Welcome,
Take a gentle pause from the busyness of your day,
And begin to arrive in the quiet rhythm of your breath.
Finding a comfortable position,
Either laying down or sitting tall,
If it's comfortable to do so,
Close the eyes down.
Softening the forehead and temples,
Allowing the eyes to gently roll back as you commit them to rest from the external world.
The Loma Pranayama creates natural pauses within the breath,
And in these moments we cultivate a spacious presence,
Allowing the nervous system to recalibrate and return to balance.
Let's gently place the tip of the tongue where the teeth meet the roof of the mouth,
Feeling a little space between the top and bottom teeth.
In this practice we'll explore the gentle pauses within the breath,
Discovering the peaceful stillness that lives in between.
We'll practice a little breathing exercise before we slip into spaciousness.
With our next inhalation,
We'll inhale half of the lung capacity and pause.
Then inhale the remainder and pause,
And gradually release the exhalation,
Placing one hand on your navel and one hand at your heart centre.
For the next two rounds of breathing,
Inhale into the navel first,
And then pause.
Inhale the remainder in the chest,
And pause,
And then gradually release the exhalation.
Let's do that one more time.
Inhale to the navel,
Halfway,
And pause.
Inhale to the heart,
And pause.
And gently exhale.
Let's reverse that rhythm.
Inhale to the heart centre,
Half of the lung capacity,
And pause.
Inhale to the navel,
And pause,
And gently exhale.
This probably feels a little awkward.
Let's now find a little more space for that sweet pause.
Place your right fingertips on the diaphragm,
Where the ribs begin to separate.
Let's breathe into this space.
When you're ready,
Inhale to half of your lung capacity,
And pause.
Inhale the remainder,
And pause.
The exhalation quietly recedes.
Notice the ease when you breathe into this space.
The spaciousness across the front side of the body.
Rest softly in the pause,
Without strain.
Feel how the breath expands in stages,
Like a wave rising.
Let the exhale be unhurried,
Releasing any holding.
As the breath flows in gentle stages,
And you linger in the pauses,
A sense of spacious presence begins to unfold.
Awareness grows,
Not in effort,
But in presence.
You are not the breath,
You are the one observing it.
If this is feeling comfortable for you,
You might like to introduce another pause,
Inhaling in thirds.
In the pauses of the breath,
We glimpse the quiet spaces within ourselves,
A place of peaceful stillness that is always available.
Now gently release any control of the breath,
And allow it to return to its natural rhythm.
Carry this sense of calm spaciousness with you as you move through the rest of your day.
