exaggerate the pauses,
Fill up with air,
And hold at the top.
When you're ready,
Let that breath go.
Let your body soften.
Inhale to fill back up expanding into your low belly or low back.
Pausing once you reach the top.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Soften your shoulders down.
Inhale,
Fill all the way up building low.
Up high into your ribs,
Fill up.
Your full capacity.
Once you reach the top,
Sip in a little more air.
Hold at the top.
Hold for just a little while longer.
And exhale,
Let it go.
Let your breath come back and naturally,
Let it go.
And four more just like that.
You're in control of the way you perceive your experience.
One more breath.
Now fill up 100%.
Exhale,
Let it spill out.
Pause at the bottom.
Find a balance point.
Not quite empty.
Meet yourself here.
Hold.
Hold the space.
When you're ready,
Take your recovery breath,
Fill back up with air.
Let it go.
Four more here.
Go back to the natural rhythm and flow of your breath.
Last one.
Now fill up 100% once again,
Starting at your belly,
Filling into your ribs,
Into your chest,
Your upper back.
Exhale,
Let it go with control.
Press all your air out.
Pause at the bottom.
Hold here.
Soften your shoulders,
Your jaw.
Soften around the tension.
When you're ready,
Take your recovery breath.
Let it go.
Four more just like that.
If your body needs to move or sway,
Let it move.
Three more.
Last one.
Now bring all of your attention back into your body.
Notice wherever it is that you feel stress.
Whether it is your heart beating,
Tension in your shoulders or your jaw.
Maybe feels like a knot in your stomach.
Bring all of your attention there.
Bring your hands in to rest on that part of your body.
And start to breathe directly into that space.
Can you lean in to what's here right now?
Let your breath be however fast or slow it is right now.
Now for just this next breath,
Can you expand your inhale beyond the edges of the place where you feel tension.
Spread it out up in to your whole torso.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Take a few more like that.
Breathe into your entire core.
Next breath.
Send your inhale out to the edges of your body,
Out to your fingertips,
Your toes,
The top of your head.
Let it go.
Whole body inhale.
Breathe to match the size of your stress.
Let your breath get a little bit bigger,
Expanding beyond your body.
Meet the magnitude of whatever it is that is causing you to feel less uncomfortable.
Take another breath in,
Send it out,
Start to fill up the room,
The space that you are in.
Take a few more like that,
Filling up into the space,
The container that you are sitting in.
Let your inhale expand beyond the borders of your skin.
Let it go.
Send your next breath beyond the borders of the walls that you are in.
Let it go.
Breathe in nice and slow.
Send your breath all the way out to the clouds,
To the trees outside.
Let it go.
A few more just like that.
If you are experiencing any shifts in sensation in your body,
Send your breath out far and wide.
Let your next breath expand beyond the clouds,
Up into the sky,
Up to the sun.
Let it go.
Breathe in as big as all the atmosphere out to the other stars,
Down into the ground.
Let it go.
Send your next breath so big that it expands beyond the Milky Way.
Pause at the top,
Feel the fullness,
Feel the whole universe expanding inside of you.
Exhale,
Let it go.
Pause,
Bring your attention back into your body.
Notice what's here now.
When it's time,
Let yourself slowly inflate,
Lengthening up through your spine,
Opening your shoulders,
Pressing shoulder blades down and back.
Let your breath start to return to its natural rhythm and flow.
If you had closed your eyes,
Gently blink them back open,
Begin to cast your gaze around the space that you are in.
Let your eyes wander from left to right,
Up to the sky,
Down to the ground.
And feel into the space behind you,
In front of you,
All around you.
Remember that like each incoming outgoing breath,
Everything in life is temporary.
It will all keep flowing through.
Let it go.
And it so much love.
