Hi everyone,
Hope you're having a great day.
My name is Helton and today we'll be going through a breath focus exercise but I'll be adding a little bit of a twist in there essentially instead of just Focusing on our breath and every time we notice that we're off of the breath bringing our attention or our awareness back to the breath We'll be counting Instead of counting from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 We'll be counting backwards.
So just adding a little bit more that we need to focus on a little bit more to help us with our ability to stay present and in the moment and Again,
As always just making sure that you're gentle and kind to yourself Whenever you notice that you're off of the breath or that you've lost your count It's totally fine.
It happens.
I just did this practice earlier today,
And I lost count a few times But what matters is how you bring yourself back?
How you praise yourself for noticing that you were off of the moment?
And how you find that balance of ease and effort?
We don't want to put too much effort into it because Then we're straining We want to find that sense of ease that sense of calm and Just understanding that showing up And trying your best is what matters Awesome,
If you're ready to get started,
Let's find our mindful posture whether you're Sitting on the floor Legs crossed making sure that your sit bones are connected to the surface beneath you If you're sitting in a chair making sure that your feet are firmly placed on the ground Or if you're laying down on your back just making sure that your Whole back is supported Taking a few more moments just to get yourself as comfortable as possible Whether that's grabbing a blanket or anything else that you might need You can place your hands on your lap Or by your side The spine is long Dignified Allow the shoulders to move down and back away from the ears Release any tension you may be holding on to in the jaw and just allow it to release And if you haven't done so already you can begin to close the eyelids or bring your gaze down in front of you Crown of the head shining up towards the sky As you bring awareness to our breath The deep inhales and exhales in through the nose out through the nose It's beginning to check in with the quality of your breath.
Is it jagged?
Is it short?
Seeing if you can invite more smoothness to your breath and if you feel that your breath is Not flowing all the way down to the belly and if it's just stuck in the chest and the shoulders See if you can consciously begin to direct the breath all the way down to the belly Noticing how the belly rises as you inhale How it falls as you exhale which allows the diaphragm to contract and expand with every cycle of breath Activating the parasympathetic nervous system and just allowing for a sense of vivid relaxation to come over the body as we continue Finding our natural rhythm And for this practice,
We'll try to keep our inhale and our exhales the same length As we shift into our counting.
I'll give you two options here.
So you can either count backwards from five or You can count backwards from ten And if this is your first time doing it,
I would say let's start with five.
So you would go five inhale five exhale and then four inhale four exhale Just noticing how that feels for you and If you do find yourself losing focus Awareness or if you forget which number you're on just allow yourself to reset and start again from five We'll give you the next few moments of silence just to practice this Just remember to find that ease Just noticing Your self-talk Just reminding yourself to be calm To be kind to be gentle with yourself Even if you may find this difficult You may notice that as you continue with this practice That it may be Easier once you find your groove once you find your ability to stay present Stay on the count to stay on the breath And if the opposite is true,
That's totally fine as well Some days may be easier than others But that's why we show up and we practice again,
And again Now as we slowly begin to transition out of our practice Let's take a few deep cleansing breaths together Inhaling in through the nose and exhaling out through the mouth deep inhale and exhale deep inhale and exhale one last deep inhale and exhale As you close our practice today,
We thank ourselves for being here for showing up and we take this newly cultivated awareness Into the rest of our day and we share it with those that we come into contact with We show gratitude for the earth below us the sky above us and the fire within us and I wish you all more joy love and abundance You can slowly begin to Open your eyelids.
You can rock your neck from side to side and roll out the shoulders Come back into your space.
Take a look around you Notice how you feel What is the body telling you?
What is the breath telling you and as we continue to practice these styles of practices these techniques Especially when it comes to the breath You notice that as your breath slows down You're not expending so much energy into that Automatic breathing that we do and as a result this conservation of energy allows for increased Mental clarity and just an ability to be present as we continue this I hope that you find are able to embody these improvements Embody these qualities that really do help you to Show up and to be connected to not only yourself,
But those around you Again was my pleasure Practicing with you today,
And I hope you have an amazing day.
See you next time
