Introduction To The Breath

Welcome to this guided meditation on the breath.

Begin by taking a comfortable position,

Whether that's seated,

Standing,

Or lying down.

Taking in a few full deep breaths at your own pace,

Relaxing any obvious signs of tension in the body,

Relaxing the jaw,

Perhaps picturing a little half smile at the ends of the cheeks,

Allowing the shoulders to drop,

Visualizing that tension being released from the body drifting down to the earth,

Softening the belly and the heart,

Sensing if you can notice where the breath feels the easiest and the most pleasant in the body,

The coolness of the inhale or the warmth of the exhale,

The rise or the fall of the belly or chest.

If you find that the breath is not the best place to rest your attention at the moment,

With a loving kind attention and without judgment,

The invitation is to find another source of pleasantness in the body.

It may be the feeling of the hands,

The feet,

Or listening to the sounds around you.

When you find that the mind has wandered,

That in itself is an act of mindfulness,

Gently bringing the attention back to the breath or chosen bodily sensation,

Resting there,

Returning the attention to the breath,

Coming home to that as many times as needed,

With each in-breath feeling the aliveness of the body,

With each out-breath allowing relaxation to deepen,

Thanking the body for its vast wisdom.

During this last minute of our meditation today,

Resting with the breath.

Thank you so much for your practice.