Begin this breathing exercise by finding a comfortable position.
You can choose any one that you'd like,
But for this one I'd recommend lying down flat on your back if it's accessible to you in this moment.
Take a second,
Once you arrive at your space,
To observe how you're feeling in your body today and how you're feeling in your mind.
And there's no need to judge.
Simply notice,
Are you feeling calm or stressed?
Are you feeling relaxed or achy?
Whatever those descriptors are that surround your physical being and your mental state right now,
Just notice them.
I'll give you a moment to do that.
Next,
Turn your attention to the quality of your breathing.
Notice if your breath is deep or shallow,
Notice if it's fast or slow.
Just watch it without feeling the need to change it just yet.
Let it be.
We'll attempt to add some smoothness and some depth into our breath while also telling our parasympathetic nervous system that it's time for us to be calm and cool.
So to do that,
We're going to breathe in through the nose and out through the nose.
That sends our brain a powerful signal that we're in a state of repose right now.
So inhale,
Take a deep breath in through the nose.
Exhale through your nostrils,
Let it go.
Do two more like that.
And if they have an audible oceanic quality to them,
So much the better.
Exhale in,
Big breath.
And as you exhale,
Release.
One more in your own time and with your own cadence.
Depressing on creating a long,
Smooth,
Slow breathing experience.
And now we'll keep that inhalation and exhalation through the nostrils,
But we're going to add some layers onto our inhalation to really help us fill up.
So to do this,
Place one of your hands,
Doesn't matter which one,
On your belly and allow your other hand to rest on the side of your rib cage.
Now we'll do that breathing we've been working on already.
So breathing in through the nose and as you breathe in,
Notice your hand rising as your belly fills up.
You might feel your ribs expand slightly and touch that hand that's holding the side of your rib cage,
Filling all the way up.
And then exhale to release,
Feeling everything contract and draw inward.
We'll continue to add on.
So now when you breathe in,
We'll do so with some intentionality around the places where our hands are.
So inhale,
Breathe in,
Really feel that hand rise as your belly rises.
Continue toward the ribs.
As you breathe into your rib cage,
Feel your ribs press out laterally.
So you're expanding your ribs side to side,
Filling all the way up.
As you exhale through your nose,
You feel the hand that's on the belly going down.
You feel the rib cage drawing in toward the midline of the body.
Now let's add another layer.
Inhale into the belly just like before,
Filling up.
Continue that inhalation into the rib cage,
Expanding out sideways.
Then take that inhale into the chest.
Feel your chest,
The front of your heart and the back of your heart expand.
Sip in a little more air like you're filling all the way up.
And as you exhale,
You allow that breath to release.
Slowly,
Smoothly taking your time.
These are our waves of breath.
So the wave pattern is to inhale into the belly,
Into the ribs,
Into the chest,
Into that space above the chest,
Filling all the way up.
And then as you exhale,
It's long,
Smooth,
Slow,
Emptying,
Contracting.
Again,
This breath wave begins in the belly,
Filling all the way up.
That hand rises into the rib cage.
Your ribs press outward,
Side to side,
Into the chest,
Into that space above the chest.
And then exhale to release.
Let it go.
Now that you know this pattern,
Continue it on your own for the next minute or so.
I'll keep the time.
And at the end of that time,
I'll come back on.
You'll hear my voice once again.
So go ahead,
Get carried away in those waves.
You'll drink another optimized tea or coffee for the next minute.
Wherever you are in your breath waves,
Allow this to be your last full wave.
And as you exhale completely,
You'll release that pattern that we were holding.
You'll return to simply breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.
Gradually releasing that control over the breath,
Allowing it to go back to its natural state and maybe that state feels a little bit different than when you came into the practice today.
Take a moment to observe how your body and your mind are feeling now.
You can use this exercise at the beginning of a yoga practice or if you just need to find a little bit of peace in the middle of a lot of chaos.
This is something that can always be there for you,
A tool in the tool belt.
I hope it can be of benefit.
Take care and I'll talk to you again soon.
Namaste.
