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Guided Breath Awareness

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Summary

Breath awareness meditation is when we focus upon our breathing to create a sense of mindfulness. It is considered one of the simplest forms of meditation, however it is still very effective and can provide many benefits including mindfulness, reduced anxiety and better sleep quality. Breathing exercises can be conducted either as a guided meditation, or it can also be an unguided meditation with no additional help. These can also be combined with other forms of meditation such as moving or visualisation meditations. See below for further examples of breathing meditations.

Guided Breathing Exercises

Breathing exercises are often experienced with the help of a guide, such as an audio or video recording. They can also be practiced in a class, such as during a Yoga or a Qigong lesson. When preparing to start an exercise, it is important to get into a comfortable position. If you are at home, it is best to either lie down, or sit in a position with your back straight but not too tight. It is your choice whether to close your eyes or not. Many people prefer closing their eyes as there can be fewer distractions. Popular breathing examples include a video or audio recording that will guide you through different environments, such as beaches or forests. These are known as visualisation meditations and they are often combined with breathing exercises. It would be best to close your eyes in these meditations as it becomes easier to visualise these places.
There are many different sources to practice these meditations. A popular source is YouTube, which includes the following examples:

Breathe with Sandy
https://www.youtube.com/@BreatheWithSandy/videos

Great Meditation
https://www.youtube.com/@GreatMeditation/videos

Caroline McCready
https://www.youtube.com/@carolinemccready/videos

There are also popular smartphone and tablet Apps that have many different breathing exercises. These are also helpful as they can be listed to and provide many different meditations. Here are some examples

Calm
Headspace
Insight Timer
Breathe
Prana Breath
BreathWrk
Paced Breathing