Awareness of Breath

Let's start by settling into a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, standing or lying down. We'll take one deep breath. In through the nose. Slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to soften. Letting the shoulders be at ease. As well as the hands and the belly. As your body starts to settle in, you can let your breath come back to its natural rhythm. In this practice, we'll be doing an awareness of breath meditation.

If focusing on the breath is uncomfortable, it's okay to direct your attention to something else. Like the feet on the ground, the sounds, or even your hands resting in your lap. So anytime I mention the breath, you can just use a different object of awareness. So let's begin by feeling the body breathing however it is breathing in this moment. Notice if the breath is long or short.

You don't need to manipulate it. Just letting your body breathe as it normally would. And letting yourself become aware of the body breathing. So we're not forcing our attention. We're receiving the breath in our awareness.

And instead of visualizing the breath or thinking about it, were feeling it. What is it like to feel your body breathing this moment of aliveness. And you don't need to localize your attention to any one point. You're just feeling the breath as it moves through the body. As the mind wanders, you can just smile at it.

Just a thought. Hello, thought. Redirecting the attention back to the breath. This breath. This moment.

As we start to wind down this meditation, take a few moments to just appreciate your body for breathing you. You can even say, thank you body. And when you're ready, you can reorient your attention back into the space and invite the eyes to open. Great job. As you go about your day and you find yourself caught up in stress or thoughts.

See if you can bring the breath back into your awareness, letting your attention settle there. Have a great day. Thank you for your practice and take care.