This practice helps us explore how our breath responds to sound.
Feel your body relax into the surface beneath you.
See if you're able to make yourself even 1% more comfortable.
Perhaps adjusting your hair,
Clothing or any cushions.
Make yourself really comfortable so we can focus on our breathing.
There's no wrong or right way to experience this practice,
It's a journey.
Meet your awareness exactly where you are,
Bring curiosity to your breath.
See if you can observe any subtle changes as your breath responds to the different sounds.
As we work more regularly with the breath,
Our awareness grows and we'll notice more subtle changes over time.
Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly to help you feel breathing movements in your body.
Close down your eyes if it's comfortable,
Keep your eyes lowered and soften your gaze.
Bring your attention back to the breath,
Notice the rise and fall of your breath.
Observe whether you feel the breath in your belly,
Chest or both spaces.
Notice if your breath feels fast or slow in this moment.
Notice the amount of air coming and going with each breath.
Notice whether your inhale is longer or shorter than your exhale.
Notice whether your breathing feels smooth with a regular pattern or erratic with each breath a little different from the one before.
Release your hands to a relaxed comfortable position beside you or perhaps in your lap.
There's nowhere else for you to be,
So be present here as we follow our breath on a journey and see where it takes us today.
Notice your response to our first sound.
Notice if you welcome the sound,
Find it relaxing or find the sound distracting,
Perhaps irritating.
Notice where you feel the breath in your body,
The chest or both places.
Notice if your breath feels slightly faster or slightly slower.
Can you find a rhythm or pattern to your breath or do you notice each breath feels a little different from the one before?
Any changes are likely to be subtle,
If you don't notice anything yet that's perfectly fine.
With practice over time your awareness of your breath will become more finely tuned.
Notice if you feel the breath in your belly or chest.
Check in with the speed of your breath,
Allow the breath to move through you.
Do you feel the breath in your belly or chest?
Notice if the breath feels jittery,
Erratic or smooth and regular.
Are you breathing faster or slower?
Notice if you welcome the sound,
Find it relaxing or find the sound distracting or perhaps irritating.
Can you observe any felt response in the body?
Perhaps you notice your muscles tense up or soften ever so slightly,
Do you feel the breath in the chest or the belly?
You breathing faster or slower?
What else can you notice about your breath in this moment?
Does your body and breath welcome these new sounds?
How is that showing up for you?
Has your breath moved higher into your chest or shoulders?
Is the breath flowing with a regular pattern or erratic?
Can you detect a slight tensing in your muscles,
Perhaps in the jaw,
Chest,
Belly or hands?
Notice whether this sound is comforting or not.
How does your breath adjust to this sound?
Is your breath in the same place or has it moved lower in the belly or higher into the chest?
Notice the amount of air coming and going with each breath.
Is the breath faster or slower?
Erratic or smooth?
Chest or belly?
Some sounds are familiar and others may be unfamiliar to you.
Can you detect any gear changes to your breath with this new sound?
Is the breath faster or slower?
Notice if the breath is in the belly or the chest.
Is there a lot of air coming and going with each breath?
Or do you feel like you're barely breathing?
Is your inhale longer or shorter than your exhale?
Notice whether your breathing feels smooth with a regular pattern to your breath or erratic.
Before we come out of this practice,
Check in and notice if your mind feels agitated,
Distracted,
Calm or focused.
You notice if there's a relationship to how you're breathing and how your mind feels.
Perhaps you notice you're breathing lightly and slowly when your mind feels light and slow.
I'm going to come out of this practice gradually.
Start by gently and slowly wriggling your toes and then fingers.
You may like to stretch your arms above your head or bend your knees.
Whilst this is a curated journey of sounds,
It gives you a little taste for how our breath is responding each and every day to all of the sounds and stimulation that we experience in our daily lives.
It's a reminder of how our breath responds to everything happening around us and why breath work can be a powerful tool for regulating our nervous system and calm the mind.
