Starting by finding a comfortable position.
Ideally you can be seated,
Whether cross-legged or comfortably sitting on the chair or sofa.
Settling into your posture,
Relaxing your shoulders,
Relaxing your arm.
You might want to rest your hands on top of your lap,
Top of your legs,
Your knees,
And allowing the gaze to soften and the eyes to close.
I'm going to start by following the breath.
And to do so,
First let's become aware of your breathing,
Without trying to change anything,
Without trying to control anything.
See if you can bring your mind to your breath,
Noticing the way you inhale and the way you exhale.
Now specifically noticing the way you're inhaling right now.
You might feel the air coming in through the nostrils,
So maybe the top of your lips.
Now noticing the way you're exhaling naturally,
Maybe through your nose.
And as you continue to focus on your breath,
Just noticing the way your body is breathing itself.
There is no need for you to control,
To do anything.
You might start to notice sensations in your body,
Bringing your full attention to the sensations of the breath.
And feel the air moving through your nostrils as it begins its journey into the body.
Can you sense the movement of the air?
Can you notice any sensations in your body coming naturally as you inhale?
On the next breath,
Can you continue to notice?
As the air coming in,
Notice the breath traveling up into the nose,
Before changing direction and moving down the airways into the lungs.
Can you feel exactly where the air changes direction?
Just taking a few breaths here,
Focusing on the physical sensations found at that point,
Around the lungs,
Around the chest area,
Around the heart center.
As the air moves down into the body,
Experience the lungs expanding,
Feeling,
And then releasing.
With each and every breath,
Travel all the way in and all the way out.
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
Continuing for a few breaths here,
Just noticing sensations.
Your mind may start to add some judgment,
Some attachment,
Some emotions.
Can you bring your mind back to being curious,
To being neutral,
To simply notice sensations?
Staying away from judgment,
Staying away from attachment.
Just pure awareness of the breath.
If it feels comfortable,
I invite you to inhale and exhale naturally through your nose.
Bring your full attention to the sensations of the breath,
Allowing it to be just as it is.
There is no need to change it in any way.
The body breathing itself.
And on this next phase,
I invite you to imagine the breath like a wave moving through your body.
The breath has four phases that makes up its rhythm.
We first inhale,
Then we pause,
Exhale,
And then we pause again before the new breath.
For a few moments,
Without trying to change anything just yet,
See if you can focus on each of the four parts of the breath.
In turn,
Noticing how they differ.
They could be very distinct.
You might notice them very clearly,
Precisely.
You might not be able to notice.
Maybe because some are shorter and you can barely notice them.
As you continue attending to the four phases of the breath,
Notice how each whole breath is slightly different from the one before.
Following the unique rhythm of each breath.
And repeating this for a few rounds of breath.
Just noticing the four phases of the breath.
Inhaling and exhaling naturally through your nose.
Bring your full attention back to your body,
To the physical sensations of the breath.
Feeling the air moving through your nostrils as the air begins its journey into your body.
Next time,
As you inhale,
Silently count 1.
And as you exhale,
Repeat 1.
Then inhale 2,
Exhale 2,
And so on,
Up to 10.
Then start again.
You can choose 5,
10,
Or as many cycles as you wish.
Let go of the counts.
Just let it all go.
But allow your focus to stay with the movements of the breath in your body.
Notice the quality of your breathing right now.
Is your breathing slower than at the beginning of this activity?
Is it deeper?
How calm do you feel now?
Taking a few moments here,
Letting the benefits of your practice sink in just a little more.
And when you're ready,
Very gently,
Starting to flick the eyes open and breathe.
