Find a comfortable seat.
Take some time here to gather any props that you need.
Adjust your body and try to settle in a place where you can invite stillness for the duration of our practice.
You might be sitting.
You might be lying down.
What's most important is that you find a place where you have freedom of movement in your belly or your rib cage to allow in a full,
Deep,
Cleansing breath.
Once you get settled,
Turn your attention to breath.
No special instructions for now,
Simply noticing.
Perhaps you notice the tempo of your breathing.
Any holds or catches in the breath cycle.
You might notice where in the body the breath is landing.
Perhaps you only feel the collarbone shifting up and down.
Or maybe the belly expands and contracts with the inhale and the exhale.
You might feel the space in between the ribs in the back or the side body expanding and contracting.
In a few moments,
We will invite in our box breath today.
The two most important things with this practice are that the legs of the breath cycle,
The inhale,
A hold,
The exhale,
And another hold,
All be the same length.
I will guide you and provide some framework before allowing you some space to practice at your own speed.
But the other important tenet of this practice is that we never dip into strain or discomfort.
Towards the end of one of your holds,
You might feel a little bit of pressure.
But we never want to cross into a place where the breath is straining or you begin to feel anxious or too uncomfortable.
So no matter where my guidance is,
If you need to shorten or lengthen your breath cycle,
Please feel invited to do so.
For our guided practice,
We will start with four beats for each leg of the breath.
A four-count inhale,
A four-count hold of the breath in,
Four counts to exhale,
And four counts holding the breath out before we begin with another inhale.
When you're ready,
Begin by exhaling all of the breath out of the lungs to make space for new cleansing breath.
And we'll begin,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And hold,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale everything out,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathing in,
Hold,
Breathe out,
Hold,
Breathe in,
Hold,
Breathe out,
Hold,
Breathe in.
Exhale,
Hold,
In,
Hold,
Out,
Hold,
In,
Hold,
Out,
Hold,
In,
Hold,
Out,
Hold,
In,
Out,
Hold,
Hold,
Out.
And as you hold here,
Feel invited to continue this practice,
Hold,
Out.
If you have needed to shorten your breath cycle,
You can have each leg of the breath be two counts or three counts so that nothing feels strained.
If four counts feels very comfortable for you,
You might choose to lengthen each leg of this box for a six count or an eight count for each component.
Feel invited to play with this practice.
Allow your body to sit or lay in stillness and really focus on your breath.
Perhaps you lengthen the legs and find that that's too much.
Simply dial it back.
Perhaps you choose to stay with a short count for each leg of the box.
That's wonderful.
Do what serves you today.
Take some additional time here to practice,
Guided by some gentle music,
And we'll check back in in a little bit.
Please feel invited to spend as much time as you would like continuing on with this practice.
Stay here for as much time as you have and for as long as it serves you today.
If you are transitioning to another portion of your day,
I remind you to do so gently and with grace.
Thank you so much for breathing with me today.
Namaste.
