Hello,
I'm Dan Brakewell and thank you for joining me on this meditation for letting go and letting be.
I created this meditation just to help you check back in and reconnect with your primal breath and hopefully come back to a state of being that is rooted and present.
So perhaps you're feeling a bit overstimulated or overwhelmed,
Even just a little bit lackluster,
Burnt out or disconnected.
Whatever your reason for dipping your toes in the meditation pool right now,
Just start with a little appreciation that somewhere in you is that wisdom and instinct to discern and feel when you're due a reset.
And that's a really tricky thing to notice in these hectic lifestyles we have.
So well done you for showing up and giving yourself back some time and some care.
So let's begin by getting comfortable and if possible just make sure you're somewhere that you're unlikely to be disturbed or interrupted.
Take what you need to feel comfortable,
Whether you need cushions or a chair or a blanket or perhaps you want to lie down with a bolster under your knees.
Get all the wriggles out of the way so that you feel more comfortable.
Perhaps you even take some gentle stretches for your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your hips.
Once you're as comfortable as you can be in this moment,
Let the eyes close and just begin to notice the natural breath as it occurs.
How is the breath showing up right now?
Does it feel fast or slow,
Fine,
Rough,
Short,
Long,
Deep or shallow?
I'm gonna shake up and reset things a little bit by playing with the breath.
So start by taking a deeper breath in through the nose until you feel nice and full,
Get that nice feeling of this stretch and fullness around the ribs,
Back and chest.
Pause for a beat or two at the top of the breath until you feel like you need to let go and then breathe out through the mouth until the tank is empty.
You've got a nice empty space to begin again.
Just play with this larger breath a few more times,
Breathing in till comfortably full,
Pausing and holding and breathing out through the mouth.
Perhaps each time you breathe out you can connect the sensation of release to a part of the body such as the jaw,
Tongue and clenching the teeth.
Anywhere that it might feel nice just to loosen and ungrip,
Just seeing if they can connect to that out breath.
Now just begin to allow and trust the breath to find its own natural rhythm again and remembering that the breath itself needs no guidance or conscious instruction,
It just happens.
It brings in energy,
Fuel,
Enthusiasm,
Inspiration and then it takes with it waste,
Excess,
Burden,
All the things that you don't need.
Leaving you with that fertile empty space for life to pour back into.
Notice if you find it easy to let the breath be or do you tend to take the reins a little bit,
Instruct or judge the breath.
See if you can take the foot off the gas so to speak.
Dissolve any need to rush,
Seeing if you cannot cut the breath short before the in-breath is finished and satiated or the out-breath is fully emptied.
Let this practice of letting the breath be or letting the breath go be a curious one or a playful one.
There are no stakes attached to this,
We're simply practicing letting the breath come and go with as little physical interruption as possible and you'll undoubtedly notice the mind wanting to physically take hold again or maybe the mind wandering off whether it be boredom or distraction.
Just make a little note,
Congratulate yourself on noticing.
When you do notice just gently steer that attention back to simply observing the breath.
Letting the breath come and letting the breath go.
The same way you might watch waves on the beach come and go,
Each one different and allowing them their uniqueness and individual sparkle.
Some vast,
Some tiny,
Some loud and some crashing,
Some gentle and teasing.
Seeing if your breath can come and go without hesitation or overthinking,
Just like the waves in nature.
Cresting,
Rebounding without any abrupt starts and stops.
Just allowing your breath and as a result,
You,
The gift of just being.
I'm just spending a little bit more time in this practice,
Letting go,
Letting be,
Noticing when we start to nudge,
When the mind wanders,
Just gently guiding the attention back to something more reminiscent of appreciation and surprise.
Keeping it playful,
Keeping it curious.
Just start to bring your attention more physically to your body,
The edges of your body that you'll probably notice move with the breath and sensations of the clothes on your skin,
Temperature of the room,
The floor.
Just taking some soft movement before you open the eyes just to feel into your body.
Notice any sounds near and far.
Just let one hand rest on top of the other in the center of the chest,
The energetic heart center.
Just experience the warmth,
Contact,
The affection of your hands spreading across the chest and that breath arriving as it arrives,
Leaving however it wants to leave.
Let's bring the practice to a close.
Take a nice full breath in through the nose and then out through the mouth.
Taking it slow,
Taking it easy as you wander into the rest of your day.
Grab a drink of water if you can and I hope you can join me for meditation again soon.
