My name is Larissa and we're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
It's taking a few minutes here just to slow down,
Spend a little time with yourself and to the best of your ability being gentle with yourself.
We're not trying to force ourselves to be still,
Not trying to force ourselves to stay,
Not even trying to force our attention to our breath.
Very often we begin with our body,
With our breath,
Just because our body and breath is always present and it's something that we can return to again and again.
We carry our breath with us in every moment.
It's always shifting and changing slightly and it's a tool that we can use.
Not only is our body going to breathe for us no matter what,
So we can just rest in that,
We can trust that,
But we can also adjust our breath,
Change it,
Modulate it.
And in the yogic system,
This is called pranayama.
Pranayama is often translated as breath control,
But the word prana also means energy and life force.
And yama can mean control or restraint,
But ayama means expansion.
And so when we look at modulating our breath,
It's not about trying to control it.
Especially in our English language,
This word restraint or control usually connotates some form of restriction,
Some form of power over,
Rather than witnessing and awareness and then attending to.
So we can use our breath to tend to our bodies and our body is going to use our breath to take care of us no matter what.
With that understanding in mind,
I'll invite you to settle into your body.
Welcome to close your eyes.
Set your gaze downward.
Just turning your eyes inward to the best of your ability,
Being gentle as you turn inward.
Just witnessing yourself like you would witness a dear friend.
In these first few moments here,
Just watching your breath.
Notice what parts of your body move with it.
Notice the still space between breaths,
However small,
However short,
However subtle.
As you breathe in,
I often invite us to notice the spaciousness our body creates.
Very often stress,
Anxiety,
And just general responsibilities can feel like a bit of tension in our body.
Every time we breathe in,
It's an opportunity to create space.
Softening a clenched fist,
A tight jaw,
The space to be able to hold whatever comes our way.
And then every time we exhale,
It's an opportunity to soften.
Notice your eyelids,
Your jaw,
Your neck and shoulders.
Physically in this moment,
Is there anywhere that you can soften just 2%?
And you don't even have to change your breath to notice spaciousness and softness.
You can certainly create a bit more spaciousness by breathing a little deeper.
A little more softness,
A little more ease by slowing down your exhale.
So notice for a moment,
What does it feel like to purposefully take a deeper breath?
And then purposefully slow down your exhale,
Just allowing your whole body from your head to the tips of your toes,
Softening as you exhale.
It's likely that your body has settled into its natural rhythm of breathing.
It's caring for you in the background,
No matter what your mind is doing.
And there's a real brilliance,
A real wisdom in that.
Sure,
We might consider that's just our body's job.
But to pause and appreciate that our body is always doing this job for us.
One of the most important jobs for us to be able to stay here.
The fact that breath is moving through us.
Your heart is beating and pumping fresh blood and oxygen into your lower extremities.
It's almost this magical process.
Sure,
We might understand it scientifically and physiologically.
But you can't understand your way into your body,
Pushing oxygen into your fingertips.
It's just a wise happening.
And that's part of this life force expansion.
Not just breath control,
Not just trying to control our reactions.
But allowing ourselves to feel everything that we feel.
Allowing ourselves to expand with each inhale,
And then soften again with each exhale.
And instead of thinking about controlling your breath,
Just recognizing we can tap into it and use it to tend to ourselves.
If I'm feeling a bit scattered,
Just taking a big deep breath and slowing down my exhale helps me come back together again just for that moment.
There's a line from Thich Nhat Hanh.
He quite poetically starts with,
Your breathing should flow gracefully like a river.
Gracefully like a river.
You might also think sometimes a river is fierce and intense,
But also slow and trickling at other times.
Do we need to build a little energy?
Try this on right now.
Breathe deeply and just pause at the top of your inhale,
Noticing the spaciousness,
The expansiveness of your body.
And then sip in a teeny bit more breath on top of that inhale before you exhale again.
And do that again.
Let your ribs expand.
Big,
Full,
Deep breath.
Sip in a tiny bit more breath here,
And then release it slowly.
Just allowing that breath to leave your body.
It's in modern science.
This is called a psychological or physiological sigh.
Two breaths in and one slow exhale.
Science aside,
Just notice what it does to your body.
It's not the kind of energy that you get from perhaps a cup of coffee.
But it's a wise usage,
Contacting your breath to expand your life force for this giant inhale.
And just notice your heartbeat at the top of the inhale before you slowly exhale and allow a softening,
A releasing inhale.
And just try that on for yourself for a few rounds.
Big,
Deep,
Full breath.
And then sipping in a tiny bit breath once you get to the top,
Pausing.
And when you exhale,
Let it be slow.
We're not looking for air hunger.
You're not trying to force your breath.
If these are the first couple of breaths of the morning,
It's sometimes harder to take those deeper breaths.
And that's okay.
You're not trying to force anything.
Just experimenting with a big,
Deep,
Full breath.
Sip in a second tiny breath on top of it and just pause for a moment at the top of your inhale at the most expansive space.
And then slowly exhale again.
And then just witnessing again the natural rhythm of your breath.
Knowing that at any time you can choose to modulate or change your breath.
Breathing deep and slow to turn on your calming systems.
Breathing deep and pausing at the top of your inhale to build just a tiny bit of energy.
But no matter what,
Just that simple action of witnessing your breath brings you back to the present.
We've all had those moments where we get pulled up into our mind and we disconnect for a moment.
Maybe with worry or fear.
But coming back down into your body,
Becoming present again.
It's a skill we can cultivate.
It's not something we have or don't.
We don't have to wait till the moment of stress.
We're just practicing here.
I want you to place a hand across your chest and one across your abdomen.
Just look for your lower hand on your abdomen to expand a bit as you inhale.
And release a bit as you exhale.
Your hand across your chest might move as well.
Just looking for a bit more spaciousness in your lower body.
Letting the fullness of your lungs expand.
And then relax.
You're welcome to leave your hands here or bring them into any of your closing habits or practices.
We'll end with a few loving kindness phrases.
But first I'll share this quote from Lisa Magnum.
This is from her novel,
The Golden Spiral.
And I read this after the Thich Nhat Hanh quote,
Your breathing can flow gracefully like a river.
Lisa Magnum says,
The river is now.
This moment.
This breath between us.
This space between your heartbeats.
It's the moment before you blink.
The instant a thought flashes through your mind.
Your breath is everything that is around us.
Life.
Energy.
Flowing,
Endlessly flowing.
Carrying you from then,
From the past,
From tomorrow,
To right now.
Listen.
You can hear the music of your breath.
I'll invite you here to just repeat back these loving kindness phrases as they make sense for you.
Pulling this intentional well-wishing for yourself into the day.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
May I pause to appreciate my breath today.
When action is needed,
May I choose to move with ease and peace.
And may the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
And go slow if you can.
Just whenever you feel complete.
Take a moment to thank yourself just for showing up.
Find movement when you feel ready to do so.
And as always,
Thank you for being here,
For supporting each other.
