Let's explore some calming breaths now.
Making yourself comfortable either seated or lying down.
If you are seated,
Ensuring that your spine is lengthened and in a neutral alignment,
You might like some back support behind you.
If you're lying down you could put a cushion underneath your knees and ensure that you have a low pillow or no pillow at all.
Making sure you won't be disturbed during this practice.
I'm taking the time to really get comfortable.
I'm coming into natural aware breath now.
Simply noticing how it feels to breathe.
You can hone your awareness into focal points like the nostrils,
Noticing the air as it moves in and as it moves out.
You can also have a more generalised awareness in the soft rise and fall of your belly,
Your chest.
A gentle contraction and expansion of your rib cage.
You can connect your awareness to the full journey of breath,
Moving in from the nose all the way down into the lungs,
Through the body and back out again.
Feeling the body breathing itself.
Natural aware breath.
Not changing,
Modifying your breath.
Simply being with the breath through its ebbs and flows.
Now directing more attention and focus on the lower part of the lungs for a diaphragmatic breath,
The belly breath.
Can you consciously bring air and attention down into the lower lobes as you breathe?
See if you can ensure that the chest doesn't move as much and the focus is on the belly.
As though you're blowing up a balloon in the lower part of your belly,
Expanding and gently contracting as you breathe.
Letting go of this practice now to come back to natural aware breath.
Notice what you notice,
Feel what you feel.
Let's move into an alternate nostril breathing technique called Nadi Shodhana in yogic terms.
Taking your right hand,
Placing your peace fingers on your forehead,
The thumb over your right nostril and your ring finger over your left nostril.
Simply close your right nostril off now as you breathe in through the left and then close the left nostril off as you breathe out through the right.
Breathing in through the right nostril and then out through the left nostril.
Continue in this way.
This is one round.
Keep the breath really natural and gentle as you do this technique.
You might notice that your nose is blocked or one nostril is blocked.
If you can't actually breathe through your nose and do this practice,
Then imagine the air traveling up through the left nostril,
Down the right nostril,
Up the right nostril and down the left.
I'm doing three more rounds of this breathing technique.
Following the air with your mind,
Holding your focus on your forehead center.
Allowing your breath to now restore back to its natural rhythm.
See if you can notice any subtle differences,
Some shifts internally from this practice.
Now move into a box breathing technique.
This technique involves an equal count for the in-breath,
A hold at the top of the in-breath,
The out-breath and a breath hold at the bottom of the out-breath.
Today we use a count of four.
Taking a full deep breath in and letting go on the exhalation and then breathing in two,
Three,
Four,
Hold.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
In two,
Three,
Four.
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Out 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 in 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 out 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 in 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 out 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 in 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 out 2,
3,
4,
Hold 2,
3,
4 for allowing your breath to come back to its natural rhythm allowing the breath to take you into a gentle state a flow state an altered state.
Our next breathing technique is coherent breathing this is simply an equal inhalation to an exhalation and we'll do a count of five when you're ready take a deep breath in letting go on the out breath breathing in two three four five out two three four five in two three four five out two three four five in two three four five out two three four five in two three four five out two three four five notice what you notice feeling what you feel.
Now final breathing technique is the physiological sigh this involves two in breaths through the nose followed by a long exhalation through the mouth the first in breath is longer than the following one it's about three quarters full and this is followed by short expansive in breath that fills the lungs and then the out breath is long and slow it's nearly like a sigh it's a little bit like this see how it feels for you have a play and explore with this breath two in breaths through the nose and a long sighing out breath letting go of this practice now letting go of the breathing techniques and drop a little deeper into your body to feel your physical body the somatic experience of being you connected to your body.
Can you pick up in your body what can you notice without judgment with so much compassion and kindness to yourself always being with yourself in this moment whenever you're ready to deepen and lengthen your inhalation now to support you to come back into the space you might move your fingers and toes or rotate your wrists and ankles have a stretch opening your eyes when it feels like it's time having a look around the space moving your head from side to side ensuring that you take time now to support yourself with integrative activities and they go on ground on the earth have a drink of water stretch your body whatever you need to do to bring yourself right back into the present moment.
Now being in P triple G handoff
