Please join me for this meditation for breathing.
Start by finding a comfortable seat.
You can sit on a chair,
Or you could sit on a meditation cushion,
Or you could sit on the floor.
Feel your pelvis underneath you anchored and grounded.
And then feel your spine extend.
Imagine your legs growing roots into the earth.
And imagine your head floating up to the heavens.
Pay attention to your breathing.
Start by noticing your inhales and your exhales.
As you inhale,
Notice how your lungs expand.
As you exhale,
Notice how your lungs narrow.
They naturally widen on the inhale.
And they naturally narrow on the exhale.
See if you can feel or imagine how your torso actually widens in all directions on the inhale.
So it widens side to side,
But it also widens front to back when you breathe in.
And when you breathe out,
It narrows side to side and front to back.
Imagine your breath is like an ocean wave in your body.
Breathing gently in through your nose and breathing gently out through your nose.
And see if you can make your breath smooth and fluid,
Especially the exhale smooth and fluid.
So there's no jagged edges in your breathing.
It's like you're polishing and smoothing out your breath.
Allow your tongue to soften in your mouth and allow your eyes to soften in your head.
And then pay attention to your two lungs,
To the two sides of your torso.
And see if it's possible to fill both sides of your torso at the same time.
So neither lung fills first.
They both fill at the same time on your inhale.
And then as you exhale,
See if you can get both lungs to empty at the same time.
See if you can feel the two sides of your torso.
You can let your tongue soften in your mouth,
Your eyes soften in your head,
Crown of your head still floating up to the sky as you breathe fully and smoothly into both lungs evenly.
And exhaling fully and smoothly out of both lungs evenly.
And when you breathe in,
See if you can imagine your ribs slightly spiraling upward.
And when you breathe out,
See if you can imagine your ribs slightly spiraling downward.
Breathing in,
Ribs expand and spiral upward.
Breathing out,
Ribs narrow and slightly spiral downward.
And then just come back to the breathing that is natural to you.
Take your hands in front of you and rub them together,
Building a little heat in your hands.
And then place them kindly on top of your heart,
Noticing your heart and noticing your lungs.
Soften your chin to your chest,
Signaling to your body that the meditation is complete.
Thank you for practicing with me and I'll see you next time.
