Welcome to the practice of pranayama,
Also referred to as conscious breathing.
Anyone at any age can practice this breathwork and see benefits right away with the daily practice.
With any pranayama breathwork that you practice,
If you feel uncomfortable,
Simply return back to the natural breath,
Slowly breathing in and out.
What you do has the potential of affecting you and the entire world in a positive way.
Let us begin.
Find a comfortable seat and sit with a tall spine,
Relaxing your shoulders down and away from your ears,
Creating space and relaxation.
If this is not available to you,
You may sit or lay any way that is comfortable for you.
In this moment,
Gently close your eyes and begin to notice your breath,
Slowly moving in and slowly moving out.
Allow yourself to take a few natural breaths here,
Just becoming aware and connecting with the natural inflow and the natural outflow of your breath.
Let us befall the Notice its rhythm.
Notice your rhythm.
There's no other rhythm quite like yours.
Slowly breathe in and slowly breathe out.
There's no other rhythm.
Conscious breathing begins with awareness.
As you continue to consciously feel into your breath,
Notice the sensations in your body.
Keeping the breath slow and easeful,
Notice as awareness itself of any sensations.
Allow yourself to be with what is there.
Noticing as a kind,
Compassionate witness of your breath,
Without judgment or any engagement.
Simply noticing.
Noticing as a kind,
Compassionate witness of your breath,
Without judgment or any engagement.
You you you you you you you you and your next inhalation Notice if you can hear the subtle sound that your breath makes.
Fully notice the subtle sound of your own breath.
Allow the sound to swirl and travel in your inner ear,
Simply becoming awareness itself.
Now mentally repeat to yourself,
On the inhalation,
I am now breathing in.
And on the exhalation,
I am now breathing out.
Inhaling,
I am now breathing in.
And exhaling,
I am now breathing out.
And exhaling,
I am now breathing out.
And exhaling,
I am now breathing out.
And exhaling,
I am now breathing out.
And exhaling,
I am now breathing out.
And exhaling,
I am now breathing out.
Allow yourself to feel into the joy of your breath.
Mentally say to yourself,
I am now enjoying breathing in.
And I am now enjoying breathing out.
I am now enjoying breathing in.
And I am now enjoying breathing out.
And I am now enjoying breathing out.
And I am now enjoying breathing out.
Conscious breathing begins with creating and connecting to the awareness of consciously breathing in and consciously breathing out.
The awareness is an aspect of consciousness and the breath is a vehicle of prana.
When prana and consciousness move together,
Awareness of the breath implies that one is simultaneously aware of the consciousness.
With this practice of conscious breathing,
The witness aspect develops and the expansion of your consciousness begins.
When you are ready,
Take a nice long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
And on the exhale,
Take a nice,
Slow,
Exhale.
And again,
Breathe in,
Nice,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
And a nice long,
Slow,
Deep exhalation.
And one last time,
Take a nice long,
Deep inhalation.
And a nice long,
Deep exhalation.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Bring your hands in front of you and rub them firmly together creating some heat.
Keep rubbing.
When you're ready,
Place your fingertips on the outside of your closed eyelids and take a few normal,
Natural breaths.
Slowly breathing in and slowly breathing out.
Simply feeling into whatever is there or noticing any colors in front of your closed eyelids.
And allowing yourself to be right there,
Enjoying whatever is present for you.
Allow yourself to feel whatever you feel with love and a compassionate heart.
Conscious breathing has a calming effect on the mind.
Even simple breath awareness,
Like we have done here without exerting any control over the natural pattern,
Will induce a more relaxed and regulated rhythm of breathing.
This is an effective method of quieting an overactive mind.
There is no system like pranayama that has such an immediate influence on the nervous system,
Brain and mind.
We encourage a daily practice as needed throughout your day to remain calm,
Balanced and happy.
Offer yourself gratitude for taking this time out just for you.
Namaste.