This is Janine and welcome into the practice.
Today we're going to be
exploring a type of breath work,
A pranayama,
That allows us to rest in the
transitions,
Specifically the transitions between the inhale and the exhale and
then the exhale and the following inhale.
This becomes an interesting practice
because so often we find ourselves in liminal spaces,
That space between no
longer and not yet.
Perhaps we're moving into another beginning or laying the
foundations for change but we're not fully there yet but we're also not where
we were before and this can sometimes invite in feelings of restlessness or
frustration because we want to push through quickly or we feel maybe a
little bit stuck and it becomes very interesting to just rest in that space,
Not having an expectation or not leaning into a specific period of time
that we need to be in in order to move forwards.
So how it works is this.
We're
going to inhale in just nice and softly and then pause at the top of the inhale
just for a moment or two and then exhale out completely and then invite in
another pause at the end of that exhalation.
So we're not rushing in right
into the next aspect of breath but resting in the space between.
So let's
begin.
First just start by drawing your attention to the fact that you're
breathing here.
So noticing inhale in that intake of breath of what invites in
a sense of attention and then exhaling out releasing letting go.
Just a few more
breaths like this which invite in again this feeling of presence to breath or
what we call mindfulness of breath.
And now we'll take the next couple of
minutes accentuating enhancing space after the inhale and then after our
exhalation.
So find a cadence or a count of breath if that helps that works for
you.
So softly in taking it in and then pausing breath.
Exhaling out when you
need to and then inviting in a pause at the end of the exhalation not rushing
right away into what's next.
Resting in the spaces and I won't count the breath
for you as we all have a different feeling into the breath in a particular
moment that works for us.
So find what that is just resting in the space at the
top of the inhale and then the bottom of the exhale.
Maybe even exhaling out
through the mouth if that helps invite in a sense of space and grounding within
this practice.
You can even play around with how long you want to pause at the
top of the inhale and the bottom of the exhale.
As you take a little bit more
time in this you might be able to extend it or maybe not depending on what feels
comfortable.
Just allowing yourself to rest in that space of no longer and not
yet.
No longer an inhale but not yet an exhale.
And then the same thing in the
following aspect of the breath.
No longer an exhale but not yet an inhale.
Resting in those spaces and noticing the stillness and the heightened quality of
attention that happens when we can do just that.
So let's take a few more
rounds of breath leaning into those spaces.
Inhaling and pausing.
Exhaling and
pausing.
And let's do one more here and then after that full cycle of breath
meaning pausing at the top of the inhale and then the bottom of the exhale.
Allow
that to just dissolve away and come back into a natural rhythm of breath
for you.
Where we're still noticing breathing but we're not changing anything
else.
Just noticing how you're feeling.
It's always nice to pay attention to the
resonance of a practice without qualifying it as good or bad.
It just is.
I hope this has been of benefit to you.
Thank you for practicing with me here
and take care.
