What's up,
Legend?
When you own your breath,
Nobody can steal your peace.
It's unknown who this quote can be attributed to,
But it's pretty wise if you ask me.
It reminds us that while there's so much that is outside of our control when it comes to this thing that we call life,
One thing that is very much within our control is our breath.
Our breath is a place of refuge that we can return to when we're feeling angry,
Overwhelmed,
Tired,
Sad,
Or when we just need a moment to process something or collect ourselves.
It's a safe house of sorts.
This meditation is about shifting your focus and attention towards this powerful tool in order to give you a moment of self-care and to root yourself in the here and now.
We'll be practicing a technique known as mindfulness of the breathing body.
Let's begin this meditation by getting into a comfortable yet alert position.
This can be different for everyone.
It could be sitting,
Laying down,
Standing.
Find what works best for you.
It's your meditation.
I invite you to close your eyes,
Or if you prefer,
Keep your eyes open with a soft gaze in front of you.
Let's begin by grounding into our practice with our breath.
We work on extending our exhales as a means of activating our parasympathetic nervous system to introduce a sense of relaxation and calm to our bodies before we explore our inner world today.
We'll inhale at a count of four,
And we'll exhale through our mouth for a count of six.
Let's begin with one grounding breath.
Just fill up.
Open your mouth and exhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Inhale.
Exhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Two more breaths.
Inhale.
Silently to yourself.
Exhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Last breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Now I want you to release this technique and maintain a normal breathing pattern.
Don't speed anything up.
Don't slow anything down.
Don't hold your breath.
Just observe.
Bring your attention to your breath with a childlike curiosity.
And I want you to pick one point of focus.
It could be where the air is coming in through your nostrils.
It could be maybe the rising and falling of your belly button.
But I want you to just explore that and give the gift of attention to that space.
Maybe you're noticing the air feels cool and crisp as it enters into your nostrils.
It feels a little bit warmer as it exits.
Maybe you're noticing the rising and falling of your belly button with each passing breath.
Maybe you're paying attention to that area in between your nostrils and the top of your lip that's getting all this engagement right through this breath.
And maybe you feel nothing.
And that's all cool.
That's all good too.
They say that the biggest gift you can give someone is the gift of attention.
And today we're basically wrapping up this gift of attention with a nice bow and we're presenting it to ourselves.
I love this mindfulness of the breathing body when we're starting out learning meditation.
And I regularly use it to kick off meditations in general because it just allows us to begin to build up our focus.
And if your focus begins to waver,
You begin to think about something you have to do or a place that you have to be,
Simply return your attention and focus to your breath.
So many times in meditation,
People believe that we need to empty the brain of all thoughts.
And they say on average,
You think about 60,
000 thoughts a day in some studies.
So if you plan to do that,
You're going to be here for a long time.
If you simply acknowledge a thought and allow it to pass without judgment,
You're doing it.
You,
My friend,
Are meditating.
Continue to trace the breath in and out.
The Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh says that with mindfulness,
You can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available at that moment.
And this is exactly what we're trying to do.
Each breath,
It comes and it goes,
And we can never get it back again.
So it's a true testament of being in the here and now as we focus our attention on each passing,
One of them.
Now on that note,
Let's end the practice as we begun it.
With three collective inhales at a four count,
Three collective exhales at a six count.
Begin with a deep inhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Last breath,
Fill up.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
Maybe look to the left,
Look to the right.
Gently open your eyes.
And as you leave this meditation today,
Just remember that your breath is always with you.
It's always an accomplice on your journey and path through this thing that we call life.
And it's someone you can always rely on when you need to slow down a little bit and just return to the present.
I love you.
Get out and crush it today.
