Breathing Space

What to expect

The three-minute breathing space, in its three steps. A minute noticing what is here without changing it, a minute gathering your attention on the breath, and a minute widening it to the whole body. At the end the three steps are named, notice, gather, widen, so you can take them anywhere.

How to listen:

• Sitting or lying down, anywhere you can stop for a few minutes. Not while driving.
• Your eyes can close or rest low.
• Headphones help: two low tones sit under the first minutes.
• Afterwards, the practice is yours: notice, gather, widen, whenever you need a pause.

About

Safety and aftercare. Nothing here asks you to change your breathing or hold it. If attention on the breath feels uncomfortable, rest it on the feeling of your feet or your hands instead. You can stop at any point.

Credits. The three-minute breathing space comes from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, the work of Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale. Its three steps are as the sat-chit-ananda.com page on the pause meditation gives them: a minute noticing what is here without changing it, a minute gathering attention on the breath, a minute widening it to the whole body.

Written by Lucas + Twins. Voice: Lucas.

Transcript

Opening

This is a breathing space. Three minutes, in three steps.

Feel what is holding the body up.

Part one: What is here

Notice what is here now.

Notice any thoughts passing through.

Any feeling, as it is.

Sensations in the body.

Nothing here needs changing.

Part two: Gathering on the breath

Now gather attention to the breath.

Feel the belly as it breathes.

The breath comes by itself.

When the mind wanders, come back.

Back to the belly.

Part three: Widening to the whole body

Now widen around the breath.

Feel the whole body breathing.

Sense the body’s edges.

The space around them.

Let all of it be here.

Part four: Anywhere

Say inwardly: notice, gather, widen.

Take this breath into what comes next.