Welcome to this guided breathing session.
My name is Andrew Wilson,
And I'll be your guide today.
The basic overview of this session is very simple.
We are going to gradually slow the breath from 8 breaths per minute all the way down to only 2 breaths per minute.
For just a moment,
Let's think about breathing rate and lifespan.
The dog,
Who breathes rapidly,
About 30 breaths per minute,
Lives into its teens.
We breathe about 12 breaths per minute,
And we live on average into our 80s.
But the great tortoise,
Who breathes only 2 to 3 times per minute,
They live in their upwards of 300 years.
The breath of the turtle is a powerful technique that teaches the body to utilize oxygen more efficiently.
It does this by decreasing the frequency of incoming oxygen and allows us to be more comfortable at holding higher levels of carbon dioxide.
Breathing techniques like this one have been shown to increase the oxygen carrying efficiency of red blood cells.
This technique brings more clarity and focus to our daily life as we begin to effectively use the life force energy of the air around us.
This practice also begins to tune our normal breathing to a slower rate,
Promoting a calmer,
More peaceful,
More present default experience.
I invite you now to lay in a relaxed position with your spine straight,
Laying with your shoulders down away from your ears,
With your chest supported by the shoulders and upper back.
The technique for this exercise will be that of a slow-paced breath,
With minimal effort.
Both the inhale and the exhale will be quiet,
With a low velocity and through the nose.
This is going to sound like a lot to remember,
But I'm going to guide you through everything.
We will begin with two breaths of a four-second inhale and a four-second exhale,
And then two breaths of a six-second inhale and a six-second exhale,
Followed by two breaths of eight,
Then ten,
Then twelve,
Then fourteen,
And finally fifteen.
This will have us arrive with a breathing rate of two breaths per minute.
As you get to the longer exhales,
The breath will want to pour out quickly,
Especially at the beginning of the exhale.
Be ready for the exhale to be slow and calm.
And let's begin,
Taking a nice deep breath in through the nose,
And exhaling nice and slow out through the mouth.
Then we breathe in for four,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Now shift to six,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Shift to eight,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Shift to ten,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Now twelve,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Now fourteen,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Now fifteen,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Now fifteen,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Now fifteen,
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fifteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten,
Eleven,
Twelve,
Thirteen,
Fourteen,
Fifteen,
In,
And resume breathing normally.
This practice influences your normal breathing pattern to be more calm,
More present,
And more connected.
Thank you for practicing this Breath of the Turtle.
Peace.
