Hello,
My name is Kayla Estinson-Williams and today we are going to do a guided breathing exercise.
So this is a pretty beginner-friendly mindfulness or meditation exercise and gives you a really nice foundational skill of breath work.
I'm going to take a gentle approach to this so that it's usable for everyone,
Whether you're new to breath practices or pretty familiar with it and coming back just for some grounding.
These exercises can be great to help us practice being in the moment,
Regulate our nervous system a bit,
And just cope with life's stressors.
So with that,
We will begin.
And I invite you to start off by just finding a comfortable position,
Maybe a comfortable seated position,
Or maybe you're laying down on the floor or on your bed,
Whatever calls to you in this moment,
Just taking your time to settle in.
Bringing in any props,
Maybe pillows,
Blankets,
Blocks,
Whatever it is,
That help your body feel a little more supported and a little more comfortable in this moment.
And know that whether it's now or throughout the practice,
You're welcome to make physical adjustments as you need to move or find a different position.
You get to tune in to what your body's communicating to you and adjust so that you can be here a little bit easier.
Option for the eyes to close or the gaze can just drift downwards,
Whatever feels best for you today.
And as we're settling in,
A little reminder that I'll give throughout the practice is that the goal of mindfulness or meditation is not to be 100% peaceful.
It's not to have a totally clear mind.
It's not to be absolutely present,
But it's more of a practice.
So we continue practicing,
Noticing when our mind is wandering and bringing it back.
Noticing when we've lost attention to the breath,
Bringing it back.
Noticing when we're not in the here and now and bringing it back.
And a successful mindfulness exercise might mean it was easy to stay in the present or it might mean you had to continue bringing yourself back 50 times.
Or it might mean that you didn't notice you weren't present until the very end,
But you noticed at some point.
So this is all a practice and every day and every practice that you can connect to is going to feel different and that's okay.
So as we're here arriving to this space,
I invite you to just tune into the breath.
Be curious with the breath.
No need to influence it or control it or anything yet,
But just to notice it.
Observe your body breathing in and observe your body breathing out,
Following that flow of the breath in your body.
And when you breathe in,
Notice where you feel the most expansion.
And when you breathe out,
Notice where you feel the most release.
For some it can feel helpful to place one hand on the belly,
One hand on the chest,
Just to bring in a little more awareness to that path of the breath.
Observe your sensations of the breath.
What does the breath feel like?
Notice the pacing of the breath.
How slowly or quickly does the breath come in?
Stay and go out.
And how does that pacing feel in your body?
And once you feel pretty present with the breath,
You're noticing it,
You're tuned in with it,
As it feels comfortable,
Bring your inhales and your exhales to a pretty even pace.
So for example,
If you're breathing in for a count of four,
See if you can also breathe out for a count of four.
Just notice what that even paced breath feels like.
And get curious.
Does anything feel different with the breath now than it did before?
And as you continue breathing,
Maybe placing one hand on the belly,
One hand on the chest right now for a moment,
See if you can bring in a full body breath.
So each time you inhale,
Feeling a rise of the chest as well as the belly,
Feeling that expansion,
That full body diaphragmatic breath.
And then with each exhale,
Also noticing that release in the chest and the belly.
Breathing in fully in the body.
And exhaling fully from the body.
Continuing to try to do this in that even paced breathing.
See what that feels like in your body.
Just notice,
Get curious with it.
And you're welcome to stay here with that even paced breathing.
Or if it feels comfortable in the body,
Allow that exhale to become just a little bit longer.
Just one or two counts longer than the inhale.
So again,
If you're breathing in for four,
You might exhale for five or six.
Just extending that exhale just a touch.
And again,
Seeing what that feels like.
Noticing the sensations.
As well as noticing any changes in your energy or just that overall feeling for you.
And if you've noticed the mind wandering away from the breath or the present moment,
Here's a gentle invitation to bring it back.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And connecting to that full body breath as much as it feels comfortable in your body.
With each inhale,
Feeling expansion in the chest and the belly.
And with each exhale,
Feeling release in the chest and the belly.
And if that full body breath is feeling comfortable for you,
An option to add a little more release on that exhale.
So when you're breathing out,
Almost feel a slight contraction behind the belly button as you really press out all of that air from the body.
Breathing in expansion.
Exhale,
Release.
And in that little bit of the extension on that exhale,
Release just a little bit more.
Down from the belly.
And again,
Seeing what that feels like.
Just being curious and present with the breath.
As you're continuing to breathe intentionally in the body,
Just check in again.
What do you notice?
Where do you feel those sensations of expansion when you breathe in?
Where do you feel release as you breathe out?
Observe those physical sensations in the body.
And also observe just the sensation of your energy or your mood,
Where that's feeling as you've been continuing to breathe.
Taking a few more rounds of full intentional breaths.
And as you feel ready,
We'll slowly release that extra focus on the breath.
And just allow the breath to come back as it naturally flows in the body.
Just letting your body breathe in and out on its own.
Slowly bringing your awareness a little more into this room that you're in.
Noticing sounds around you.
Maybe adding in some really gentle movements like wiggling fingers or toes.
Or adding some shaking or nodding of the head.
And as you feel ready,
Slowly reopening the eyes if they were closed.
Taking just a final couple breaths here as we're rounding out this practice.
And knowing that your breath is a tool that you always have with you,
That you can bring to ground yourself in the present moment,
Whenever and wherever.
I thank you for practicing with me today,
And hope you can continue connecting to your breath throughout the day.
