In yogic tradition,
Pranayama is a practice of working with the breath.
Prana means vital energy found in the breath and ayam means infinite expansion.
Breathing practice allows the mind and body to sync.
Observing the breath is a tool to cultivate self-awareness.
With every mood and emotion,
Your breathing takes on different qualities.
Change your breathing and the state of your mind and emotional energy change too.
The mind swirls in every moment.
To slow it down,
We must access the space between our thoughts,
The space between the sound,
The space between our words,
The space between our breath.
Each time we do that,
We access silence.
We relax just a little bit more.
We can bring this with us to have a little more patience,
A little more kindness,
A little more relaxation and conscious responses instead of autopilot reactions.
Let's try to access this space.
Close your eyes or keep a soft,
Fuzzy gaze and start to lengthen your breath.
Let's take a nice deep breath in and gently let it go.
Please do that again.
Nice deep breath in and gently let it go.
In this moment,
There is nowhere else to be.
Allow your body to relax,
Your face to soften,
Your shoulders to drop away from your ears and just melt into the chair,
Your bed,
Your seat just for this moment.
The thoughts will still be there,
But by witnessing the breath as it flows in and flows out,
We can drift away from the past,
The future and into the present.
Just by taking a breath here and there,
It takes us to the space between,
The space of silence.
Allow the thoughts that swirl into you to just move through you.
Let them come out,
Let them go.
You may think about sweeping them away or letting them float through your mind like clouds.
As you exhale,
Feel yourself unload all the weight you have brought with you.
Let's try that together.
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in,
Hold it,
Feel yourself getting lighter,
Let it out.
Do it again.
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in,
Feel yourself getting lighter and let it go.
Your breath is the key to releasing the heaviness,
The tightness that can overwhelm you throughout your day.
When we can access the space of silence before we react,
We can flow through our day with greater ease.
Let's practice now together in silence.
Just follow your breath.
When you become aware of thoughts and sensations,
Let them pass and return to the breath.
Changing your breath can literally change your mind.
As you move about your day,
I hope you have a little more stillness,
A little more silence in your thoughts,
Words and actions.
When you feel yourself overwhelmed,
Find that space between.
Thank yourself for taking the time to practice today.
This is Amy Jay with MindGen Meditations.
