Welcome to this breathing practice.
So you can do this breathing practice either sitting or lying down.
Just make sure you're going to be comfortable and that your body is not going to interrupt your concentration.
So just take a few moments to find a comfortable seat or position yourself lying down.
And it's also fine to practice this in a chair or on the sofa.
We just want to make sure that the spine is straight so the breath is a little bit easier for us.
And then once you have found that comfortable seat or position,
Just begin with a few deep inhales and slow exhales.
Finding your own rhythm,
Your own pace of breath.
And depending on what's happened in your day so far,
Or maybe this is the start of your day,
Just be aware that that can affect the way that we breathe.
So if we've had a really busy or stressful day,
The breath might need a little bit longer to move into a calming,
Slow pace.
And if we've just woken up and jumped straight into this breathing practice,
Then again,
Your lungs need a little while to warm up.
So just be impatient here,
Breathing in and breathing out.
And just slowing the breath down as best you can.
And then we can place one hand onto the chest,
One hand onto the belly.
And continue with the breath now.
So the only thing that's changed is the placement of your hands.
And with your hands placed one on the chest,
One on the belly,
Seeing if you can notice where the movement of breath is in your body.
So on the inhale,
Do one or both of your hands move.
And the same on the exhale,
Do one or both of the hands move.
So we're beginning to become aware of the subtle sensations of the breath.
And then let's start to control the breath just a little bit.
Just so we can really start to calm the nervous system by deepening the breath.
On your next inhale,
See if you can allow your belly to lift.
And so the hand on your belly also moves out.
On the exhale,
The hand and the belly draw back towards the spine.
So you're not using your hand to empty,
You're not pressing into your abdomen,
The hand is resting.
On the inhale,
The belly and the hand move out.
On the exhale,
Belly and the hand draw back to the spine.
And just continuing with this,
So this might be your natural way that you breathe and come very easily.
Or maybe this is more challenging for you.
So again,
Just be patient.
Keep your awareness and keep your focus on the breath.
Eventually it will come.
And you might notice that the hand on your chest moves a little bit.
Or maybe there's hardly any movement in the other hand on the chest.
Either is fine.
You're just observing and watching the movement of your breath.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
And the whole time you're feeling your hand that's on the belly lifting up,
Dropping down with the movement of your breath.
And then just for the last minute of this breathing exercise,
Release your hands just so they're comfortable.
Resting the hands on the knees or in the lap or next to the body if you're lying down.
And continue this breath,
Breathing into the belly on the inhale.
Relaxing the belly on the exhale.
Observe where you feel your breath.
This is just a way for you to tune in with your body,
With your mind.
So beginning to relax your breath back to its natural rhythm.
But observing how you feel after using your breath in this way.
There's absolutely no rush to end the practice.
So if you want to stay for a while longer in that calm,
Contented place,
Then do so.
But if you are ready to come back,
Then just very slowly take one deep breath in and out.
And if you had the eyes closed,
You can blink the eyes open,
Allowing the light to flood back in.
And please take a moment before moving the body and continue continuing with the rest of your day.
