Hello,
Welcome to day 5 of the 10 day breathe together with me challenge.
I'm so glad you are here.
Today we're going to incorporate light,
Slow and deep breathing into the whole breathing exercise.
The three dimensions of functional breathing is light,
Slow and deep.
Breathing light will help you regulate biochemistry.
By creating a tolerable air hunger,
We're trying to encourage your body to tolerate a higher dose of carbon dioxide.
Slow breathing will improve your vagal tone,
Improve your parasympathetic nervous system,
Help to balance out your sympathetic and parasympathetic drive.
Deep breathing into your diaphragm will help you breathe more efficiently,
Support your posture and improve your core strength.
This supports functional movement and improve gas exchange as air is drawn deep into the lungs.
Let's get started.
Find a comfortable position to sit or lie down.
Close your eyes or gently lower your gaze.
Let's begin to relax our body.
Take a moment to settle in.
Let's take two slow breaths.
Breathing in and out.
Breathing in and out.
Notice your breathing.
Now we're going to do Wonder Woman hold or Superman hold.
I'll get you to get both of your hands.
Wrap them around your chest wall,
Around your ribs.
Feel your chest wall expanding and feel your hands moving out as you take a slow breath in.
When you take a slow breath out,
Imagine and feel the space between your ribs closing in.
Feel your ribs opening as you take a big breath in and feel your ribs closing as you take a breath out.
Now we're going to learn how to do breathe light.
Breathing light through the nose as gently,
As quietly as possible.
Imagine the air going through your nose,
Lightly through to your airways and then your lungs.
Imagine the air is so quiet,
So soft that it's not even moving your hair.
You can also put a finger under your nostrils and the air is so soft that you can't even feel your air moving in and out.
Now we're going to start pacing ourselves,
Incorporating slowing down our breath.
Breathing in 2,
3,
4 and out 2,
3,
4.
In 2,
3,
4 and out 2,
3,
4.
Keep going slowly.
You can even slow down even more.
To breathing in for 5 and breathing slow and deep and light.
Keep going for another few minutes at your own pace,
Paying attention to the three dimensions of functional breathing.
As you breathe in,
Imagine the light entering your body.
With each exhale,
Filling you up with calm and energy.
As you breathe out,
Imagine any stress and negativity leaving your body,
Dissipating into the air.
Maintain your focus on your breath.
If your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back to the rhythm of your breathing.
Try and remember,
Slow,
Light and deep.
To finish this exercise,
Let's take two more slow breathings.
Into the diaphragm,
Breathing in 2,
3,
4 and out 2,
3,
4.
In 2,
3,
4 and out 2,
3,
4.
Enjoy the sense of calm that fills your body and your mind.
When you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Take a moment and notice how you feel.
Do you feel calm and have you got clarity within you?
In this exercise we incorporate light,
Slow and deep,
The three dimensions of functional breathing.
Remember,
You can always come back to this breathing exercise anytime you need to find a moment of peace and relaxation in your day.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself.
I hope you enjoy this day of breathe together with me.
I am Dr Charlton,
Lifestyle GP.
