A Breathing Series: Release Breath Holding & Tension

This is a practice called breathing through a straw.

So you'll imagine as though you're breathing through a straw,

Inhaling through the nose,

And exhaling slowly through pursed lips.

As you practice this breath,

I also want you to focus on the continuation of the breath.

So allowing the exhale to flow straight into the inhale,

And the inhale straight into the exhale.

So there are minimal pauses in the breath.

Find yourself sitting comfortably,

And begin just by taking a couple of cleansing,

Clearing breaths.

Then begin to breathe in through the nose,

And out slowly and gently through pursed lips.

And as you do this,

You can have your eyes open or closed.

If your eyes are open,

Allow the gaze to be gentle and soft so you aren't intensely staring at one spot.

And just breathing in and out gently and fluidly.

And now begin to notice how many counts your inhale is.

Maybe it's two or three or four.

And gradually,

If it feels within reach to you,

Like you don't feel like you're gasping for your breath,

Begin to extend your inhale to the count of four.

And then gradually begin to extend your exhale until it's the count of eight,

If that feels within reach.

Otherwise,

Find an exhale count that feels accessible for you.

Maybe it's six or four.

So potentially breathing in through the nose for the count of four.

Maybe breathing out through the mouth slowly through pursed lips for the count of eight.

If that breath count feels a little too stretchy for you,

Then just do what feels within your reach right now.

And then let go of this pattern of breathing.

Pause and observe.