Lower Cortisol: 7-Minute Psoas Release & Nasal Breathing

Stress doesn’t only live in your head. It often settles deep in your hips and belly, in a muscle called the psoas, which sits right beside your diaphragm.
In this 7-minute practice, you’ll lie down, slow your breath through the nose, and let a long exhale shift your body out of fight or flight and into rest and digest. Then I’ll guide you to your happy place through all five senses.
A soft, warm ambient soundscape plays gently underneath to hold you through the quiet moments.
Research shows regular slow belly breathing is linked with lower cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, plus better focus and mood. Come back daily and teach your body it’s safe to rest.
All you need is a floor.
If this helped you, I’d love a rating. It helps others find it too.

Transcript

For the next five minutes, There's nothing you need to fix. You just need a floor and your breath. Lie down on your back. Bend your knees and let your feet rest flat on the floor. About hip width apart. Let your arms fall open by your sides, Palms soft. Let the floor take your weight. You don't have to hold yourself up right now. Deep in your body. Running from your lower spine. Through your pelvis to the top of each thigh is a muscle called the psoas. It helps you stand, Walk, Embrace. When we rush, Sit for hours or carry stress, Many of us hold tension through the hips and belly without ever noticing. The top of the psoas sits right beside your diaphragm, Your main breathing muscle. So when your breath slows and deepens, The space around your hips can soften too. And this matters more than your muscles. Researchers have found that people who practiced slow, Deep belly breathing regularly had lower levels of cortisol, The body's main stress hormone, Along with better focus and a calmer mood. Laying in this position. Only enhances it. The calm starts within a few breaths as your heart rate settles and your body shifts towards rest and digest. And each time you come back to this practice, You're helping your cortisol come down and teaching your body to stay calm a little longer. For this whole practice. We'll breathe through the nose, In through the nose and out through the nose. Let each breath out be a little longer than the breath in. That long, Slow exhale tells your body we're enough to rest and be safe. Breathe in gently through your nose, And out, Slow and soft, A little longer. As you breathe out. Let your lower back soften toward the floor. No pushing, Just letting. Keep this easy rhythm going on your own, A soft breath in. A long breath out. Hips getting heavier. Each time. Now, Let a place come to mind where you feel completely at ease. Somewhere real or imagined. A beach, A garden, A favourite room. Wherever feels safe and good. Let yourself arrive there. Look around. What do you see? Notice the colors, The light, The shapes around you. Now listen. What can you hear? Maybe waves, Birds, Wind? Or a quiet stillness? Notice what you can feel, The warmth of the sun on your skin, A breeze, Soft ground beneath you. Breathe in gently through your nose. What can you smell? Salt air. Fresh grass. Flowers. A beautiful restaurant. Something familiar and comforting. And perhaps there's a specific taste. Cool water. Something salty. Something sweet. Or just the fresh, Clean air. Let yourself be fully here. Nothing to do. Nothing to be. Your breath slow. Your hips heavy. Your whole body held. Know that this place is always here for you. You can return anytime you like. Slowly let your awareness come back to the room, The floor beneath you, The gentle rise and fall of your breath. Take one more breath in through the nose and a long slow breath out. Wiggle your fingers and toes, Roll gently onto your side and rise in your own time.

Reviews

Very well explained soothing breathwork. I like it and I will come back to it. I am doing at least one of your guided breathworks daily because for me they are the most helpful ones on IT.