The Breathing Space Meditation Become still wherever you are,
Either lying,
Sitting or standing.
Choose a posture where you'll be as comfortable as possible,
Then lightly close your eyes if it's comfortable.
Give the weight of your body up to gravity.
Allow your weight to sink into the points of contact between your body and the floor,
Chair or bed.
What sensations do you notice in your body right now?
If you notice any tension or resistance towards painful or unpleasant sensations,
Can you gently turn towards them?
Accept them as best you can.
And if you begin to tense around the breath,
Then let go a little bit with each out-breath.
Soften into gravity again and again.
And notice any thoughts as they arise and pass through the mind.
See if you can let them come and go without becoming too identified with their content.
Look at your thoughts,
Not from them.
Observe them as if they were clouds in the sky.
Can you relate to them as a flow of mental events?
And notice any feelings and emotions as they arise.
Can you let these come and go?
Include everything within your awareness with a kindly perspective.
And now allow your awareness to gather around the experience of the breath deep in the body.
Drop your awareness inside the breath and feel the different sensations in the front,
Back and sides of the torso.
The inside of the torso and the surface of the torso.
Feel all the different sensations of the breath as it flows into and out of the body.
Can you rest your awareness within the flow of the breath?
Let everything change moment by moment.
Use the breath to anchor your awareness in the present moment and low in the body again and again.
And every time you notice your mind has wanded,
As it will,
Then gently guide the mind back to the breath deep in the body.
And now gently expand your awareness to include the whole body.
Feel the weight and shape of the body as it sits,
Stands or lies.
Feel the breath in the whole body.
Imagine you're breathing in and out in all directions.
360 degree breathing.
If you have any pain or discomfort,
Make sure your awareness stays open to include this.
Soften tension and resistance with each out-breath.
Cultivate acceptance for all of your experience.
Be friended.
Now broaden your awareness even further to become aware of sounds inside and outside the room.
Be aware of other people around you.
Then imagine expanding your awareness outwards to include all humanity.
Imagine the whole world breathing.
Now gently open your eyes and begin to move the body.
As you re-engage with the activities of your day,
See if you can carry the awareness that you've cultivated with you.
