Breathwork For Inner Calm

Make yourself as comfortable as possible,

Sitting with a straight back and if in a chair,

With your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Start by becoming aware of your connection with the ground below and with the chair or cushion whatever is supporting you.

Notice the weight of your body pressing down and the support of the earth pushing up from beneath.

Now take your attention to your breathing.

Your breath might already be quite calm and smooth or particularly if there are strong emotions present,

You might notice it being faster,

Shallower,

Tighter or irregular for example.

Whatever is the case,

Begin by inviting the breath to slow down a little,

To become deeper,

Smoother and more regular.

You might try breathing in through the nose then breathing out through a small hole in the mouth.

Try to make the out breath a little longer than the in breath and include a short pause after each in breath before it starts flowing out again.

Now begin counting whilst you breathe.

Each time you breathe in,

Count up to four,

Then count to two as you hold the breath,

Then count up to six as you breathe out.

Four in,

Hold for two and then out for six.

The most important thing is that it feels comfortable and settling so you may need to adjust the speed of your counting so that you don't get out of breath.

Breathing up to four as you breathe in,

Holding for two and breathing out to the count of six.

Doing this for each and every breath,

Try not to miss a single one.

And whenever you notice that you've become tangled up in thoughts,

Just letting them go and coming back to the counting.

Perhaps noticing how the in breath has a kind of energizing quality,

Whereas the out breath has this quality of release,

Of letting go.

Not trying to push away any uncomfortable feelings,

This will usually end up making them worse.

Just counting and paying attention to these longer,

Slower breaths so that you can better manage whatever feelings or emotions are here.

Letting yourself be supported by these slower,

Smoother breaths.

Letting go of thoughts as you notice them and letting go of any resistance or struggle with your feelings.

So either ending the practice now or carry on breathing in this way for as long as it feels helpful.