A Breathing Series: Ease Anxiety With Your Breath

This practice will be doing breath awareness and visualization of the diaphragm in order to connect you deeper to this vital muscle.

Don't worry if you don't know exactly what the diaphragm looks like or exactly where it's located.

It's more important just to connect to the knowledge of what the diaphragm is rather than the specifics of it.

So sitting comfortably,

Closing your eyes if that feels comfortable or just having a very soft gaze and take a couple of deep cleansing breaths.

Allow yourself to settle and just to begin to observe the breath.

Simply notice the breath moving in and out of your body through the nose or mouth without judging,

Without trying to make meaning of anything.

Just simply observe your breath.

Now start to observe the movement of the body as you breathe.

Observing what parts of your body move as you inhale and what parts move as you exhale.

Now begin to visualize the diaphragm.

This large dome like thick muscle attaches all the way around the inside of the rib cage.

It may even help to place your hands around your lower rib cage in order to do this.

As you breathe in,

Notice the rib cage flaring out and as you breathe out,

Notice the rib cage drawing back to its center.

Now as you breathe in and your rib cage and maybe even your belly flare out,

Visualize,

Sense or feel your diaphragm moving all the way down into your belly as far down as the belly button.

Imagine it giving your visceral organs a loving squeeze as it does so.

And on your exhale,

As your ribs and belly draw in,

Imagine,

Sense or feel your diaphragm moving all the way back up to around the nipple line.

Just keep visualizing this movement of the diaphragm.

So as you breathe in and your body expands,

The diaphragm moves down.

And as you breathe out and your body moves back to center,

Your diaphragm moves up.

Keep visualizing or sensing this movement of the diaphragm.

Maybe even adding in there as the diaphragm moves down,

Sense,

Feel,

Visualize the diaphragm massaging your internal organs.

Just a couple more breaths.

Now releasing this visualization,

Releasing any control of the breath and simply notice how your breath feels.