Breathing Space

Hi,

And welcome to this breathing space meditation.

My name is Paula Napitano and I'll be your guide today.

The purpose of this practice is to help you step out of autopilot and bring you into the present moment while slowing you down so you can respond more skillfully to stressful situations.

So take a moment here and get comfortable.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and on the exhale,

Allow your eyes to gently close or soften your gaze.

And as you settle in and begin to bring your awareness inward,

Begin to notice what's going on with you right now.

Notice whatever thoughts may be around,

Whatever feelings or emotions.

Notice any sensations in the body.

Just tuning in to what the weather pattern inside you is like right now.

Continue being open to this for the next few moments.

As best you can,

Letting go of the tendency to wanting things to be different than they are right now.

See if you can simply allow things to be just as they are right now in your mind and in your body.

Bringing your attention to your breath now,

Noticing the breath down in your abdomen as you breathe in and out,

Not trying to force or manipulate the breath,

Just focusing on the sensations of the breath.

And if the mind wanders,

Gently bringing your attention back to the breath and the sensations of breathing.

Now expanding your attention towards the whole of the body,

Being aware of all of the sensations in the body from the top of your head to your toes and your fingertips.

Noticing sensations of the skin and all of the sensations inside your body as well.

Once again,

See if you can allow the sensations to be exactly as you find them,

Not trying to change them in any way.

A sense of opening to what's here right now.

A sense of coming home to the body and allowing yourself to be exactly as you are,

Moment by moment,

Breath by breath.

And as we come to the end of this practice,

Begin to move your fingers and toes.

Let your eyes open if they were closed and resume the activities of your day,

Bringing this awareness with you.

Thank you so much for joining me in this practice today.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Namaste.