CMP 5 Minute Breathing Check-In

Welcome to Community Mindfulness Project's five-minute breathing check-in,

Allowing the eyelids to slide down all of the way or part of the way over your eyes.

And we'll invite the bell as a welcome mat into our practice.

We can use the sound of the bell to begin to anchor us in the present moment.

So beginning to sense into the body,

Maybe starting at the top of the head and moving through the body,

Inviting in some relaxation,

Maybe starting with the muscles on the forehead and along the jaw,

Softening as we go.

On the next breath,

Softening in the neck and the shoulders,

The arms and the hands,

And the back and the belly,

Through the seat and into the legs and the feet.

And now taking three deep belly breaths at your own pace,

Noticing what it feels like to breathe this deeply.

And now allowing the breath just to flow at its own natural rhythm,

Whatever that may be right now.

And placing our bare attention on the sensation of breathing.

Maybe noticing the expansion and contraction of the abdomen or the brush of clothing against skin or the flow of air in and out of the body just beneath the tip of the nose.

Noticing what that feels like.

And each time the mind wanders,

Which it will do,

Just smiling and coming back to the sensations of breathing.

And now if you like,

Offering out a wish for well-being and peace to all beings everywhere,

Allowing that wish to spread out from you.

And resting in that sense of well-wishing for yourself and others.

Take care.