This meditation practice is centered on the power of the breath.
The purpose of this practice is twofold.
The first is relaxation.
Slowing our breathing helps to settle and regulate the nervous system.
Extending the exhale is particularly effective in activating the parasympathetic nervous system,
The part of our nervous system that slows down our heart rate and other physiological functions.
The second part of this practice is to enhance awareness of the miracle of the breath cycle and its natural,
Life-sustaining function of taking in what we need,
Oxygen,
And releasing what we no longer need,
Carbon dioxide.
In this practice,
We will bring greater intentionality to what we receive on the inhale and release on the exhale.
Let's breathe together.
We will begin by finding and following the flow of your breath.
I invite you to close your eyes to increase your focus.
Let's start by just paying attention to breathing,
Something that happens outside of our awareness most of the time.
Just notice that you are breathing.
Find your breath and follow its natural flow.
Following your inhaling and exhaling.
Try to follow the journey of your breath,
Coming into your body,
Coming in through your nose or perhaps your mouth,
Whichever you are naturally doing in this moment.
Maybe a cooler sensation in your nostrils or on your tongue.
Feel where your breath goes next.
Maybe you can feel it at the back of your throat.
Maybe you can feel it filling your lungs.
Maybe a rising of your chest.
Maybe a gentle expanding in your belly.
Then follow the flow of your breath as you exhale.
Exhaling out of your nose or mouth.
Just continuing to pay attention to the natural cycle of your breath.
Following its flow.
Maybe even listening to the sound of your breath along its journey.
The breath is the gift of life.
In some cultures,
The word for breath is the same word as the word for life.
So let's take a sacred pause together and give grateful attention to the breath.
Now I want to invite you to bring your awareness to what is really happening in this miracle of breathing.
With each inhale,
We are taking in something we need to sustain life,
Oxygen.
And with each exhale,
We are naturally releasing toxins,
Something we no longer need,
Carbon dioxide.
This happens without our thinking about it.
It happens with every breath we take.
So in these next few breaths,
Be aware of inhaling something your body needs.
Feel that oxygen bringing life to your cells,
Your organs,
Your blood,
Your brain.
Feel the oxygen moving through your whole body.
And on each exhale,
Be aware that you're releasing what is no longer needed,
What has become toxic and must be expelled.
Just keep breathing with increasing consciousness of receiving and releasing.
You might even say the words in your mind,
Saying receive on the inhale and release on the exhale.
Receive,
Release.
Receive,
Release.
Allowing yourself to continue to feel gratitude for the miracle of breathing,
Taking in what you need and releasing what you don't with each and every breath.
Now I invite you to extend the exhale,
Releasing what you no longer need at the top of the exhale and then allowing that release to settle into a relaxing of your whole body at the bottom of the exhale.
Maybe dropping your shoulders,
Maybe releasing the muscles in your belly.
At the bottom of the exhale,
Just allowing your body to soften,
Allowing yourself to be supported by the chair,
The ground,
The earth beneath you.
Relaxing into just being.
Taking another breath,
Inhale.
And now try to slow your exhale,
Letting a little breath out at a time through your mouth.
This will help lengthen your exhale,
Which does have positive benefits for regulating your nervous system.
Slowing down and extending the exhale takes practice,
So have patience with yourself.
Your exhale will get longer the more you practice.
One tip is it can sometimes help to extend the exhale if you exhale with your mouth slightly open.
Making a sound like a song note,
Like ah or oh,
Sometimes helps people extend the exhale even more.
So let's just practice extending the exhale,
Maybe with a long,
Quiet sound.
Take a deep inhale.
And now slowly exhale.
Take another inhale.
And now slowly exhale.
Now we're going to extend this into a four-part practice,
Adding a hold at the top of the exhale.
There are benefits to holding your breath.
It helps increase lung capacity,
Plays a role in brain cell regeneration,
And supports immune system functioning.
So after the inhale,
Before you start the exhale,
I invite you to hold your breath.
We can think about this as space to replenish.
So let's practice this four-part process together.
Inhale,
Receive.
Hold,
Replenish.
Exhale,
Release.
Continuing to exhale,
Relax.
Inhale,
Receive.
Hold and replenish.
Exhale,
Release.
And continuing the exhale,
Relax.
Receive,
Replenish,
Release,
Relax.
Receive,
Replenish,
Release.
Let's shift now to bring even more intentionality to your breathing,
With more intention of what you need to receive.
What does your heart need?
What does your soul need?
Take a moment to pause and consider what you need to breathe into yourself,
Into your life.
Some things that people sometimes consider are love,
Peace,
Patience,
Forgiveness,
Courage,
Gratitude,
Hope,
Faith,
Trust,
Truth,
Confidence,
Balance,
Abundance,
Joy.
For this practice,
I offer the example of freedom.
You can use freedom if that works for you,
Or choose another quality that is calling for you to receive today.
Let's focus first on that intentional inhale.
As you inhale,
Maybe say in your mind,
Receiving freedom,
Or simply freedom.
Receiving freedom on the inhale.
Breathing in freedom.
Accepting the energy of freedom.
Now let's practice the hold.
At the top of the inhale,
Hold your breath and see if you can experience freedom moving through you,
Replenishing,
Allowing freedom into your cells,
Into your heart,
Replenishing your inner supply and capacity for freedom,
Claiming and reconnecting with your freedom.
Inhale,
Receiving freedom.
Hold at the top of the breath,
Replenishing your freedom.
Now we'll practice the two phases of the exhale.
First,
Letting go and releasing.
Letting go of anything that interferes or gets in the way of experiencing your freedom.
Releasing anything that does not serve your freedom.
Releasing what you are freeing yourself from.
So now let's practice with a focus on the exhale.
Inhale freedom.
Hold and replenish,
Letting it flow through you.
And then begin to slowly exhale,
Releasing what interferes with your freedom and extending the exhale,
Relaxing and settling in to the natural experience of freedom.
Let's do a few cycles together.
Inhale,
Receive.
Hold,
Replenish.
Exhale,
Release.
Continue the exhale and relax.
Inhale,
Receive.
Hold at the top of the breath and replenish.
Exhale,
Release.
And continuing your exhale,
Relax.
I'll open up a moment of silent space for you to practice these intentional breaths,
Freedom breaths or breathing in any quality that you choose.
Receive,
Replenish,
Release,
Relax.
You can now gently shift your attention back to just noticing that you are breathing,
Noticing the sensation and flow of your breath,
Following the natural path of the inhale and exhale.
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
Thank you,
Breath.
Whenever you're ready,
You may open your eyes.
Thank you for your attention.
