Bring yourself into a comfortable position,
Whether seated or lying down,
Take a moment to notice how you feel emotionally,
Notice any sensations in your physical body Then take a breath in through your nose,
Pause at the top and gently sigh out through the mouth We'll do that two more times Now close your lips and you may choose to either place your hands at the sides of your belly,
Just below your ribcage or keep them relaxed wherever they are Without changing your breath,
Take a moment to become aware of the breath With me,
Notice the rise and fall,
Inflation and deflation of your belly Notice how your ribcage expands slightly on the inhale and contracts on the exhale The act of simply becoming aware of your breath and where it moves in your body brings you out of your mind and into a more settled state Now that you're aware of your natural breath,
I invite you to slow your breathing down So that gradually you're breathing low into the lungs and as slowly as possible Breathing deeply and slowly in and out through the nose Thoughts beginning to settle and your body begins to relax and release tension Notice what happens to your mind as you let your awareness settle and rest on the breath Now with the breath flowing slowly and smoothly,
We'll begin our first round of ocean breathing Gently contract the throat muscles to give a little resistance to the breath,
Which creates the wave or ocean-like sound As if the waves were lapping the shore You can either just do this on the exhale or on both the inhale and exhale Notice if you can relax and not make too much effort Let your breath breathe your body After the next exhale,
Let go of doing anything to your breath Release any effort And take a moment here to notice any ways in which you feel a shift in the quality of your mind or the feeling in your body What do you notice?
And let's come into that breathing practice one more time when you're ready When you slow the breath down,
Your nervous system perceives this as a cue of safety As if you are safe in your environment And as a result,
All of the systems in your body begin to soften and relax Simply by slowing the breath down Begin to move your fingers and toes a little Blink open your eyes if they've been closed And take a look around,
Reorienting yourself back into the room Thank yourself for practicing this breathing technique today And for taking the time to tune in to yourself
