Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:10] Hi everyone and welcome back to the Breathe and Release podcast.
[00:00:15] My name is Jillian Rose and I'm so glad that you're here with me today.
[00:00:22] As we are approaching the end of 2025, I thought to offer a meditation and breath work practice on setting deep intentions.
[00:00:32] Now, you can do this at any time of year, doesn't have to be New Year's, as intentions guide us through everything in life. And it's something that you can return to and you should return to time and time again.
[00:00:48] I hope you enjoy this practice.
[00:00:53] Begin by finding a comfortable seat or perhaps lying down in a way that allows your body to feel both alert and at ease.
[00:01:06] And let your hands rest wherever it feels natural.
[00:01:11] Maybe on your lap, on your belly, your heart, or maybe just by your sides.
[00:01:20] And let's begin by taking three intentional breaths together, marking this as a sacred time, time that belongs to you and your unfolding.
[00:01:36] Start to breathe deeply in through your nose, filling your belly, your ribs, your chest.
[00:01:49] And release through your mouth with an audible sigh, letting something go.
[00:01:59] And again, breathing in deeply.
[00:02:04] And exhale, releasing.
[00:02:12] One more time, drawing in this moment fully.
[00:02:18] And exhale, arriving here and now.
[00:02:26] And just allow your breath to find its own rhythm.
[00:02:31] Natural, unforced.
[00:02:36] Notice how the breath just happens by itself.
[00:02:42] You don't need to manufacture it or perfect it.
[00:03:01] We always begin where we are.
[00:03:05] Not where we think we should be, not where we were yesterday, but right here.
[00:03:12] So let's start with presence.
[00:03:15] Breathing in. Just notice the sensations in your body.
[00:03:22] And as you breathe out, allow yourself to soften just a little bit.
[00:03:31] Where are you holding tension?
[00:03:37] Maybe your jaw, your shoulders, your belly?
[00:03:44] With each exhale, just see if you can release a little bit more.
[00:03:49] Trusting that it's safe to let your guard down here.
[00:04:19] For the next few breaths, we'll practice a technique called box breathing to create calm and clarity.
[00:04:28] Begin by exhaling the air away to get as empty as possible.
[00:04:36] And then breathe in through your nose for a count of 1, 2, 3, 4. Hold the breath for 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhale through the nose for 1, 2, 3, four. And hold the breath 1, 2, 3, 4. Continue this pattern for several rounds at your own pace, allowing your nervous system to settle and your mind to clear.
[00:06:20] Slowly make your way back to a natural breath.
[00:06:27] And in this spaciousness, we'll explore what lives at the heart of Buddhist practice.
[00:06:34] Intention.
[00:06:36] In Buddhism, intention is understood as the seed of all of our actions.
[00:06:43] It's what shapes our words, our choices, our way of being in the world.
[00:06:49] Before we speak, before we Act. There is always intention.
[00:06:55] And it's this intention that determines not just what we do, but who we are becoming.
[00:07:06] The Buddha taught that intention mattered more than the outcome. We can't always control.
[00:07:14] A kind intention, even if it doesn't produce the result that we hoped for, still plants seeds of compassion in our heart and in the world.
[00:07:26] So we don't have to be perfect here. We simply have to pay attention to what we're cultivating.
[00:07:34] So. So now we're not setting goals or making resolutions.
[00:07:40] We're touching something much deeper, the intention that wants to guide your life.
[00:07:51] Place one hand on your heart if that resonates for you, and feel the steady rhythm there, the life force that has carried you through every season, every challenge, every transformation.
[00:08:09] This heart knows things that your thinking mind doesn't.
[00:08:15] This heart holds your deepest wisdom.
[00:08:25] Ask yourself gently, what matters most to me?
[00:08:32] Not what should matter, not what others value, but what genuinely lights up your heart.
[00:08:41] Let the question rest there without forcing an answer.
[00:08:47] What matters most to Sa?
[00:09:37] Maybe words are arising or images, or maybe just a feeling.
[00:09:43] Whatever comes is very welcome.
[00:09:47] Maybe it's connection, freedom, creativity, peace, service, joy, healing, authenticity.
[00:10:01] Or maybe it's not a word at all, but a sense, a knowing.
[00:10:12] Beneath all of our striving is a longing to come home to ourselves and to live from our wholeness rather than our wounds.
[00:10:24] So notice here.
[00:10:26] What is your heart longing for?
[00:10:30] Not to acquire something external, but to express something very essential, to remember something you've always known.
[00:11:00] So the intention becomes what wants to unfold through me, what's already here, waiting to be expressed.
[00:11:47] Now let's practice feeling this intention in the body.
[00:11:51] Because deep intentions aren't just ideas. They're not cognitive or rational.
[00:11:58] They're felt, embodied, and lived.
[00:12:02] So, breathing in.
[00:12:05] Imagine breathing your intention into every cell, into your heart, your belly, your limbs, your throat.
[00:12:19] What does this intention feel like in your body?
[00:12:26] Maybe you're noticing a warmth, an opening, or a softness.
[00:12:37] As you breathe out, imagine this intention radiating from you like light.
[00:12:45] Breathing in and breathing out.
[00:12:53] Let it become more than a concept.
[00:12:56] Let it be a lived experience.
[00:13:00] Let a yes resound through you, not just in mind, but in your bones, in your heart, in your gut.
[00:13:14] Sa, You might want to imagine looking back from the end of your life from that vantage point.
[00:13:50] What mattered the most to you?
[00:13:55] What mattered the most?
[00:14:06] Sa.
[00:14:39] Now, deep intention isn't about someday.
[00:14:43] It's about this moment. Right here, right now.
[00:14:49] So if your intention is love, how can you touch love in this very breath?
[00:14:57] If it's courage. What does one moment of courage feel like if it's presence?
[00:15:06] How can you be more fully here right now?
[00:15:12] Your intention is always available now.
[00:15:18] It's not something to achieve down the road, something to embody, to practice and to remember moment by moment.
[00:15:46] As we prepare to transition back, know that you can return to this place, to this intention, anytime.
[00:15:57] It doesn't require a meditation cushion or minutes of silence.
[00:16:03] It simply requires a breath, a pause, and a remembering.
[00:16:10] Before you speak, pause, then touch your intention before you act.
[00:16:18] Breathe and remember what matters.
[00:16:21] This is the practice.
[00:16:26] Maybe place both hands on your heart now, feeling your own touch, your own care, and perhaps make a promise to yourself.
[00:16:39] I will remember what matters.
[00:16:43] I will trust what wants to unfold through me.
[00:16:50] I will plant seeds of my deepest intention.
[00:16:55] Moment by moment.
[00:17:05] Begin to deepen your breath as you slowly, slowly come back whenever you're ready, gently opening the eyes if they've been closed.
[00:17:24] Thank you so much for this practice.
[00:17:28] May your intention guide you.
[00:17:31] May you remember that each moment plants a seed.
[00:17:36] And may you trust that you're not trying to become something you're not.
[00:17:41] You're simply allowing what's within you to blossom here and now.
