Welcome to the shift method mindfulness practice.
It's your friend Amy Barsky here and I'm excited and honored to guide you through a very simple practice today that will support you in calming your mind,
Clearing out tension in your body and reigniting your energy.
Today we'll be using the O breath.
That simply means you'll be breathing in and out of your mouth as if you were gently and steadily blowing air in and out of a straw.
Today we'll be doing three rounds,
Two minutes for each round.
To get yourself started,
Please find a comfortable seat.
Sitting up nice and tall,
Slight tip of the chin.
Getting yourself settled into the spot,
Let's take three clearing breaths to ground.
Inhale through the nose,
Open the mouth,
Exhale.
Two more times.
Inhale through the nose,
Exhale.
One last grounding breath.
Inhale through the nose,
Exhale.
Beautiful.
Closing your eyes,
Softening your gaze,
Softening your shoulders and allowing your spine to fully support you.
We will start the inhale and the exhale through the mouth.
Sleep and simple for the next two minutes.
That's it,
Keep going,
You're doing great.
As you continue to breathe through that straw gently and effortlessly,
The belly expands and contracts.
You are wrapped in warm golden light.
You are safe here.
Keep going,
It is safe to be in your body.
Your breath is your natural medicine.
It is safe to feel your emotions.
Beautiful and the next 10 to 15 seconds come back to regular breathing in through the nose and out.
And here I'll welcome in a gentle breath hold,
Emptying out all the air in the lungs.
And when you're ready,
Take a deep inhale and hold at the top.
Hold the breath.
And as you hold your breath,
You squeeze your root chakra.
This is your muscles down below in the root of the belly of the sex organs of the P muscles holding and squeezing,
Trusting that everything is perfect and you have plenty of oxygen.
Holding and squeezing,
Letting that energy ride up the spine all the way out the crown of the head.
Holding and squeezing just a little bit more,
Softening the shoulders,
Softening the eyes.
We will exhale out in five seconds.
Keep holding and squeezing,
Exhaling out in four,
In three,
In two,
And one.
Let it go.
Taking a moment here and we'll go back to the O breath.
Off we go.
Take a stroll,
Sipping the air through,
Sending it back out slow and steady.
Belly balloons as you expand on the inhale,
Belly deflates as you release on the exhale.
You're doing great.
Letting the thoughts come in and out like clouds just passing by,
Softening the mind,
Relaxing the forehead,
Remembering that you get to invite in whatever is present right now and allow your breath to be the medicine to soothe the emotions,
To allow the release of any tension in the body.
Beautiful.
And the next 10 to 15 seconds,
Come back to regular breathing.
You're doing so great.
We'll do two breath holds in this pause we have.
Empty out all the air in the lungs.
On your next inhale,
Hold the breath.
Holding the breath at the top,
Softening the shoulders and the eyes,
Squeezing below,
Holding this is called the mola bandha,
Those P muscles,
That root chakra,
Allowing that energy to rise all the way up,
All the way up.
Holding and squeezing,
Allowing yourself to be held,
Allowing yourself to be present,
Allowing yourself to trust yourself that you are safe,
Exhaling out in five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Let it go.
One more deep inhale through the nose to hold it in the top,
Holding at the top,
Softening everything,
Softening your fingers and toes,
Your shoulders,
Your eyes,
Squeeze at the root,
Let it ride up.
All parts of you are welcomed here.
As you squeeze and hold,
You feel the energy rise all the way up and out,
Shooting out the crown of the head.
You are tuned in,
Tapped in and turned on to your highest intelligence,
Everything is working out for you.
You are exactly where you need to be.
Exhaling out in five seconds,
Keep holding and squeezing for four,
You're doing great,
In three,
In two and one,
Let it go.
Beautiful.
And as we come into our last and final round of the O breath,
Let's start when you're ready.
Like a straw,
Sip it in through the O breath,
Sending it out gentle and slow.
Keep going,
Finding over them that works for you.
And as you're receiving this beautiful medicine called your natural breath,
Your way of being and living in this world,
Recognizing that your breath is the bridge to your life.
Invitation to scan your body from head to toe and see where your body might be holding on to some tension and send that breath into that specific area,
Intentionally sending it there,
Love,
Light,
Energy,
Softness.
Allowing everything to melt.
You are safe in your body.
It is safe to express your full self.
And in the next 10 to 15 seconds,
Come back to regular breathing.
And we'll end with our last and final breath holds,
Empty out all the air in the lungs and take a deep inhale through the nose.
Hold the breath at the top as you gently soften your shoulders and your eyes,
Your fingers and toes,
You ignite the fire.
You squeeze below the root chakra.
You ground yourself in as you ignite and stoke the fire to rise up,
Rising up so effortlessly,
Clearing out the entire body of any tension you're holding and squeezing the breath.
There is a lightness here.
There is a courage,
A freedom.
Exhaling out five seconds.
Keep holding and squeezing in four,
In three,
In two,
And one.
Let it go.
Another deep inhale to hold through the nose.
Here we go.
Hold and squeeze,
Softening everything on the external,
Letting the internal landscape of who you are shine bright.
Exhaling the root chakra,
Allowing that energy to rise all the way up and out.
Remembering you are light.
I am light.
You are love.
I am love.
Holding and squeezing for just a few more seconds.
I am deserving.
I am worthy.
Holding and squeezing,
Exhaling out in five seconds.
Keep holding and squeezing for four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let it go.
And let's come back to regular breathing in and out of the nose.
Keeping your eyes closed for just a moment,
Observe how do you feel right now?
In your mind and in your body,
Honoring whatever comes up for you today,
How do you feel?
Observing,
Noticing.
Seeing if there's gentle softness happening around the parts that you may have felt tension earlier.
Noticing if the mind is a little calmer and the energy inside you is a little tingly,
Feeling energized,
Revived.
And as we close our practice today,
A gentle reminder to drink plenty of water,
To journal if you feel called to,
If anything is on your heart that you'd like to express.
And most importantly,
Celebrate yourself.
Thank yourself for taking time to fill up your own cup so that you can give from a place of overflow and abundance.
Remember this practice is always available.
Until next time,
Thank you and have a beautiful day.
