Hello and welcome to Breathwork for Stress Relief.
Today we are going to move through a short guided meditation working with a three part breath pattern.
So this breath pattern is going to draw in 80% of your inhale into the belly,
Another 20% of your inhale through up in the chest,
And then the exhale is just a letting go.
So placing a hand on the belly and another hand on the heart is a good way to feel for how this breath pattern is going to work.
So now breathing first into the belly,
Wanting to imagine that there's a balloon in the abdomen.
So as you breathe in,
You're going to feel that balloon inflate and your hand will move out with your abdominal muscles.
Just practice doing a couple of belly breaths,
Breathing into the space under your hand.
And for the next breath,
You're going to be breathing into the chest.
So with your hand on your heart,
Take a breath in,
Directing it into that heart space,
Feeling the hand on the heart move out as the lungs expand and fill with air.
Take a couple of chest breaths to feel the difference.
And then the third part of the breath is just the exhale.
So a very gentle release out through the mouth.
So let's put the three of them together.
So in through the belly,
In through the chest,
Letting it go.
Noticing and just feeling that it may not be the most comfortable to breathe fully into the belly and breathing into the belly and then into the chest can feel a little bit uncomfortable at first.
This is absolutely okay.
These sensations are part of the journey and it might take a moment for you to get into the pattern or into a rhythm that feels really good for you and for your body.
And it's also really important to remember with any of these practices that they are just that,
A practice.
So give yourself grace.
Know that as you breathe more consistently,
As you're building your own practice at home,
As you're trying out these different patterns and ways of breathing,
It will start to feel differently in your body.
It'll start to feel differently in your breath.
So in the meantime,
Just lean into the discomfort,
Lean into the sensations.
Another thing worth pointing out with this three-part breath pattern is that if you begin breathing too quickly,
If you're speeding up the pace and your body's not quite ready for that level of activation,
You will likely feel a lot of energy surging and moving through the body.
This may show up in the form of tingling sensations.
It could feel like some heat in areas of the body.
And there's also another thing called tetany,
Which is the tightening of the hands,
The muscles around the jaw and the lips,
And also sometimes the feet.
It most commonly shows up in the hands and the mouth.
You may have heard somebody refer to crab hands or claw hands.
So if you feel some tightening in the hands,
Know that this is a sensation called tetany.
It is completely normal,
But it often occurs when we are breathing too quickly for what our body is really ready for.
This is a shorter practice.
We are not looking to push the body into a state of over-activation.
We are looking to release some stress,
To release some energy,
But in a really gentle and grounded way.
So allow this three-part breath to be slow and intentional.
You can even begin breathing in through the nose and then letting the exhale go out through the mouth if that feels a little bit safer to start.
So regardless,
It's going to still be 80% of the breath into the belly,
20% of the breath into the chest,
And then letting it all go.
So you can either breathe in the nose,
In the nose,
Out the mouth,
Or in the mouth,
In the mouth,
And out the mouth.
Feel free to try both of these on to see which one feels the most supportive for your experience.
All right,
So let's begin.
Bring yourself into a comfortable position.
You can either lie on the floor or a mat for this practice,
Or you can remain seated.
If you have never breathed in a three-part pattern before,
Lying on the back may be more supportive for your first time as it allows greater access to that diaphragm belly breathing.
But begin in whatever place feels the most relaxing and the most supportive for your body.
Allowing your energy to settle.
Noticing any thoughts that are coming through.
Noticing how your breath is just in this moment before we begin this practice.
Calling in what we need today.
Working with the mantra,
I am at peace.
Connect with your body.
Taking a scan from the base of the spine all the way up your back into the head.
Noticing any tightening muscles.
Notice any desire for movement or repositioning with the body.
Giving gratitude to yourself for choosing to carve out a moment of your day to sink into this practice.
Getting ready to begin the three-part breath.
Placing a hand on the belly,
Another hand on the heart just to begin.
Breathing into the belly,
Into the chest,
Letting it go.
Ah,
Continuing breathing on your own.
Remembering that you are in full control of this experience.
Really connect with the body.
Tune into the sensations.
Do you need to breathe slower?
Do you need to speed your breath up?
Do you need to try bringing your breath in through the nose or in through the mouth?
Trusting and honoring exactly what you need in this moment.
Feeling the ground beneath you.
Feeling the warmth of your body beneath both of your hands.
The expansion of the belly,
The expansion of the chest,
The release of the breath.
As you begin to settle into the rhythm of your own breath and your own body,
Allow space for anything to be present.
Honoring what is present for you.
Breath work can draw emotion up and out of the body.
You may feel a sensation of tears,
Laughter,
Grief.
There's a lot that lives under the umbrella of stress.
As we allow the body to breathe in peace and breathe out stress,
Know that there may be some charge,
There may be some emotion that is leaving the body with it.
Allow that energy to flow.
Belly,
Chest,
Release.
Stay focused on the breath.
Breathing in peace.
Breathing in serenity.
Releasing anything that is not serving you with every exhale.
Noticing if there's any sound that wants to come through with the exhale.
Maybe it's an audible sigh.
Allowing your body to move and to stretch,
Especially if you're feeling any energy building in different areas of the body,
In different groups of muscles.
Feel free to shake out your hands,
Stretch your arms.
Really listen to what you need.
As you slow your breath down,
You can drop the three-part pattern whenever you're ready.
Beginning to elongate each breath,
Slowly inhaling through the nose,
Releasing through the mouth.
Making each breath a little bit longer and slower than the last.
Taking a scan of the body again,
Starting at the root,
The legs,
Moving all the way up the spine to the head.
Letting your body complete any movements,
Any stretches.
Really taking note of the quality of the sensations that exist in your physical being right now.
Coming back to our mantra,
I am at peace.
Bringing yourself into a space of stillness,
A space of rest for just a moment.
Feeling the ground beneath your body again,
Feeling the support of Mother Earth,
Taking a deep cleansing breath.
Just acknowledging anything that's present.
If there's any emotion that's still lingering,
There's any sensations in the body that are more heightened or you're more aware of.
Letting all parts of you have a place and have a voice.
As you're lying here,
Letting all of your energy settle like a snow globe that was shaken up,
Letting each little snowflake just fall and rest and find its place.
Taking an inventory,
What do you need to release?
What needs to be let go of to make more room for peace?
Slowly bringing yourself back into the present moment,
Bringing yourself back into the room.
I'm listening for any sounds outside of your space.
Maybe gently blinking the eyes open,
Taking a look around and noticing some objects that are in your room.
Just orienting yourself back into the here and now.
Reconnecting with your physical body by placing your hands on both legs,
Gently squeezing or tapping up and down the leg.
Waking up this grounding energy in the body again,
Feeling these are my legs,
Maybe tapping up through the core.
This is my center.
Giving yourself a hug or a squeeze.
Placing the hands on the face or the top of the head.
Breathing into all of this new space that you have freed up in your body by engaging in today's practice.
And with that,
We are complete for today's practice.
Be gentle with yourself today.
Take care of yourself,
Especially if there was some emotion that came through.
Know that we just moved a lot of energy through the body,
Even if it didn't particularly feel like it.
So hydrate yourself,
Maybe take some time to ground outside,
Touch a tree,
Get your feet in the earth if that's possible.
And keep coming back to yourself and remembering,
I am at peace.
