Hello and welcome to your journey to mindfulness.
Welcome to another practice together.
Today we'll be doing a standing deep breathing.
So it's a very simple but super effective technique that combines deep breathing with a standing posture and there are many many benefits of doing this practice.
First it helps to fully oxygenate your blood which can improve overall cellular function and energy production.
The combination of those deep breathings and gentle movements stimulates the blood flow throughout the body.
It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system which promotes relaxation and reduce the stress hormones.
It's great to enhance focus and alertness,
Clears the mind,
Improve your concentration.
And a regular practice can also improve awareness of body alignment and help to expand the lung capacity and improve respiratory function.
So as you can see there are plenty of benefits so this is why I wanted to introduce you to this beautiful practice.
And this practice is really easy to incorporate into your daily routine.
Maybe in the morning just 5-10 minutes upon waking to start your day you know energized and focused or perhaps you need a little midday reset so we can use this technique during a lunch break or between tasks to refresh the mind and refresh the body.
It can also just be used as a stress relief when you feel overwhelmed and you need to quickly center yourself.
It could also be used as a pre-workout warm-up.
So you perform this technique before exercise to prepare the body and the mind or even in the evening as a wind down practice.
You can just do a gentler version of this practice in the evening to transition from your long busy day to relaxation mode.
And the last point before we start the practice you're more than welcome to add variations to this technique.
So maybe you want to add a visualization.
Imagine inhaling positive energy or inhaling light and exhaling stress and tension.
This can help to enhance the mental benefit of the exercise and just to improve the whole experience.
Maybe you want to count the breath.
So counting the breath really deepens the focus and also regulates the breathing rhythm.
Perhaps you want to include a body scan.
So mentally scanning your body from head to toe releasing tension in each area as you exhale or add some gentle twists as you inhale raise the arms and gently twist to one side and as you exhale return to center and lower your arms down and then alternate sides with each breath.
Or you can also incorporate affirmations.
Silently repeating a positive affirmation as you breathe.
It can be anything really.
Maybe I am calm,
I am energized or I release all tension.
You can use any words,
Any affirmation that actually really resonate with you and with your present experience.
So let's get ready for our practice.
Please stand comfortably with your feet hips width distance apart.
The knees are slightly bent and the shoulders are relaxed.
You really want to soften the whole upper body,
Soften the face and perhaps close the eyes down or maybe look at a fixed point onto the floor and just take a few deep breaths here to settle in.
Deep breath in through the nose,
Full exhale through the nose.
Deep breath in through the nose and this time maybe an audible sight out through the mouth.
Deep breath in all the way up and exhale all the way down.
Take a few more deep breaths here at your own pace with your own breath.
Really feeling that sense of expansion every time you breathe in.
And feeling yourself anchoring a little bit deeper into the earth every time you exhale.
Maybe you're releasing those tensions,
Those unnecessary grips.
And we'll take two more breaths here.
On your next inhale,
Begin by inhaling deeply through your nose.
Raise your arms overhead and stretch towards the sky.
Hold the breath at the top for a moment.
Really feeling the stretch in your body and the expansion in your lungs.
As you exhale slowly through your mouth,
Lower your arms Exhale slowly through your mouth,
Lower your arms back down to your side.
And we'll go again.
Inhale all the way up through your nose,
Extend the arms,
Expand the chest,
Grow tall,
Fingertips reaching towards the ceiling and hold the breath.
Exhale through the mouth as you release the arms down slowly,
Gently,
Mindfully.
Taking all the time you need here between each breath.
Inhale,
Grow tall again,
Deep breath in through the nose,
Extend the arms overhead.
Deep breath in through the nose,
Extend the arms overhead.
Hold the breath at the top.
Hold the breath.
And exhale slowly,
Gently,
Releasing the arms down.
And exhale slowly,
Gently,
Releasing the arms down.
We'll do two more together.
Inhale,
Deep breath in through the nose,
All the way up,
All the way up,
To the tip of the fingers.
Hold the breath.
Grow taller and taller.
And exhale,
Release everything down with control.
Release all the tension.
And I invite you here to keep going with your own pace.
With your own breath,
Taking those deep breath in,
Opening the lungs wide and posing at the top of the breath just for a couple seconds.
And exhaling through the mouth,
Gently releasing the arms down.
And again,
We'll go there,
All the way up,
With the breath,
With the arms.
And all the way down again,
Anchoring yourself deeper into the earth.
Deep breath in.
Hold the breath at the top,
Without any straining.
And exhale through the mouth.
Let it all go.
We'll do this for another minute or so,
Or you can extend the practice if you'd like.
I will leave you here,
Practice at your own pace,
With your own breath.
Really moving mindfully here,
Linking the breath with the movement,
Allowing the movement to invigorate your body and your mind.
Taking just four more deep breaths here.
You can end the practice with me,
Or you can keep going if you'd like.
Remember that you have the choice,
Always.
And last breath here,
Deep breath in through the nose,
The biggest breath you've ever taken.
Big expansion through the lungs,
Pose at the top of the breath.
And exhale all the way down through the mouth.
Release the arms down by your side,
And gently pose here for a moment.
Perhaps noticing the energy moving throughout your body,
This sense of calm,
Of serenity,
Of alertness.
And whenever you are ready,
Gently blinking the eyes open,
Just coming back into your day.
I hope that you enjoy this practice.
Thank you so much for joining me today,
And I'll see you next time.
