This practice is for those who are just coming into a state of preparing for sleep.
Maybe you're just winding down from the energy of the day and you're trying to match the energy of rest and relaxation in your mind and your body to drift into that peaceful state.
And maybe you're not just there yet and that is okay.
Find your place whether it's seated or lying down with some support underneath and behind you.
And notice where your body is in this moment.
Can you root yourself through the bottoms of your feet,
Through the base of your spine,
And allow that gravity that roots you down to soften any tension that you may be holding onto in your body.
Maybe it's your jaw,
Your forehead,
Your chest,
Unclenching your hands.
Can you take a deep breath in through the nose,
Release that through the mouth,
And allow that tension release to expand into other parts of your body.
For today's practice we're going to do about a minute and a half of an energy releasing breath called a blow breath.
This is going to help us to release some of that stored energy that we may be hanging onto from our day and then we'll come into a relaxing three-part breath that will allow the body to safely drift off into our restful state.
For the blow breath it's going to be an in and out through the mouth.
Imagine you're blowing out a candle,
Focusing on pressing the breath out through the belly,
Feeling that snapping of the belly.
There's a little bit of intensity that we're going to bring here because we want to open up that space to release some of that held tension and energy from the day.
For the second breath we're going to introduce a three-part breath which is all through the nose.
A gentle inhale,
Pausing at the top,
Taking another sip through the nose,
And then gently releasing that exhale through the nose,
Feeling that back of the throat breath.
I will guide you throughout and you get to adjust the pace and the speed as it feels good in your body.
Know that you are in control of this practice.
Getting ready to bring in the blow breath,
Let's take an inhale through the nose and use the breath out the mouth to begin this breath.
Continuing with your pace with this cycle of breath,
We'll be here for about a minute.
Use that belly to snap the exhales through the mouth.
Let the inhales be gentle,
Let the air come out and find that release.
Let go of what does not need to be held on.
Let go of the thoughts that you do not need in this moment.
Let go of the tension that the body can release through the breath.
For these last 30 seconds with the breath,
What do you need to support even more release?
Maybe it's some shaking of the hands.
Maybe it's bringing in some movement of the body to finally let out that energy.
There you go.
Let's take two more breaths.
Take an inhale through the nose and hold at the top.
Can you squeeze the full body from the bottoms of the feet to the top of the head?
Hold that tension and release completely.
Exhale through the mouth and melt into your space.
Notice how much easier it is to feel the presence in your body.
And when you're ready,
We're going to introduce the three-part breath all through the nose,
Taking a gentle inhale through the nose.
Hold at the top for a moment.
Sip a little bit more through the nose and gentle exhale through the nose,
Elongating that exhale.
Make it slow.
Allow it to help you relax and come into your next cycle of breath in through the nose.
Pause,
Slight sip at the top and exhale.
Release through the nose.
Feel that breath in the back of the throat.
Elongate it and continue with the cycle for just another minute.
Remind the body that it can be soft.
It can allow the breath to mirror how you want it to feel in this restful state.
It does not need to force.
For our last 20 seconds with the breath,
Can you anchor yourself in the heart space?
Let each breath in and out through the nose.
Filter through that heart.
Honor your presence in this moment here and now.
Taking one final cycle of this breath in through the nose.
Gentle pause and sip and gentle exhale.
Let it all out.
You can continue with the cycle as long as you need to,
To return back to your presence,
To keep coming back to the body,
To remind it that it can rest.
I wish you a beautiful moment of rest and I hope to breathe again with you soon.
