Today I will share with you the practice of pure breath.
The qualities of pure breath is smooth,
Even,
And connected breathing.
So first I invite you to find a comfortable seat.
Perhaps if you are sitting on the ground,
You put a pillow or a blanket underneath your butt,
Allowing your hips to be higher than your knees.
You can also do this practice sitting in a chair or lying down,
Taking a moment to find whatever position today will serve you.
Then allowing your gaze to soften,
Perhaps your eyes to shut,
Feeling the length through your spine all the way up through the crown of your head and down through the base of your tailbone.
Allowing the shoulders to drop down and back,
The collarbones to lift.
And starting to notice the space that your body occupies.
And as you come into the body,
Start to notice the way that your breath is naturally moving.
Can you feel the rise and the fall of the abdomen?
Is it rising on inhalation and falling on exhalation?
Or is this pattern reversed?
Take a moment just to notice before making any adjustments.
Now see if on inhalation you can relax your abdomen,
Allowing it to fill with air and expand.
And as you exhale,
Allow the navel to draw back ever so slightly towards your spine,
Releasing and expelling what your body is ready to let go of.
Inhale,
Softening the belly,
The ribs and the chest,
Inviting the breath into the body,
Allowing it to expand.
And again,
Exhale,
Navel pulls ever so slightly towards your spine,
Up and in.
And as your body gets used to this movement,
Notice how long your inhale and exhale are.
Is the inhale longer than the exhale?
Or is the exhale longer than the inhale?
Or perhaps they are equal in count.
Taking a moment to notice before making any adjustments.
Now bring the inhale to equal counts as the exhale.
And I invite you to find a count that works for you,
Ensuring there is no straining of the breath.
I often offer people to start with a count of 4 to 4.
But if you notice there is tension that builds in the chest,
Go ahead and reduce this number of counts.
Or perhaps this feels too easeful and you naturally feel a rhythm of 5 and 5 or 6 and 6.
Coming into this even inhalation to even exhalation.
Perhaps if you do this practice day to day,
This ratio changes.
As the belly fills with air and you contract to let go,
Start to notice if there are any glitches or holding patterns.
And see if you can invite your body to relax and release even 5% more to soften these areas of tension.
So that your breath becomes even and smooth.
Perhaps picturing a calm lake surface where the breath is a soft ripple moving through the body.
Even and smooth.
Perhaps as you breathe into an area of the body that holds tension.
The breath allows it to soften and you notice this tension moving to a different area of the body.
And again staying with this practice of softening the breath,
Releasing and relaxing.
And simply witnessing the shifts that your body and breath make.
Keeping this even and smooth breathing.
Notice if the inhalation and exhalation feel connected.
Is there a pause between either?
Taking a moment to notice.
Now see if your inhalation can rise into your exhale.
And your exhale can fall into your next inhale without pause.
As if your breath is the ripple in the lake rising and falling without stop.
There is no start or end.
Your breath moving even smooth and connected.
And resting here in this pure breath.
The belly rising as you inhale and falling as you exhale.
Even,
Smooth and connected.
And I invite you to stay here in this practice for however long it will serve you today.
Thank you for practicing with me.
