Welcome.
This three-stage breathing space is a short practice you can do at any point before,
During or after your working day to help ground yourself in the present moment and find some space from the busyness of the day.
And so starting off now by adopting a seated position that is upright,
Allowing your spine to be self-supporting if possible and closing your eyes if that feels comfortable or if you prefer leaving your eyes open and having a soft gaze out in front of you.
And taking a moment for a little self-compassion,
Really thanking yourself for taking this time to help ground yourself in the present moment.
This really is your time.
So letting go of what's happened before this practice or perhaps any thoughts about what may come after.
Gathering your attention now and becoming aware of any bodily sensations.
Not trying to change anything,
Just becoming aware of what is already here.
Simply feeling into your posture.
You might notice some aches,
Some pains or perhaps even some tension that you might wish to let go of.
You may even notice some pleasant sensations too.
Just seeing if you can allow whatever arises just to be there just for now.
And then turning your attention to any emotions that are present right now.
Perhaps even asking yourself how am I feeling at the moment.
You might notice emotions are being held in your heart area or the belly area or somewhere else in the body and again just allowing them to be there just for now.
And then becoming aware of any thoughts that may or may not be passing through your mind at the moment.
Perhaps even noticing the space between thoughts or maybe even how the mind goes quiet when you pay attention to your thoughts.
And so simply becoming aware of your thoughts rather than getting caught up in them and just allowing thoughts to come and go.
And now gathering your attention and taking it to your belly,
The lower abdomen and just noticing the sensations here as you breathe in and breathe out.
Perhaps noticing the stretching of the skin around the abdomen on the in-breath and the gentle release on the out-breath.
You don't need to change the rhythm of your breathing,
Simply becoming aware of the natural flow in a kind and curious way.
If your mind wanders away,
Simply acknowledging where it went and gently guiding your attention back to the breath.
And now expanding your awareness around the breath in the belly to include your body as a whole breathing.
And just being aware of whatever is here,
The breath,
The sensations across your face,
The posture,
Any sensations in the body.
Just getting a wider awareness of your body as a whole from your outer skin to your centre on the breath.
Just sitting here with a sense of broad awareness,
A sense of spaciousness and seeing if you can take this sense of openness,
This sense of spaciousness into your next moments and perhaps into the rest of your day as you gently open your eyes and bring this practice to a close.
Knowing you can use this practice throughout the day to anchor yourself back into the present moment.
Stepping out of autopilot mode and finding the space to respond rather than react throughout the rest of the day.
