Relax with the breath
by Elise Bialylew
This meditation runs for 13min and is followed by silence and a second bell at ~18min for those who want to meditate in silence.
Using the breath to deepen our mindfulness
It’s often during the times when we are most stressed and busy, that meditation drops off our daily routine, even though we know it’s exactly the thing that would help us. Can you relate?
It’s an interesting catch-22 in which we can find ourselves resisting the very thing we need.
John O’Donohue, the Irish poet and philosopher, reflected on this phenomenon, explaining:
Stress is a perverted relationship with time, so that rather than being a subject of your own time, you become its target and victim, so that at the end of the day you probably haven’t had a true moment for yourself to relax, and just be.
While stress contracts time, meditation expands it, and regularly sprinkling mindfulness into our busy lives is a way to create more space. Enjoy today’s guided meditation and share any observations you have from the practice in the Facebook group by clicking the COMMUNITY button below.
About Elise Bialylew
Elise Bialylew is author of bestselling book, The Happiness Plan and founder of Mindful in May, the world’s largest online global mindfulness fundraising campaign that teaches thousands of people each year to meditate, while raising funds to build clean water projects in the developing world. A doctor trained in psychiatry, turned social entrepreneur and mindfulness expert, she’s passionate about supporting individuals and organisations to develop inner tools for greater wellbeing and flourishing, and offers workshops and training at The Mind Life Project. Her work has featured in the Huffington Post, New York Times, and on Australian Television.
Mindful Tip
Set an alarm for three times today that says BREATHE, and when it goes off, simply pause, tune into the breath and sense five breaths as they move in and out of the body. Actively use the out-breath to release any tension that you discover within the body. We unconsciously carry so much stress in our body. In doing these mini-mindfulness check-ins, we become more aware of the stress that is accumulating in the body and better able to let it go. Awareness is the first step to transformation. Mindfulness is a vehicle towards greater self-awareness which allows for new possibilities in our life.