Tara Brach - Meditation: Breathing Our Way to Peace & Freedom

Episode Date: November 30, 2023

Meditation: Breathing Our Way to Peace & Freedom - This meditation guides us in collecting attention with an intentional long deep breath, and awakening a full relaxed presence as the breath resumes in its natural rhythm. Resting fully in this presence is the gateway to deep peace and inner freedom. "Little breath breathe me gently, row me, for I am the river I am learning to cross." – W.S. Merwin

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. Let yourself be aware of this body sitting here breathing and gently extend the in-breath. So you breathe in and fill the chest and the lungs. So it's a long, deep, full in-breath. And then let the out-breath be very slow.

slow enough so you can feel the sensations of releasing the breath as it goes out. And again, a full deep in-breath and a very slow release, letting go, relaxing outward, releasing. And again, a nice full in-breath you might count to five slowly with the in-breath and matching it with the out-breath, counting to five, slowly letting go. and continuing, breathing in, nice full in-breath. So the in-breath and the out-breath are matched and there's not a pause between, fully filling up on the in-breath and that slow release with the out-breath,

keeping the attention with the flow of the breath. You might sense when you're breathing in that you're opening fully to receive, even on a cellular level, and with the out breath, a full releasing, letting go into the universe around you, relaxing outward, staying connected with the breath, opening to receive with the in-breath, filling the chest in the lungs, a slow conscious release with the out-breath, letting go, letting go. And that gently allowing the breath to resume into its natural rhythm, yet still resting with the breath, relaxing with the breath, letting the breath be in

the foreground and yet aware of the sounds around you, other sensations in the body, aware of the quality of presence it's right here, that alert inner stillness, that which is aware, feeling the breath and scanning through the body to notice if there's any areas of particular tightness and tension. And sensing that you could bring the breath and the attention right there, softening, loosening. You might feel the shoulders from the inside out and let whatever noddedness or tangles that are there just float in awareness, breathing with the life that's there, letting go with the out breath, feeling the breath and feeling the hands, perhaps softening the hands a little,

feeling the hands from the inside out as you soften them. You're breathing and feeling the aliveness in the hands, letting there be an openness in the chest so that you feel the breath right at the heart, breathing and feeling the sensations, the feelings that felt sensed at the heart simultaneously, softening in the belly, and the feeling, and the sensations, And letting this movement of the breath be felt in a softening belly, deep in the torso. The hands are soft, chest is open, belly soft and feeling the breath deep in the torso, moment to moment. You might feel the breath and feel the sensations in the feet.

Feel the places of contact and warmth where the feet touches the floor. inside the feet, the aliveness. You feel the feet, the hands, soft, chest open, belly soft. You feel the breath through the whole body. So breath comes in, opening to receive, prana, the life force through the whole body, soft and receptive, as if you're expanding like a balloon with the in-breath,

The out breath is settling or releasing or letting go. The whole body breathing and continuing to rest the attention and the experience of this whole body breathing, moment to moment. Or if you find it easier to feel the breath in one particular area, the in-flow, outflow at the nostrils, the rising, falling at the chest, the expanding, settling at the belly.

You can rest the attention there too. It's letting the breath be exactly as it is, no need to control it. If you feel there's a controlling of the breath, you might listen to sound for a few moments, noticing that sound is known spontaneously. There's nothing to do. And then bringing that same receptive, attention to the inflow and outflow of the breath.

Intimate presence with the sensations of breathing. If some other strong experience calls your attention, some strong unpleasant sensations perhaps in the body or difficult emotion arises, what we call the inner weather, sadness or fear, anger, anger. See if you can bring the breathing to wherever you're experiencing a strong emotion or sensation. Just breathe with it with interest and care, being with that weather until it changes

or disappears. And then come back gently to the simple movement of the breath, this whole body breathing. If you notice the mind has drifted, not a problem. Simply sense this as a moment of waking up and gently relax back and coming back to the next inflow or outflow of the breath, sensing how it feels in this moment, this body breathing, sensing if it's possible to relax even more right now with the movement of the breath. A relaxed yet intimate presence as the breath comes in and the breath goes out, letting the breath be in the foreground and sensing in the background that alert, inner present, that stillness, that which is aware and notice if you let go of the breath now and just be that presence itself, nothing to do,

letting go into what is at home in your deepest nature.