Welcome to a three-position practice for deep breathing,
Tension release,
And body awareness.
If breathing feels shallow or you find it challenging to take truly deep breaths,
This practice offers a gentle pathway to reconnect with your diaphragm and expand your breathing capacity.
We'll explore breath awareness through three different body positions.
This journey is designed to help you access fuller,
More complete breaths while releasing stored tension in your torso,
Particularly your low back,
Hips,
And the muscles along the sides of your belly.
I'll be weaving together both physical and energetic language throughout.
Your lower belly,
What some traditions call the Hera,
Dantian,
Or solar plexus,
Is our focal point today.
Connect with the descriptions that speak to you and let the rest simply wash over you.
Let's begin by laying face down on your belly.
If you'd like,
Place a pillow or a folded blanket beneath your abdomen for added support and comfort.
Allow your elbows to spread wide,
Creating space across the chest and shoulders.
Before we begin working with the breath,
Simply notice your body is already breathing.
You don't need to change anything about yourself to be here.
Feel where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you.
Notice how that surface is supported by the floor,
How the floors are supported by the walls,
How the walls are supported by the foundation,
And how the foundation is supported by the earth.
Notice your belly pressing gently against the floor or mat,
And how the floor or mat or bed presses back with an equal but opposite force.
Sense the weight of the floor and the mat.
Your chest,
Your arms,
Your legs.
What does your natural breath feel like right now?
Think of your entire midsection as a balloon that can fill in the sides and back.
As you inhale,
Allow your belly to press down into the floor beneath you.
Feel that gentle pressure as your abdomen expands forward and out to the sides,
Away from your spine.
As you exhale,
Notice how your belly naturally draws back towards your spine,
Creating a little more space between you and the floor.
Continue with this rhythm.
Inhale,
Your belly expands,
Pressing down and out.
Exhale,
It softens and draws inward.
Let your belly muscles completely relax.
Soften into this wave-like motion.
Now,
Shift your awareness to the sides of your ribcage.
Your lower ribs are designed to move like bucket handles,
Lifting up and out to the sides as you breathe in,
Settling back down as you breathe out.
On your next inhale,
See if you can feel your ribs expanding outward to the sides.
Your torso widens slightly.
If it helps,
Imagine that your ribs are breathing and flaring out as if they're trying to touch the walls on either side of you.
On the exhale,
Feel everything gently return inward.
Your torso becomes a bit narrower,
More compact.
Inhale,
Expansion towards the walls.
Exhale,
Returning to your center.
Bring your attention now to your lower back.
On your next inhale,
See if you can feel your lower back gently rising up towards the ceiling or the sky,
Like a soft wave lifting up towards the ceiling.
On your exhale,
Feel it settling back down.
Consciously soften all the muscles in your lower back.
Let them be heavy and relaxed.
Allow each breath to move through this area without resistance.
If you'd like to go a little deeper,
At the end of your next exhale,
Gently press a bit more air out,
Drawing your belly in and almost upward towards your spine.
Then as you inhale,
Consciously soften and release your lower back.
Let it expand fully and slowly.
Feeling a gentle stretch across that entire area.
Try this enhanced breathing pattern three to five times.
Then return to your natural breathing rhythm.
Now as you're trying to really fully exhale as much air out,
You might discover a peaceful place at the very bottom of your exhale.
Natural pause where your body simply rests.
If you find this space,
Don't rush past it.
Let yourself linger there.
Let your body naturally start that breathing in process again.
Ribs and your belly just naturally kind of recoil out like a spring.
This bottom pause is where your nervous system shifts into calm.
This is where stress begins to dissolve.
This is where healing happens.
Take a few more breaths here.
Feeling your entire midsection participate,
Belly pressing into the floor,
Ribs expanding out to the sides,
Lower back gently rising and falling like a crocodile resting on the riverbank.
Full body breathing.
Now if this practice is new to you,
It might be challenging to sequence all three of these together.
If it feels like you're trying to force it or effort it or thinking too much of the anatomy,
Let that go and just focus on breathing.
Either mentally or verbally say,
Know that I am breathing in.
Know that I am breathing out.
As you inhale,
Know that I am breathing in.
And as you exhale,
Know that I am breathing out.
You can just simplify the process.
When you feel ready,
We'll move into our second position.
So I'll have you roll onto the side where you've noticed more tension or restriction.
So for example,
If your right side feels tighter,
Go ahead and roll onto that right side.
That tight side or that tender side is pressed against the floor.
Now in this position,
Notice how gravity affects your breath differently.
The side that's against the floor,
That tighter or tender side,
Has the full weight of your body pressing into it.
The side facing the ceiling or sky is open,
Spacious,
And free to influence.
The side facing the ceiling or sky is open,
Spacious,
And free to expand.
As you inhale,
Intentionally press your lower ribs,
Besides touching the floor,
More firmly into the surface beneath you.
Really feel that pressure,
That contact.
At the same time,
Allow the upper side,
The side facing the ceiling or sky,
To fill completely with air.
Feel it expand upward,
Outward,
Creating space.
This creates for a beautiful dynamic.
Compression and groundedness below,
Expansion and spaciousness above.
Feel the parts of yourself that are solid,
Are part of this physical earth.
And at the same time,
Notice the intangible,
Spacious,
And ethereal parts of yourself.
Blending into the Venn diagram,
Where earth meets the sky.
As above,
So below.
Now,
As that upper side fills with air,
As your ribs lift away from your pelvis,
And space opens up along your waist,
Imagine that the tightness you've been holding is beginning to dissolve.
Picture it percolating upward,
Like bubbles escaping up out of water.
With each inhale,
More space.
With each exhale,
More release.
Your lower tight areas,
Your hips,
Your obliques,
Are softening,
Dissolving,
Letting go.
These are the energetic spaces that hold not just physical tension,
But stored emotions,
Stress,
Old patterns,
Learned behaviors.
Whatever language you use,
Know that you're creating space here.
You're allowing release to happen.
Let's just take a moment to prep ourselves for our final position change,
Which will be laying on your back.
However,
If you're feeling really content here,
If it feels really good,
Okay to remain on your side.
There's no rush.
You can just listen and breathe along and change onto your back at your own time,
At your own convenience.
You'll have to let your body show you what it needs in this moment.
When you sense you're complete with the sideline position,
Gently roll onto your back.
Let yourself settle into this open,
Receptive posture.
You might want to have your knees bent with your feet flat on the floor.
You can have your legs just straight out,
Or maybe even having a pillow underneath your knees,
Whatever feels most comfortable.
So from this position,
Return to the expansive belly button position.
But now with the openness of lying face up.
As you inhale,
That balloon inside your belly expanding in all directions,
Forward towards the ceiling,
Then along the side of your body with your ribs flaring up and out.
Think of those bucket handles.
Lastly,
Downward into your back body,
Pressing into the floor.
Inhale,
Feel your belly moving upwards towards the ceiling,
Away from the spine,
Ribs flaring up and out.
And then lastly,
Expanding into your lower back.
Press against the floor,
Mat or bed,
A full 360 degree expansion.
As you exhale,
Feel everything return to center.
The balloon softens,
Your belly settles.
Try this breathing pattern three to five times,
Then return to your natural breathing rhythm.
Inhale,
Expansion in all directions.
Exhale,
Return to center.
You might imagine you're drawing in light with each inhale.
Bright,
Fresh energy filling your center,
Your core.
Some traditions call this life force prana or qi,
Vital energy that sustains and nourishes you.
Inhale,
Inviting in fresh qi.
On the exhale,
Allowing this light,
This qi to integrate throughout your entire body.
Each exhale,
It spreads farther outward from your center to your limbs,
To your feet and hands,
To your heart,
Neck,
And head,
Filling you completely.
Inhale,
Gathering fresh energy.
Exhale,
Let it digest,
Integrating into your organs,
Your muscles,
Your cells.
Notice how in this position,
You can feel all three zones we've been working with.
Your belly rising towards the ceiling,
Towards the sky as you inhale,
Softening,
Blending into the ground as you exhale.
Your ribs expanding outwards to both sides,
Thinking of that bucket handle motion.
Your lower back pressing gently into the floor beneath you,
Then releasing back away towards your spine.
All three areas moving together in harmony.
Allow your breath to find its own natural rhythm.
Simply receive each breath as it comes.
Feel the support beneath you.
Feel the air moving against your skin or the clothes resting on you.
Feel the spacious life force moving through you.
Place a gentle smile on your face,
Even if it feels mechanical.
Continue here,
Breathing,
Resting,
Being.
If this is towards the end of your day,
Feel free to continue drifting here.
If there's more of the day ahead of you,
Begin to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Gently move your hands and feet.
If it feels good,
Stretch your arms up overhead,
Roll your wrists,
Pump your ankles,
Wake your body up slowly.
When you're ready,
Roll onto your side,
Just slowly press yourself up into a seated position.
Take a moment before you move to notice how you feel.
This is a practice you can return to whenever you feel restricted in your breathing,
When tension accumulates,
When you need a break in your day,
Or trying to wind down before bed.
Thank yourself for taking this time to breathe,
To release,
And to reconnect with your body.
