Breath Awareness with Children: Finding the Gap

The Om School kids have been working with moon phases this semester.  We're keeping journals with observations and verses for practice.  This is a fun way to keep our mindfulness practice constant and to become more aware of our interrelatedness with nature.

Because tonight is the new or dark moon, I shared this guided meditation yesterday in class.  I hope you'll enjoy it too!

"Sit comfortably with your back supported.  You can sit in a chair or on the floor.  You can even try this exercise lying down; however, this might make you sleepy!  It’s best if we stay awake during this exercise! 

Breathe normally.  Notice where you can feel your breath.  Can you feel your breath under your nose?  In your chest?  In your belly?  Place a hand on your belly and see what happens.  Do you notice your belly rising and falling?  See how your belly gets bigger with your in-breath and smaller with your out-breath.  Stay with your breathing like this for a moment.  Notice the rising and falling of breath – in and out… deep and slow… like waves on the sea.  Don’t try to control your breath.  Just notice how it feels.  It may slow down on its own.  We can call this our Ocean Breathing.
 
With your hands by your sides, continue Ocean Breathing for a minute or maybe even two. 
 
Now, let’s focus our attention on our in-breath.  As we breathe in, we can say quietly to ourselves:
“Breathing in: I am aware of my in-breath.”
 
And as we breathe out, we say:
“Breathing out: I am aware of my out-breath.”
 
Simple enough, right?  We can even shorten the phrases to:
“IN.  OUT.”
 
Let's try this a few times. 
 
Now let’s try something new.  What happens in between breathing in and breathing out?  Can you keep your attention there?  Notice that point where the in-breath transforms into the out-breath.  Notice what is there -- or what is not there.  It's sort of a gap.  

Continue breathing normally and notice the gap between the in-breath and the out-breath.  It’s like a tiny break – a beautiful rest as one thing continues into another.  It’s like the dark moon pausing in stillness before beginning anew."

Mindfulness with the Moon

By practicing with the moon, we can give continuity to our practice.  We can also become more aware of our interrelatedness with nature and seasonal rhythms.  By bringing rhythm and intention to our practice, we become more consistent and rooted in our practice.

The waxing moon is like an in-breath.  While the moon is growing, we can explore new ideas, nurture our creativity, and plant intentions to grow like seeds under the energy of the increasing moon.  

For centuries, the full moon has been a metaphor for the awakened mind – the inherent nobility that dwells within each of us.  With the full moon, we can practice feeling this inner-nobility.  We can return home to the vast spaciousness of our own true nature.

The waning moon is like the out-breath.  It is a time for letting go.  It is a time for noticing difficult emotions and negative mental formations and shining our light of awareness on them so that they diminish with the vanishing moon.  It’s also a time for slowing down, for noticing when we’re caught in the habit-energy of rushing, and preparing to rest with the dark moon.

The dark or new moon is the pause between the in-breath and the out-breath.  It is the quiet space where we can rest before continuing on to the next phase of our own journey.

Here are some verses for you to enjoy with the children in your care. 

Verse for the waning crescent moon:

“Sister Moon, your horns point west, breathe in, breathe out then take your rest.”

Verses for the new moon.  January 30, 2014:

Breathing in, my belly grows

Breathing out, my breathing slows

In between I feel the space

Here there is a quiet place

Wish for the Fields

Night is dark, and cold, and long
Winter's hold is still so strong,
But beneath the earthen crust
Underneath the frozen dust
Life is growing, moving, thriving
Roots are drinking, resting, striving,
Buds are swelling on the trees
In the hives, still sleep the bees
But moving humming strumming sing
Soon we all will welcome spring!

 - Author unknown

A glimpse of our program....

Om School Mindfulness Cooperative - slideshow

The Pause Between

A remarkable synchronicity is taking place this week.  We’re coming to the mid-way point to spring under a new moon.  Waldorf schools celebrate this mid-way point as Candlemas.  In ancient times, the holiday was honored as Imbolc – which means, “in the belly” and refers to the lambing season and the earth’s quickening.  The Celts honored the goddess Brigid at this time – goddess of hearth and home, of poetry, sacred fire, and water. 

We know this holiday by another name: Groundhog Day.  It’s the time for peeking our heads out of our wintery dens and noticing the first, oh-so-subtle signs of spring.  Just beneath the earth surface, life is beginning to stir.

This mid-way point to spring feels like the pause between the in-breath of winter and the out-breath of spring.

The moon is also in the place in-between this week.  The new or dark moon is the quiet moment between waxing and waning… the gap where we can take a rest -- and where we might just notice something unnameable.

In the next few posts, I'll share some stories, verses, poems, and a guided meditation to enrich your experience of this beautiful time of year.  If you were able to attend yesterday's class, I hope you enjoyed the bonfire, let go of difficulties with the waning moon, and let the light of your awareness shine with the coming of spring. 

With metta,
Chelsea