Written by:

Updated on:

February 18, 2024

The breath is always with us. We don’t need to force it to happen or control it. It flows by its own accord. Because of its continual presence, it can serve as a home base for our attention, anchoring the drifting mind.

This guided meditation script is a practice that uses the breath as an anchor for our awareness. It may help to increase relaxation, reduce stress, and focus the mind.

You can use this script for your personal practice or to guide others if you’re a meditation teacher. Read on to discover ways of using this script wisely and effectively.

  • Practice Time: Approx. 20 minutes
  • Purpose: Anchoring the Mind
  • May Help With: Relaxation, Presence, Calm
  • Practice Level: Intermediate
re-relaxing the drifting mind, Relaxing the Mind with a Home Base Meditation Script

Download this Entire Guided Meditation Script for Free, Just Enter Your First Name and Email Address:

Here’s a Sample of the “Relaxing the Mind with a Home Base Meditation Script” Guided Meditation Script:

Please find a sitting position
that allows you to be alert,
your spine erect but not rigid,
and also relaxed.

Now close your eyes
and rest your hands
in an easy effortless way.

Take a few moments
to scan through your body,
and wherever possible,
soften and release
obvious areas of physical tension.

We begin the practice of coming back
by establishing our home base.

While there are many possible anchors
such as sound or sensations throughout the body,
the most common
and the one we’ll be exploring here is
the breath.

Please breathe naturally
and simply notice where the breath is easiest to detect
and where the breath also feels pleasant or at least neutral.

re-relaxing the drifting mind, Relaxing the Mind with a Home Base Meditation Script

So you might be paying attention to
how the breath feels as it flows
in and out of your nose,
you might feel the touch of your breath
around your nostrils
or on your upper lip,
or perhaps you feel the movement of your chest
or the rising and falling of your abdomen,
or perhaps you feel your whole body like a balloon
expanding with the in breath,
deflating with the out breath.

So just take some moments
to bring your attention
to the sensations of breathing in one of these areas,
a relaxed attentiveness.

There’s no need to control the breath.

Rather, sense you’re receiving the breath
much like you’d listen to sound.

With a relaxed awareness,
discover what the breath is really like
as a changing experience of sensations.

re-relaxing the drifting mind, Relaxing the Mind with a Home Base Meditation Script

Download this Entire Guided Meditation Script for Free, Just Enter Your First Name and Email Address:

How to Use the Relaxing the Mind with a Home Base Meditation Script

Compared to many other meditation scripts, this is a longer practice that requires at least 20 minutes for relaxed reading. Consider the following ideas for ways of incorporating this script into your personal and/or professional practice:

  • Record this script for personal use, replaying it back to yourself when you have 20+ minutes for practice.
  • Lead this meditation script during a workshop or retreat, focusing on the power of breath awareness.
  • Record this script and share it with your clients via email newsletter.
  • Lead this practice in one-to-one sessions with intermediate or advanced students.

It is important to note that the breath is not always a safe and supportive anchor for people. In some cases, breath awareness may be dysregulating for people. It would be wise to modify this script in the beginning to let students know that they can choose to work with an alternative anchor for their attention, such as sounds around them or the feeling of their hands in their lap. 

Learn more about alternative anchors to the breath.

Conclusion 

When the thinking mind is lost in worry or rumination, it can be helpful to come back to the breath. We don’t need to change our breath in any way; we can simply follow its natural, gentle flow. We can give the mind a place to land - to rest a while.

Use this script with care and curiosity - either in your personal practice or when guiding others. Remember that you can modify this script in any way that suits your unique teaching voice or the needs of your students.

About the author 

Sean Fargo

Sean Fargo is the Founder of Mindfulness Exercises, a former Buddhist monk of 2 years, a trainer for the mindfulness program born at Google, an Integral Coach from New Ventures West, and an international mindfulness teacher trainer. He can be reached at [email protected]

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