Better Breathing - Feldenkrais Method -Whispered

This is a lesson from the Feldenkrais Method about the breath and how to find relaxation through deeper, easier breathing. I have been enjoying ASMR videos to settle down and fall asleep so much that I decided to make some on my favourite subject. Awareness through Movement.

Enjoy!

Transcript

Hello?

Can you hear me?

Let's begin by lying down.

And you can have your knees bent or your legs straight if your lower back allows for it.

Whatever is comfortable for you.

It's very important to feel comfortable because if there are annoying sensations in your body,

You will not be paying attention to your lungs.

You will be paying attention to the annoying sensations.

So really make yourself comfortable.

For some people,

A padding,

A rolled blanket or something under their knees can be helpful.

Something under your head.

So really take a few moments to make yourself comfortable and begin to notice your breath.

And of course,

We say observe your breath without changing it,

Which is very,

Very difficult.

I don't know if it's even possible.

It's what in physics is called the observer effect.

The act of observing changes what is happening,

But can you keep your breath quiet and soft and really don't focus on taking a big inhale or making noise,

Just listen in to that quiet breathing.

And as you do,

Can you concentrate now on the temperature of the air?

And can you follow the path of the air from the edge of your nostrils up your nose to the back of the mouth,

Down your neck?

And can you feel that the incoming air is slightly cooler?

Can you follow this sensation?

In through the nose to the back of your neck,

Down your chest,

How far down can you still feel the coolness of the air?

And pay attention only to your inhales.

So every time a new inhale begins,

You follow it from the edge of your nostrils up your nose to the back of your neck,

Maybe in the palate of your mouth.

And now that you know where you feel the air coming in,

Can you pay attention to the places that are darker,

To the places around your nose and mouth and your neck where you don't feel the coolness of air so much?

Can you breathe without effort?

And you follow the coolness of the air coming in through your head,

Down your neck,

Into your chest.

And as you continue to notice only your inhales,

Can you pay attention now to the top right lobe of your right lung?

So your lungs are a bit different.

Each lung has a different shape to make space for your heart to the left and your liver to the right.

The left lung has two lobes and your right lung has three lobes.

The top,

The middle one and the bottom one.

Can you bring your attention now to the top part,

The top lobe of your right lung,

That space between your clavicle,

Your shoulder blade and your armpit?

So now as you inhale,

Can you sense the expansion of the top right lobe?

And with your left arm,

You can touch now your clavicle,

Your right clavicle and really clarify the movement.

Keeping your attention only in your inhales,

Feeling how your right clavicle gently pushes against your left palm as the top right lobe of your lung expands.

And then for a few inhales,

Could you bring your left hand under your right armpit and find those top ribs under your armpit?

Feel them out gently.

And then you keep your hands on the ribs under your armpit and for a few breaths,

You observe the expansion there,

The expansion of the top lobe of your right lung as you inhale.

We usually think of our breath as a movement forward in the chest,

In the front of ourselves.

But our breath is an expansion in 360 degrees.

Wherever there are ribs,

There are lungs underneath them,

Gently pushing outwards with every inhale.

Sink gently into the ground as you inhale.

As your body expands,

Just keep your attention there to the space under your clavicle,

In front of your shoulder blade,

Behind your armpit and really sense the expansion of the top lobe with every inhale.

And you can let your left hand come down for a few moments and just sense the movement from within.

Without the help of your left hand now,

And you feel it becoming clearer,

Bigger,

Even though your breath is still soft and quiet.

And again,

Bring your attention to the path of air from the tip of your nose,

Following the coolness of air into your chest as you inhale.

Maybe the coolness of air feels clearer now.

And then bring your attention to the bottom right of your chest where your floating ribs are,

In the bottom of your ribcage.

And you feel the movement of the breath without making it bigger,

Keeping your neck soft so there's no hissing sound as you inhale or exhale.

The breath is soft,

Quiet and effortless,

Finding out what happens in your lower ribs as you breathe.

And again,

You could sense with your left hand the front of your ribs or the side of your ribs.

Keep your awareness only in the inhale,

So you're paying attention only to the expansion now.

The expansion of the lower,

The bottom lobe of your right lung.

And you feel the body expanding upwards towards the ceiling and sideways.

Can you feel the lower part of the back of your ribs expanding into the floor maybe?

Maybe with every small,

Gentle,

Quiet inhale you can feel a difference in weight in the lower part of your trunk now,

In your lower ribs.

And take a rest now.

So take a breath and just allow your attention to roam free for just a few moments,

For just a few breaths.

Just let it go and rest.

And then with your next inhale,

Bring your attention back to your body.

Could you find the smallest of movements and gently turn your head?

So you roll your head side to side,

A very small movement.

And as you roll your head,

Your nose only turns but a few millimeters to the side.

And as you roll your head,

Feel the weight in your shoulder blades and in your ribs.

And if your body has quieted down enough,

You will start to sense the movement of your head as a weight shifting between your shoulder blades.

And as a shifting weight between the right and the left side of your trunk,

Your right and left ribs.

And for some,

It will be detectable,

Even down to the pelvis.

Maybe even in your heels,

How far down can you feel the echoes of the movement?

Bring your head back to center.

Again,

Find a slow,

Quiet breath,

Trying to notice without changing.

Can you feel now the middle lobe of the right lung?

So can you feel the expansion of the top lobe and the bottom lobe?

And in between the middle lobe of your right lung,

Under your breast,

Where do you feel the expansion clearly?

And is there another sensation now?

You could sense or maybe imagine that as you inhale,

The right lung is lengthening.

As you inhale,

Your diaphragm drops down towards your abdomen and it allows your lung to lengthen.

And again,

Let your attention go for a moment.

Rest.

Feel your right and your left side.

Can you observe the sensation in your right and your left shoulder?

Your right and left side of your chest,

Can you still feel the expansion of your right lung with every inhale?

Paying attention to the similarities and the differences between your right and your left side.

And now,

Bring your attention to your breath.

But this time,

Start paying attention to your exhales.

And as you exhale,

Pay attention to the movement in your body,

The contraction of the top lobe of your right lung as you exhale.

And then,

Can you feel it retracting from your ribs?

And then,

For a few breaths,

The bottom lobe,

Focusing only on the retraction.

On the exhale,

Are the places where you felt the expansion,

The inhale clearly,

The same as those you feel the exhale clearly now.

And for a few breaths,

Could you pay attention to the whole circle of the breath and to the whole of the right lung?

So as you inhale,

You can feel the expansion,

The way the right side of your body gently changes its contact with the ground as you expand.

And as you exhale,

Can you pay attention to which are the places where you feel the retraction?

Is the right side of your face getting softer?

If you raise your arms,

Does the right arm seem a bit lighter?

What happens when you pay attention to the expansion and contraction of your right lung?

And you can let your attention go now.

You can rest.

Let your attention go now.

And as you exhale,

You can relax.

And as you exhale,

You can relax.

And as you exhale,

You can relax.

And as you exhale,

You can relax.

.

Reviews

A great session on bringing awareness to my body. Thank you for the creative approach to a great lesson!!

Very relaxing and impressive at the same time. Thank you 🙏😊👋

Fascinating thank you 🙏
It did stop my ruminating mind for a while and so interesting to think of the breath in a different way 😊