Breath-Awareness Meditation

Hi everyone, welcome to Yoga & You. I am Megha, I am a tarot card reader and a yoga teacher. Today we are going to focus on some deep and gentle breathing that helps to calm your nervous system down and also will help you to become more and more present with your body and mind. Followed by a guided meditation that will help you release all that's been feeling heavy in your body.

So we'll start, come and meet me in a comfortable seated position, you can bring one heel in between your hips and the other anchor in front of it. Palms over the knees, gently lift your shoulders up, roll them back, and place them down. Bring your eyes to a soft close.

Take a few seconds to sink in all the sounds in and around your space, sounds that are loud and obvious, then slowly moving your awareness to more subtler sounds. Now bring this awareness to your own breath, your inhales and exhales as of today. Bring your awareness to your own body, just noticing the physical sensations in your body as you sit here on your mat with me. Now take your awareness to your own thoughts. Start to notice your own thoughts, and just allow them to pass. Good.

And in this full awareness of the sounds around you, awareness of your breath, your body, your thoughts, just take a deep inhale through the nose, and open your mouth like you're blowing out a candle as you exhale. We'll do this a few more times, inhale through the nose, and open your mouth and exhale. Inhale through the nose, open your mouth and let go of everything that's feeling heavy in your body. Last time together, inhale through the nose, and open your mouth and exhale. Good.

Now just bring one palm over your chest and one over your back. Take a few seconds to feel your heartbeat, just noticing the rhythm of your own heart. Now you're going to start breathing with my counts, inhale, just expand your belly for one, two, three, and now exhale, contract your belly for one, two, three.

We're going to practice this one more time, this time expand your belly and your chest together. Ready, inhaling for one, expand two, three, exhaling for one, two, three. A little bit longer, inhaling for one, expand two, three, four, exhaling for one, two, contract three, four, inhaling for one, expand two, three, air moving from your belly to your chest, one, exhaling for one, contract your belly, two, three, four, five. Last time together let's go maximum expansion, inhaling for one, two, three, four, five, six, exhaling for one, two, three, four, five, six, and slowly release, bring your palms back onto your knees, shoulders still relaxed, and just bring your awareness to your breath.

Your inhales and exhales, breath that's flowing without any change, without any modifications. Good, now we're going to start moving our awareness to different parts of our body. You can practice this seated or you can lie down and follow the rest of the practice.

Start by bringing your awareness to your toes. Move your awareness to your feet, your ankles, your calves, your knees, gently relax all the muscles in all these parts. Move your awareness to your hips, your belly, your chest, your shoulders, and gently relax all the muscles here. Move your awareness to your arms, your fingertips, your elbows, your neck, your face, your eyes, relax all the muscles here. Awareness to your ears, your forehead, relax the muscles, relax your nose, your tongue. Make your breath as long as possible.

As you experience this complete relaxation, just notice yourself becoming lighter and lighter. And as you feel lighter in your body, just start to visualize a vast ocean, and you with this lightness sitting on the ocean. And as the impact of this breathwork, that we just practiced, and all the muscle relaxation, reaches all your body parts, you become even more lighter.

Now as you're feeling lighter and lighter in this vast ocean, with this lightness, visualize yourself slowly getting inside the ocean. In the beginning, as any other depth, the ocean might feel different, new. But I want you to remind yourself that your body is fully safe. And as you trust the ocean, you start getting deeper and deeper, all the way to the bottom, and find the earth again. Watch yourself sitting deep inside the ocean on the earth. There's still beautiful life flowing through and around you.

And as you sit here, feeling lighter in your body, feeling safe with your body, just take a deep inhale through the nose again, and open your mouth and gently release to the ocean. Exhale to the ocean. We'll do this again, inhale through the nose, open your mouth and release everything that's feeling heavy back to the ocean. You may find almost like a black tar coming out of your body. These are just toxins, all the heaviness that is no longer serving.

Let's do this a few more times, inhale through the nose, open your mouth and gently exhale. Inhale through the nose, open your mouth and let the ocean carry everything that's feeling heavy in your body. Inhale, and exhale. Last time together, inhale, and exhale, and let go.

As you see this heaviness moves out of your body, your body starts to feel rejuvenated, taken care of and nourished by the earth that you're sitting on, the ocean that you're inside. Watch your body become nourished. The ocean leaves. As you feel the nourishment and care of this ocean and the earth, watch yourself slowly coming back to the surface of the ocean.

Body still light, body now rejuvenated and nourished. And as you slowly come back to the surface and experience the first breeze on the surface of the ocean, almost like everything in your life has come back to a flow state. Everything that once felt stopped is now started to flow. Watch yourself come back to the surface of the ocean, sitting on top of it, again feeling lighter and feeling the breeze. Body completely relaxed and life back to a flow state.

You can sit with this lightness, this stillness for a few moments longer, or you can lie down and relax in your shavasana.

Whenever you feel ready to break from the state, just bring both your palms together, generating some heat in between your palms. Then place your palms over your eyes, your cheeks, back to the neck, your hands, your legs. Now open your eyes, take a moment to stretch your legs out and move from side to side. Take whatever recovery you need, what works best for your body.

I hope you carry the stillness and silence for the rest of your day. And thank you for sharing this practice with me today. Namaste.