The Guided Breath

Welcome to this guided breathing exercise.

My name is Leslie and I'm grateful that you have chosen to join me in this practice.

This simple practice is done in the form of a body scan.

The easiest way to do it is actually lying down,

However you are more than welcome to to do this practice sitting or reclining.

So here we are learning to focus on and to direct the breath into and around your body as well as deliberately tuning into a wider awareness of the body.

So when you're ready just take your attention to the breath and focus on that part of your body where you feel it most strongly.

Perhaps you feel it in the belly,

Perhaps the chest,

Or around the lips and the nostrils.

Just stay with your experience of the breath.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Feeling the sensations of breathing.

Allowing the breath to simply breathe itself.

Letting go of any need to direct or manipulate the breath in any way.

Just breathing in and breathing out.

Being supported and held by the surface beneath you.

Just resting with the breath.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Now take your attention to the breath.

Just imagine it's sweeping through the body.

Breathing in through the crown of the head.

Filling the body with breath and breathing out through the soles of the feet.

Then breathing in through the soles of the feet and allowing the body to fill with breath,

With life,

With energy.

Breathing out through the crown of the head.

Once again breathing in through the crown of the head.

Filling your body with this life force energy.

Breathing out again through the soles of the feet.

Breathing in through the soles of the feet and allowing that breath to fill every part of you.

Filling you with life,

With energy and breathing out through the crown of the head.

Just allowing yourself to continue.

Sweeping the body with breath.

Breathing in and breathing out from top to bottom and bottom to top.

You