Find a comfortable position that can be lying on your back or in a comfortable seated position,
Maybe on a chair as well.
Just find a position where you feel like you can keep your spine nice and straight.
So a really nice position is if you maybe lie down on a mat to have your feet wider than hip-width apart.
So maybe if you have a mat,
Mat-width apart and let the knee sink together so they're touching and that's a really nice position to relax your lower back.
If you're in a seated position,
Just really try to shine the crown of your head nice and tall to relax your shoulders.
Maybe roll your shoulders for a few moments just to really feel into that to add some movement before we then come into a quite still position.
So choose the position that feels most comfortable to you where you feel like you can just rest.
So try to resist any movement during it.
If you need to move,
That's also okay.
It's just about the trying part.
If you're on a chair,
Have your feet firmly connected to the ground and your hands in all of the positions if you're lying on your back.
If you're sitting on a chair,
If you're in a seated position,
Just maybe lying on your back.
Maybe it feels comfortable for you to have your arms next to your body.
Maybe you rest your left hand over your heart center,
Your right hand on top of your belly.
I do like starting some of the meditations in a lying position because it really helps you to focus on your breathing and feel where your breath is flowing in and out of your body.
If you're in a seated position,
Maybe rest your hands on top of your thighs or your knees.
Your palms can face towards the sky,
Towards the ceiling or face down.
Just choose the position that feels intuitively right to you.
During this whole time at the moment,
I really liked just placing both of my hands over my heart center.
But that's completely up to you.
So let's slowly begin our meditation.
Gently close your eyes,
Really try to relax all the muscles in your face and in your whole body,
Whichever muscles you don't need to hold up your spine nice and straight.
Try to relax everything else.
Take a moment here just to arrive in the space that you're in.
Maybe notice all the sounds around you for a moment.
Which sound is the furthest away?
Then slowly from that sound,
Move closer towards the space you're in.
Maybe you can hear some birds.
Maybe you can hear the wind.
Or some people outside.
Then move even closer into that room,
Into that space that you're in.
Maybe you're sitting outside.
Maybe you're in a room.
Then from there,
Move even closer into your body and start scanning your whole body.
Just notice what's going on here today in this moment.
If you feel tension anywhere,
That's completely fine.
It's just about noticing all the feelings,
All the emotions in your body and your mind.
Slowly bring your awareness over to your breath.
Let your breath flow naturally for a couple more breaths.
So you just become an observer of your breath.
Where is your breath flowing naturally into your body?
Where is it flowing out of your body again?
Feel that space,
That sense of calm that you're already creating here.
And slowly start to deepen your breath.
Every inhale,
Breathe deeply into your belly.
Try to relax all the muscles.
And every inhalation,
So that your belly can nicely expand towards the outside.
Exhale,
Feel how your belly is lowering again.
If you're familiar with yogic breath,
Then start your yogic breathing now.
Otherwise,
Breathe deeply into your belly.
Hold for a moment.
Breathe even deeper into your whole rib cage.
Feel your ribs expand to the outside.
Hold your breath for another moment.
Breathe even deeper into your chest if you have a little bit more air.
Hold your breath at the end of your inhalation for a moment and feel that sense of space that you've already created in this moment.
Then maybe open your mouth and sigh it all out.
Do that in your own rhythm a few more times.
Breathe in,
Relax all the muscles in your belly.
Hold the breath for a moment.
Go deeper,
Breathe into your whole rib cage.
Also,
If you are lying on your back,
Feel your ribs expand into your mat,
Into the ground underneath you.
Breathe even deeper into your whole chest.
Hold your inhalation for a moment and then maybe open your mouth and sigh it all out.
Now start to connect all these three parts of your body.
Breathe in deeply into your belly.
Feel your ribs expand to the outside.
Feel your ribs expand at the back of your body.
A lot of our lung capacity is at the back of our bodies.
Breathe even deeper into your chest.
Hold the breath for a moment at the end of your inhalation and then maybe open your mouth and sigh it all out.
Do that in your own rhythm.
Feel free to close your mouth now and just breathe in and out through your nose.
If it helps you to stay present,
Maybe incorporate your ujjayi breath.
That's an ocean sound that you're trying to create especially on your exhalation.
It helps you to slow down your breathing and to deepen your breath.
If your mind begins to wander,
Try to gently bring it back into this moment.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
Keep on trying to slow down your breathing.
Slow down your breath even more.
Try to keep all your muscles and your face relaxed.
Try to not force anything.
But just gently deepen your breath with every new inhalation and exhalation.
If your mind starts to wander again,
That is completely fine.
We're all curious human beings.
It's just for you to notice that your mind started to wander and then gently coming back to this moment,
To your breath.
Maybe it also helps you with closed eyes to bring your gaze over to your third eye center.
That's the place between your eyebrows that can help you to stay present.
Take one more deep breath in.
And out.
And gently start to open your eyes,
Let your gaze become clear.
Maybe add a gentle smile to your face.
And I wish you a beautiful day if you're just starting your day.
Or a nice rest of your day if you did this in your lunch break.
Or a nice evening and a good night if that was your little breathing meditation towards the end of your day.
Thanks very much for joining me.
Thank you.
