Welcome to a breathing exercise just for you.
For the next little while,
You're going to focus on bringing equilibrium to the in and out breaths for the purpose of creating balance between body and mind.
Getting started by finding a comfortable upright posture or laying down using any supports you might need.
Stretch the body briefly,
Moving anything that feels tight,
Getting any wiggles or squiggles out of the body.
Getting settled,
Allow your jaw to relax,
Allow the shoulders to release,
And feel all the support underneath your body.
Now,
Begin to tune in to your breath,
Just noticing the natural rhythm of your breathing without trying to change or control it.
Just noticing where you feel your breath,
Whether the rhythm is fast or slow,
Or maybe irregular.
Take a couple deeper breaths to transition into our practice,
Inhaling and filling up the lungs,
Exhaling,
Letting the breath release fully,
Maybe even sighing it out the mouth.
As you inhale,
Fill up the belly like a balloon.
As you exhale,
Feel the belly slowly release.
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Now,
We'll begin some easy paced breathing,
Starting with a count of four.
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breath in,
Breath out.
Your mind is focused on the sensations of breathing,
The belly filling and rising,
The belly releasing and falling.
Taking one more easy breath in,
Easy breath out.
Coming back to your natural breath rhythm,
Just gently observing your breath without controlling it anymore.
Has it changed at all?
Is it deeper,
More regular?
Just notice.
Now,
Let's lengthen the breath by a little bit.
Starting by inhaling,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breath in,
Breath out.
Your mind is focused on the sensations of breathing,
Only on the sensations of breathing,
Belly filling and rising,
The belly releasing and falling.
Taking one more easy breath in,
Easy breath out.
Coming back to your natural breath rhythm,
Gently observing your breath without controlling it now.
Has it changed at all?
And now we'll close by lengthening the breath one more time.
Starting by inhaling,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Inhale,
Belly rise,
Exhale,
Belly fall.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breath in,
Breath out.
Your mind is focused on the sensations of breathing,
Only on the sensations of breathing,
The belly filling and rising,
The belly releasing and falling.
Taking one more easy breath in,
Easy breath out.
Coming back now to your natural breath rhythm,
Just observing for a moment.
And then as you're ready,
Making any small movements the body is asking for,
Such as turning the head from side to side,
Licking the lips,
Swallowing,
And just noticing the effects,
If any,
From your breathing practice today.
See if you can take this calm awareness with you into the rest of your day or evening.
Thank you so much for taking the time to take care of yourself.
Namaste.
