Lesson 8,
Breathing from the sides of your body.
The most difficult part of this lesson will be getting your breathing to go underneath your lowest ribs.
Side breathing begins from just above the hip bone and goes underneath the ribs of your body.
On the inhale,
Physically move and expand the insides of your belly toward the front and sides.
Feel the breath move underneath the lower ribs to stimulate your liver on the right side and your spleen on the left.
Make sure that the area between your hip bone and your lowest ribs is also expanding sidewards.
Let your awareness increase to this side of your body,
Which for most people is normally not awake and aware.
So breathing down the central channel of your body,
You expand your sides sidewards.
Getting the breath to go into the side of the body is unusual for most people,
But it can be done very easily.
Begin first with the area between the hip bone and the lowest ribs and then gradually get your breath to move into and have felt pressure on your liver and spleen.
Continue to count your breath so that you can keep track of how many breaths you are taking.
Again,
Referring back to the book Relaxing into Your Being to know what is an excellent sequence of practicing these breathing exercises.
On the inhale,
Allow your sides to expand and on the exhale,
Allow your sides to return to their original position.
As you inhale,
Simultaneously breathe down the central channel of the body and expand your sides.
On the exhale,
Simultaneously allow your sides to come back to their original position and your breath to travel up your central channel and out your nose.
Inhale and exhale.
At this point,
Put your hands on your sides between your hip bone and your lowest ribs so you can feel this area.
Breathe in and feel them expand.
Exhale and feel them go back to their original position.
Now put your hands on the sides of your ribs.
Physically touch the sides of your ribs,
Not the front of your body but the sides,
And let the area underneath your ribs expand on the inhale,
Go back to its original position on the exhale.
What are you feeling?
When you feel your right side with your liver is,
What emotions do you feel in your liver?
What tensions do you feel coming when you activate your liver?
When you have your hand on your left side and you feel your spleen?
What tensions do you feel associated with your breath and your spleen?
How does it make you feel?
How does your mood change?
Let your mind go deeper inside yourself.
What emotions are truly inside your liver,
Truly inside your spleen?
Have they cleared?
Are they smooth?
Or are they under discomfort and stress?
With each exhale,
Allow the stress that you feel in your liver or spleen,
Allow it to release.
