When we don't breathe deeply enough,
We often don't get enough oxygen in and don't fully remove all of the carbon dioxide from our system.
So that can get us stuck in this cycle of I'm stressed so I'm not breathing properly,
But I'm not breathing properly so it's actually making me feel a little more stressed and anxious.
So this particular breathing practice is to even out our inhales and our exhales so that you're getting a good amount of oxygen in and then you're getting out a good amount of carbon dioxide on your exhale.
Ideally you'll breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth,
But if that feels uncomfortable then just go with whatever feels best and allows you to get through the practice.
So start by just finding a comfortable seat and just breathe.
Just notice your breath,
What it's currently doing right now,
And start moving towards in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And you might notice that either your inhale or your exhale is a little bit longer.
Usually one is longer than the other for a lot of people.
And what we're going to do is start evening those out.
So let's start with a count of three.
So we're going to inhale,
Two,
Three,
Exhale,
Two,
Three.
Again inhale,
Two,
Three,
Exhale,
Two,
Three.
Do a couple more of those on your own at your own counting pace.
And let's see if we can extend that to five.
So ready,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Now maybe that felt easy,
Maybe that felt difficult.
So I'm going to be quiet for about a minute so that you can just practice this on your own.
So maybe you go back down to three,
Maybe you go up to seven or even try ten.
Just play around with it and find a number that feels good to you,
That you feel like you're not sipping,
Sipping,
Sipping and you're not pushing,
Pushing,
Pushing.
So yeah,
Go ahead,
Give it a try on your own and I'll be back in a minute.
How did that feel?
As bizarre,
It either felt like it flew by or it felt like it took forever.
But either way,
I hope that you feel calmer and more relaxed and have a really easy practice that you can do anywhere when you need to get your breath back on track and bring a little bit of calmness into your day.
