Welcome to this brief breath awareness meditation.
I invite you to find a comfortable seat,
Whether that's sitting on a chair,
Maybe on the sofa,
Perhaps you're sitting on the ground,
Maybe on a cushion.
And just taking a moment here to settle in,
Allowing the eyes to softly close down.
Let the shoulders be heavy,
Feeling the root pulling down towards the earth.
And bring one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart.
Before we dive into this deeper breath,
Just become aware of your natural breathing.
Simply noticing the gentle rise and fall of the belly.
Perhaps you can even feel your heartbeat underneath your palm.
Just take a moment to notice the quality of your breath.
Where can you feel the breath most prominently?
Maybe it's in your belly,
Perhaps in your chest,
Maybe at the tip of your nose.
I'm gifting you just a few breaths here.
And we're going to start with a box breath.
And all that means is that we're going to inhale,
Exhale and hold for a specific count.
And not only is that going to help you deepen your breath,
But it also is a wonderful mindfulness and awareness of focus practice.
So if you're a person that is struggling with meditation because your mind is wandering,
This is a really wonderful way to stay really focused.
We're going to breathe in to the count of four,
Hold the breath at the top to the count of four,
Exhaling to the count of four and holding the breath at the bottom to the count of four.
You can imagine that cycle of breath,
Like drawing the shape of a box in the air.
And we're going to do this a couple of times together and I invite you then to continue with your own time.
So let's breathe in to the count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Hold the breath for three,
Two,
One,
Exhale for three,
Two,
One and hold for three,
Two,
One.
Inhale for three,
Two,
One,
Hold for three,
Two,
One.
Exhale for three,
Two,
One.
Hold for three,
Two,
One.
Inhale for three,
Two,
One.
Hold for three,
Two,
One.
Exhale for three,
Two,
One.
And hold for three,
Two,
One.
Now continue using your own breath,
Staying with the count.
If you lose count,
Don't worry,
Just start back,
Come back to the breath and continue the count.
Gently returning back to your natural breath and just observing again the quality of your breath.
Once again noticing where you feel the breath most prominently and notice how you're feeling.
Notice the sensations in your body.
Notice your thoughts,
Not attaching yourself to your thoughts,
Simply witnessing,
Becoming aware.
And to close the practice,
I invite you to bring your hands together in front of the heart,
Pressing the palms into each other and setting an intention for yourself here,
Making a wish.
And then rub the palms together,
Create some heat,
Some energy.
On the next inhale,
Bring your hands over your closed eyes,
Covering the face,
Feeling the warmth and the buzzing vibrations of your breath,
Of the prana,
The life force.
And whenever you're ready,
You can blink your eyes open inside your palms and gently lower down the hands,
Coming back to the here and now and continuing with this beautiful day.
