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Three-minute breathing space, AGE

The breathing space is a way to put a pause in what you are doing. It can help you notice and break your unhelpful, automatic habits. It’s also a chance to slow down for a few moments. Having paused and caught up with yourself, you can decide what to do next. There are three stages to it: Awareness, Gathering, and Expanding (hence AGE). A typical length of time for the breathing space is three minutes – one minute per stage – and so it’s sometimes called the three-minute breathing space. However, you can make it longer or shorter depending on the circumstances.

Once you have read the instructions, put this book down, and take three minutes to practice the breathing space.

 

1.

Bring Awareness to whatever is happening right now. (Assume a gently upright posture.) Become aware of your thoughts: what are you thinking right now? Allow your thoughts to be there, without pushing them away.
   

What are you feeling right now? Let your feelings be there too. Acknowledge them as they are, even if they are difficult.
   

Become aware of sensations in your body, especially any strong physical sensations. As best you can, just allow them to be there and bring an attitude of friendly curiosity toward them.
 

2.

Then, Gather your attention on the breath, becoming aware of the breath coming in and going out of your nostrils and the movement of your chest and belly. Focus on the physical sensation of the breath. When you breathe in, it may feel cool, and when you breathe out, it may feel warm. Physical sensations of the breath can be tickling, throbbing, pulsating, hot, a dull ache, or sharp pain. If you feel something in your belly, nostril, or upper lip, no matter how slight, this is sensation.
 

3.

Finally, Expand your awareness to include the whole body. As best you can, feel the physical sensations in the whole of your body. If you wish, to sense the body as a whole, you could imagine the breath going in and out of the pores in your skin, as if your whole body was breathing. If you notice any areas of tension or tightness, you could direct your attention there. You could imagine directing your breath to these areas, breathing into and exploring the sensations with the breath.