Guided Meditation: Become Present with Your Breath

Tyagi Dhyan leads a 10-minute guided meditation to help you become more present with your breath.
Dhyan is a longtime meditator and Ananda teacher.

Transcription

Tyagi Dhyan:

Welcome, everyone. My name is Dhyan. I live here at Ananda Village.

And in today's guided meditation, we're going to use the breath as a tool to help relieve us from any tensions of the past, any concerns for the future, and any thoughts of the present. And Paramhansa Yogananda said something very interesting. He said that we are all but waves on the great ocean of spirit. And so let us use the current of the breath to help relieve any stresses, any tensions, to come to that inner stillness deep within ourselves.

So let us begin by closing our eyes and uplifting the gaze to the point between the eyebrows. And as we look upwards, let us tune into the flow of our breath, the coolness as we inhale and the warmth as we exhale.

And as you draw your mind to the flow of your breath, become more aware of its rhythm, as if waves crashing on the shore—not trying to control the breath, just allowing it to flow freely, observing it calmly with interest.

And to help relax the body, let's take a double breath, a short followed by a long inhalation through the nostrils, tensing the body. Tense and vibrate, then throw the breath out, relaxing deeply. Do this two more times: tense with will; relax and feel. Inhale, drawing the energy in tension, releasing it completely and feel the space of that deep relaxation, of the energy being released from your muscles.

And once again, with uplifted gaze, bring your concentration to the flow of your breath and become so present with that flow, allowing yourself feel the uprising energy as you inhale. Draw your awareness up to the point between the eyebrows. And as you exhale, feel a sense of deep relaxation, of letting go, of opening yourself to receive the peace of the present moment.