Meditation
Step Seven - Enhancing the Impact of the Three-Minute Breathing Space meditation
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Since Step Three, you have been practicing the Breathing Space meditation twice a day and whenever in need, as it is a helpful and flexible way to enhance your awareness in the moment and regain perspective. This time, you will be looking in how to enhance its impact by noticing the bodily sensation that arise after. This is important because it offers a new and kind approach to confront difficulties that appear during these moments.
This practice starts with the usual Step Three meditation and then includes the following steps to help you explore your struggles in a more loving and compassionate way:
Audio
Key Information
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LENGTH: three minutes
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FREQUENCY: should be a part of your routine and can be used as much as you like
​ AWARENESS
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You have already practiced the ability to focus on your inner experience and explore your inner narrative, such as thoughts, bodily sensations and feelings. This time, it is helpful to describe, recognize and accept these experiences by stating them in your mind. For example, you might think: “I can feel sadness growing” or “I am being too harsh on myself.”.
REDIRECTING ATTENTION
​​You have already exercised on bringing your attention to the breath and the sensations of the abdomen as it moves inward and outward. Now, to amplify your attention, you can describe this rhythm in your mind by saying “Breathing in… breathing out.” Another option to describe it is by counting each breath in and each one out. For instance, you can say to yourself on the first in-breath, “inhale-one”, and as you breath out, “exhale-one”. One the next breath, you will start by “inhale-two” … and so on all the way up to five, before starting again at one.
EXPANDING ATTENTON
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Now, as you allow your attention to explore the body, you will gently allow any form of discomfort, tension, resistance and negativity into your consciousness. If any of these sensations arise, focus on them by “breathing into” them. Then breath out from them, softening and opening as you do so. At the same time, comfort yourself with soothing words like “It is normal to struggle through this” and “It is okay to feel like this.” If the discomfort starts to fade, bring more awareness to the spaciousness of the body and the sensations you notice. For more than a minute, stay with these sensations, breathe with them, let them be, accept them. This part is important because it enables you to carry the expanded awareness of the messages your body is sending to you throughout the day, within the space it occupies.