The Anchor of your Breath

January 19, 2021

Information

With Michele Grand, LMT

ID6090

To CiteDCA Citation Guide

00:00OK. Once again, good morning everybody and
00:03thank you so much for joining for taking
00:07the time for meditation and relaxation.
00:10My name is Michelle Grant,
00:12licensed massage therapists and
00:14I work with the oncology patients
00:16at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
00:18So again, it's a new day, and, um,
00:21we never know what's in store,
00:23but no matter what, it is good,
00:26bad, or indifferent.
00:28As we practice mindfulness and meditation,
00:30it allows us to control our reaction to no
00:34matter what it is that's going on around us.
00:38It allows us to stay grounded and
00:41just maintain Caminar reaction,
00:43which is always a positive thing.
00:46The mindfulness practice we're going to be
00:49working on today is a breathing anchor.
00:52Practice.
00:53It's where we're gonna begin to wood
00:56awareness into the present moment.
00:59Like it anchor that loose a
01:02ship into one place.
01:05The purpose is to help us dissolve
01:07or anxiety, reduce our stress,
01:10and just allow our body to
01:12heal for a short time,
01:14at least two,
01:15or relax and peaceful state and it's
01:18a state that we can always return to
01:22whenever we need to throughout the day.
01:25So now as we begin just adopt A
01:28comfortable position for yourself,
01:30whatever is comfortable for you,
01:33you could be sitting in a chair
01:36with your feet flat on the ground.
01:39Your spine,
01:40supported by the back of the chair.
01:43You could be laying down.
01:46Or you could even be walking as
01:49you practice this meditation.
01:53Just take a few moments.
01:57Just feel your body,
01:59relax your shoulders drop.
02:03Take a deep breath in through your nose.
02:08Hold.
02:11And exhale through your mouth.
02:16Just feel your spine
02:17adapting its natural curves.
02:23Allow your body to settle
02:25to rest down into gravity,
02:27letting it be supported
02:29by the floor beneath you.
02:32And gently close your eyes if
02:35that's comfortable for you.
02:37This will help your awareness settle
02:40by lessening any external distractions.
02:44Gradually allow your awareness
02:46to gather around the sensations
02:49of the breath in your body.
02:54Where do you feel your breath most strongly?
03:00This begin to develop a
03:02bit of a curiosity about.
03:04Your actual experience just letting go
03:07of what you think should be happening.
03:11And just being with your
03:14experience without any judgement.
03:17Now very gently West,
03:20you're aware NIS within your whole torso.
03:29Feel your belly swelling on the in breath.
03:34And subsiding on the out breath.
03:39Can you feel any movement and
03:42sensations with the breath in the
03:45sides in the back of the body as well?
03:48Discontinue a gentle inhalation.
03:57And then X olation.
04:01Gradually inhabit your body a
04:04little more deeply with a sense of
04:08kindly curiosity towards whatever
04:10you're experiencing as you breathe.
04:17Remember to be accepting
04:19of whatever is happening.
04:24See if you can cultivate a precise
04:27awareness of the sensations an
04:30movement of the breath in the body
04:33as they happen, moment by moment.
04:36Being careful not to strain.
04:43Allow your awareness to be utterly
04:46receptive as it West Sapana natural
04:50movement of the breath in the body.
04:53Continue and easy and
05:03gentle. Inhalation?
05:09An escalation.
05:13Allow the breath to be saturated with
05:18kindliness as it walks and cradles
05:21the body. Soothing any stress.
05:26Pain or discomfort. You may feel.
05:35Now become aware of any
05:38thoughts and emotions.
05:40And remember that mindfulness
05:43isn't about having a blank mind.
05:47It's normal to think.
05:50Mindfulness is the training whereby
05:53you cultivate awareness of what
05:57is actually happening physically.
06:00Mentale. And emotionally.
06:04So you can gradually change your
06:07perspective and feel you have more
06:10choice in how you re late to life.
06:15Can you look at your thoughts and
06:20emotions rather than from them?
06:23Can you be aware of what
06:25you're thinking and feeling?
06:27Without either blocking experience
06:31or getting overwhelmed by it.
06:35And remember, thoughts are not facts,
06:39even though we often think they are.
06:44As you develop perspective on
06:47your thoughts and emotions,
06:50including undermining ones.
06:51Can you let go of being so caught up in them?
06:59Notice. How they are continually
07:02changing one moment to the next?
07:06Exactly the same way your
07:09breath is always changing.
07:15Your thoughts and emotions or not as
07:18fixed as solid as you perhaps thought.
07:24Using awareness of the movement
07:27and sensations of the breath
07:30in your body as an anchor for
07:33the mind over and over again.
07:40Follow the breath all the way in.
07:45And. All the way out.
07:55And each time your awareness wanders,
07:59as it will simply note this
08:01and return to the breathing.
08:05Anchor time after time.
08:08Moment by moment.
08:11Making sure you're very kind
08:14and patient with yourself,
08:16even if you have to start again 100 times.
08:25It's OK. And this is what
08:28training is all about.
08:33And remember that each time
08:36you notice you've wandered,
08:38it's a magic moment of awareness.
08:42A moment where you've woken up from
08:46a distraction amoment of choice.
08:49So when you catch yourself having
08:52wandered off your succeeding in the
08:54practice just as you're succeeding when
08:57you manage to stay with the breath.
09:06Take a moment and think
09:09about what's happening now.
09:11What do you thinking?
09:14Just note this and guide your
09:17awareness back to the sensation
09:20of the breath and the body over.
09:23And over again.
09:36now gently begin to bring the
09:39breathing anchor practice to a close.
09:45If you feel comfortable,
09:46you can open your eyes and be
09:49aware of the sounds around you
09:52inside and outside the room.
09:56Fill your whole body and
09:59gradually gently begin to move.
10:02Making sure you give yourself time
10:04to make a smooth transition from
10:07the breathing anchor practice.
10:09To the present moment in time.
10:14Again, take a deep breath in.
10:20And exhale through your mouth.
10:25Bring your arms out to the sides.
10:29Just give a good stretch to
10:31the left and to the right.
10:36Move your neck around a little bit.
10:40Either gentle circles.
10:43Or just moving in all directions.
10:48And reverse the movement.
10:51Another deep breath in.
10:57Arms overhead.
11:03I had a breath into prayer pose.
11:08So this is an excellent exercise that we
11:12can initiate throughout the day as we may
11:16feel a little stressed and overwhelmed.
11:19It's just reminding ourselves basically
11:22that our breath is the anchor.
11:26It grounds us and it allows us to take
11:29a moment to step back from whatever may
11:32be going on around us and just maintain
11:36control of our thoughts and our reactions.
11:39So with that I wish you all health,
11:43peace and hapiness a good day and
11:45I hope to see you again next week.
11:49Take care.