How To Practice Belly Breathing For Peace And Wellbeing

Hello,

I'm Alison and for the over 15 years now I've been teaching inner practices which enhance our lives and our well-being.

And I want to share a practice with you today.

Soft belly breathing,

Which is one of my favourites.

It is a brilliant thing to bring to moments of distress and overwhelm.

Because it softens and slows our system down and it only takes a few moments to do that.

Belly breathing simply means we're using our whole diaphragm to breathe and that's really good for your nervous system.

It creates really good hormones,

It lowers the stress hormones and brings feelings of safety,

Calm and well-being.

And it oxygenates all our organs because we're bringing in more oxygen.

When we're in a hurry,

When we're stressed and overwhelmed,

When our thoughts are racing and we're ruminating on problems.

What can happen is our body braces.

And when our body braces,

We breathe shallowly into our chest.

And that just creates more feelings of panic and emergency.

So to lower that,

We soften and soothe with this diaphragmatic belly breathing.

Let's just try that briefly now.

So just to know there's no performance here.

There's no getting something right or wrong or forcing it.

This is simply offering ourselves kindness and letting our body do what it does naturally.

Doesn't matter if there are still some tight spaces or moments.

We just keep familiarizing our body with this breath.

Take a hand to your heart.

And take another one to your belly.

And simply feel the rise and fall of your breath.

Underneath where your hands are.

Soften the muscles of your face.

Soften your skin.

Relax your jaw.

And let your shoulders.

Fall down.

From your ears.

Let your belly be soft.

You can add a soft thought for yourself that is calming to you.

As the air simply drops into your belly,

It just falls in there where your hand is.

That's the practice.

You can continue.

You can breathe this way when you're meditating.

Or in moments that arise during your day to remind yourself that you're safe and you can be at ease.

And everything will get done in its own good time.

May this soft gentle breath in your soft belly really guide and support you today.