Beginner Bites Series - 5 Minute Extended Exhalation

My Beginner Bites Series, are perfect for those new to meditation, to try bite-sized different styles and techniques, or for anyone that just has 5 minutes to take a quick break. This Beginner Bite is a simple 5 Minute Extended Exhalation to help you find a little calm. By focusing on our exhalation and extending it just a touch we can start to tap into our parasympathetic nervous system which has a calming effect, slowing down our heart rate and helping us relax. I hope you enjoy this bite.
Music by Chris Collins

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Shell.

Thank you for joining me.

This short meditation is part of my Beginner Bite series.

Perfect for those exploring new techniques,

Starting out,

Or when you just have five minutes and you wish to reset.

Today's meditation is an extended exhalation to assist you to find a little calm.

We'll dial down our sympathetic nervous system,

That fight or flight response in the body,

And dial into our parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest.

So start by finding a comfortable seat,

Or if you wish,

You can lay down.

We'll ground down through our sitting bones.

We'll grow tall through the spine.

Crown of the head reaching towards the sky,

And just a little slight tuck of the chin so the back of the neck is long.

Then relaxing your shoulders,

Let those shoulder blades cascade down your back.

Hands rest wherever is most comfortable for you.

And if it feels okay,

Closing down the eyes or just a soft gaze forward and down.

We will take three clearing full breaths in through the nose,

And a full sigh out through the mouth,

Really relaxing those shoulders with the exhalation.

So take a breath in,

And sigh it out.

Two more of those,

Deep breath in,

Sighing it out.

One more,

Last sigh out.

Now just let the breath settle back into a natural rhythm.

We're going to take the breath in through the nose for a count of four,

And out through the mouth with our lips pursed for the count of six,

As if you're gently blowing out a candle.

So let's take the next breath in for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause at the top and out for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause at the bottom,

Breath comes back in,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pause,

Breath out,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Breath back in,

Finding your own little rhythm now.

And if the count seems a little too long for you,

You can take it say to breath in for three,

And then as you exhale,

See if you can just add that count or two to the exhalation.

Just tipping into the exhalation a touch,

Emphasizing here on the breath out.

Breath is coming in through the nose,

Gently out through the mouth with soft lips.

You may like to count internally to yourself as an anchor,

But leaning into the exhalation and the body relaxing as each round comes.

Continuing on your own.

If you notice the mind wandering,

Which it will,

Come back to the count of the breath in,

And then counting the breath out and adding that count or two to extend your exhalation.

Let's take three more rounds.

Now slowly returning the breath back to a gentle and natural rhythm now.

Just let go of that influence on the breath.

Come back gently into our space by opening our eyes.

Draw our hands together at our heart.

Namaste.

Reviews

Short and great! Thanks!