A warm welcome to this combined mindfulness and buteyko breathing meditation.
By integrating these two approaches,
We enhance the calming effects on both body and mind.
It helps to improve oxygen delivery,
Regulate your nervous system,
And cultivate greater clarity and ease in everyday life.
So when you're ready,
Finding a comfortable upright posture,
Just gently sitting upright.
And it can help if your hips are slightly higher than your knees.
This just allows all the muscles in the upper body to disengage and relax more fully.
Closing your mouth for optimal breathing,
And either allowing your eyes to close or just having a soft open gaze.
Bringing a gentle smile to your face,
This just helps to soften the nervous system,
Signalling safety and ease.
Before we go to the breath,
Let's just take a few moments to simply pause.
You might imagine how your mind is like a snow globe that's been shaken up by your day.
And right now,
Without needing to do anything,
We're just allowing the mind to naturally begin to settle.
Maybe have a sense of the space around your body,
The sounds in your environment,
The sensations within your body,
But without needing to change or engage with any of it.
Simply resting here in this space,
Letting our snow globe gradually begin to settle.
And now,
Very gently,
We'll just begin to bring our awareness to the breath.
And just choosing a comfortable anchor for your attention,
You might notice the sensations of air entering and leaving your nostrils.
The subtle temperature differences between the cool air flowing in on the in-breath and the warmer air flowing out on the out-breath.
Or maybe you noticed a gentle expansion and softening around your lower ribs and abdomen as you breathe in and out.
You might notice the feel of the movements of the diaphragm in the middle of the body.
It's almost as though there's a balloon in the body that gently inflates with each in-breath and gently deflates on the out-breath.
They're not large movements,
The breath is subtle,
Quiet and relaxed.
And to begin with,
We're just noticing how the breath is.
There's no need to adjust the breath or control it,
We're just meeting the breath where it's at,
Observing its natural rhythm,
Depth and quality.
And noticing the physical sensations associated with breathing.
The gentle rise and fall of the abdomen or the chest.
Subtle sensations of stretching and expansion within the body on the inhale.
And gentle relaxation on the exhale.
If your mind wanders away,
Then gently acknowledge where it went.
Noticing thoughts about the past or plans for the future.
And then without needing to give yourself a hard time,
Just bringing your attention back to the sensations of breathing.
Each time you notice that the mind has become distracted,
This is a moment of awareness that strengthens your meditation.
When we notice where the mind has been,
We get to understand ourselves more deeply.
We see the patterns of the mind with more clarity.
Now if you'd like to,
You can begin to very gently start to soften your breath.
Just very gently softening and slowing the breath,
Maybe by just 5%.
You might imagine gently resting your foot on a brake pedal in a car,
Easing gradually into softer,
Lighter breaths.
Allowing the breath to become slightly slower,
Slightly quieter.
Just until you start to feel a very subtle sensation of air hunger.
A slight urge to breathe more deeply.
But instead of breathing deeply,
We keep the breath soft and light.
And this is where we get the many benefits of this air hunger.
Improved blood flow,
Enhanced oxygen delivery.
It's calming effects as it stimulates the vagus nerve.
And in a meditation,
The air hunger acts as an anchor,
It helps us to be more fully present in the moment,
Enhancing our focus and promoting relaxation.
And as we continue with these lighter,
Softer breaths,
We can use each breath cycle as an invitation to release tension from the body.
Allowing the mouth and the jaw to begin to relax,
Letting go of any holding or clenching in the jaw.
Allowing all the muscles in the face to begin to soften.
Letting the shoulders drop down,
Away from your ears.
And feeling any tightness dissolve.
Letting the arms and the hands relax.
Allowing them to rest gently wherever they are.
And the belly is soft like jelly.
As the belly relaxes,
The muscles relax.
Belly relaxes,
We might feel a gentle expansion with each inhalation.
And an effortless relaxation with each exhalation.
Allowing your pelvis to melt down into the surface beneath you.
And letting any tension go in your legs,
As you feel your body becoming heavier and more relaxed.
And yet we still have that alertness and that clarity at the same time.
The breath is soft,
Quiet and gentle.
You might notice how each breath carries a deeper sense of ease and calm and quiet into your body and your mind.
As we become more relaxed,
The breath becomes naturally softer and lighter.
You may feel that shortage of air,
But rest assured the body is saturated with oxygen.
And that air hunger means we're actually improving oxygen delivery at a cellular level.
So we're just following the breath,
Very gently softening and slowing,
Feeling its calming effects.
Of course thoughts and distractions will arise in the mind.
And each time we notice this,
We just acknowledge where the mind has been.
And gently come back to the breath.
Strengthening our meditation practice and our ability to stay focused and calm.
So we're just following a soft,
Quiet gentle in-breath.
And a relaxed,
Gentle out-breath.
And let's just stay with this meditation for one more minute.
Coming back to the breath whenever the mind wanders.
And then just slowly beginning to bring your awareness back to the room.
Perhaps noticing the sounds in the environment around you.
The feel of your body.
And perhaps just reflecting on how you feel now compared to where you were at the beginning of this session.
Has your snow globe settled down?
If you found it helpful,
Maybe just setting an intention to come back to this meditation.
Reinforcing your commitment to nurture your mind,
Your body and your breath.
I just want to thank you so much for meditating with me today.
And I wish you all the best.
Thank you.
