Be More Positive & Engaged With Others - A Mindful Breathing Practice
Channel: BExceptional
Date: 08/08/2019

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Transcript
Being More Positive and Engaged Mindfulness Exercise

Welcome to this mindfulness meditation designed to help you feel more positive and engaged.
I’d like you to sit comfortably and let your hands rest on your thighs, knees, or wherever they are most comfortable for you.
It’s best to keep your back straight, your chest open and be seated with a posture that is relaxed, confident and aware.
Now close your eyes and begin this mindfulness practice with a few deep inhales and exhales.
Fully breath through your nostrils into your body.
Feel the breath move inward, with your stomach and chest expanding until your lungs are full.
Then exhale, releasing your breath until you fully contract your stomach and chest.
Now let your shoulders soften and allow that sense of relaxation to continue down your arms and into your hands which are now resting lightly, where they are most comfortable.
Once you’ve taken a few deep breaths, then let your breath settle into a normal breathing pattern.
Don’t try to control it, let it be and just observe the flow of breath and how it interacts with the various parts of the body.
As you breathe in, I want you to focus on being aware of the path of your breath
And as you breathe out focus on softening and relaxing your body.
Let your forehead relax and your eyebrows soften and allow that sensation to flow down your cheekbones and into your jaw so that your face has no tension at all.
And as you do all this, continue to breathe in awareness and breath out softness as you relax your whole body.
As you continue to breathe normally, slowly and gradually allow a smile to spread across your face.
Create a smile that beams with positivity and engages the entirety of your face.
Feel the muscles around your mouth expand, how your lips feel as they part and expose your teeth, 
Feel the muscles around your eyes and forehead move up as the smile grows and projects happiness and positivity to the world. 
Now keep smiling while bringing your awareness to your heart. 
How does your heart feel when you smile this way? What other sensations or feelings come into your awareness when you smile?
For a moment savour these emotions and feelings as you continue to breathe in awareness of your smile and exhale softness and relaxation into your body.
Slowly let go of your smile and allow the muscles around the mouth, cheeks, eyes, and forehead move back into their normal position. 
Once there move your awareness back to your heart – how does the heart feel now? 
What other sensations, feelings, and emotions can you sense when you aren’t smiling?
What differences have you noticed?
Then slowly bring your awareness back to your breath, breathing in awareness and breathing out relaxation.
If your mind wanders, that’s ok, that’s normal and without any judgment just bring it back to focus on the cadence of your breathing.
Now slowly allow a smile to spread across your face and just like before keep smiling, whilst you bring your awareness to your heart. 
How does your heart feel when you smile this way? What other sensations or feelings come into your awareness?

As you do this note that you can use your smile to reset how you feel and experience the world. If you ever feel a sense of negativity or you aren’t engaged positively with the people around you, know that you can use your breathing to anchor you in the present moment and your smile to experience more positive emotion.

Now if you are ready, whilst you continue to smile, bring all the positive feelings and emotions that go with it and slowly reconnect with your chair, your environment, you, me, my voice and slowly open your eyes, feeling a sense of positive engagement with the world.