Welcome.
My name is Jamie Michael Graham.
Thank you for being here today.
We're going to explore something simple,
Yet so profoundly impactful.
How to breathe.
Now you might be thinking,
I already know how to breathe.
I've been doing it my whole life.
But here's the thing,
Most of us are breathing in a way that's actually working against us,
Rather than for us.
Let's start with a simple truth.
You were born breathing the right way.
As a baby,
You naturally belly-breathed,
Deeply and effortlessly.
But as life happened,
Stress,
Anxiety,
Societal pressures,
Posture changes,
And even the way we speak,
We shifted away from that deep,
Natural breath and developed a habit of chest breathing.
Not only that,
But many of us became mouth breathers without even realizing it.
And while it might seem like breathing is breathing,
As long as we're getting oxygen,
The reality is there's a massive difference in the quality of breath.
Nose breathing is key.
It's how our bodies were designed to take in air,
Filtering,
Humidifying,
And even boosting oxygen absorption.
But for many of us,
Due to changes in our skull structure over generations,
It's harder now than it was for our ancestors.
Our nasal cavities have shrunk,
Our sinuses aren't as efficient,
And as a result,
We've become more disconnected from our natural breath.
So today,
We're going to reconnect together.
Let's begin by simply observing.
Place your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your belly.
Breathe as you normally do.
No need to change anything yet.
Just notice.
Observe.
Which hand is moving more?
Is it your right hand on your chest or your left hand on your belly?
If your chest is rising more than your belly,
You're experiencing what most people do.
Chest breathing.
So now,
Let's try something that will naturally guide your body back into deep diaphragmatic breathing without forcing it.
Take both your hands and interlock your fingers behind your head like you're about to lean back and relax.
Let's stay upright and just start breathing again.
Notice how this position naturally bypasses chest breathing and encourages your belly to expand with each inhale.
Feel this.
Get used to this.
Be present with it.
Right hand on your heart,
Left hand on your belly,
And see if you can replicate that deep belly breath.
Feel your left hand rise and fall while your right hand remains still.
Let's go deeper.
Inhale deep into the belly.
Let it fill up completely.
Allow the breath to overflow into your chest.
Feeling your right hand gently rise.
Inhaling,
Filling your chest all the way up to your head.
Now hold it for a moment.
And sigh it out through your mouth.
Don't hold back.
Let it go.
Give yourself permission to be loud and release.
Let's do this again.
Inhale through your nose,
Filling the belly,
Chest,
All the way up through the head.
Hold it for a moment.
Now this time,
When we exhale,
We're going to exhale through the nose using a technique called ujjayi breath.
How you do ujjayi breath is you're going to act like you're fogging up a mirror.
Only your mouth is going to be closed.
You're going to continue to create that friction in the back of your throat.
And you're going to exhale through the nose.
So it'll sound like this.
That friction or turbulence in the back of your throat slows down the exhale,
Creating a calming effect.
Let it rise into your chest and fill all the way up to your head and exhale slowly through the nose,
Creating the back of your throat as if you're fogging up the mirror.
This order is so that the sigh releases frustration.
Now that you know how to really breathe,
I invite you to bring this awareness into your daily life.
Breath is the foundation of everything.
Your energy,
Your clarity,
Your well-being.
I hope you'll join me for deeper,
More advanced breathwork practices in the future.
Thank you for learning how to breathe with me.
Aho and namaste.
