Start by sitting or lying down in a comfortable position where you will have a minimum amount of disturbance for five minutes.
Then take a moment to be mindful of this sacred and healing time in which you are allowing yourself to practice breathing.
Settle into the present,
Allow your eyes to close if this is comfortable,
Or else just soft focus them in an area in front of you if this feels better.
First,
Sense your body here and now and soften any obvious tension.
Let your face be soft and your jaw be loose.
Let your shoulders drop and your arms and hands rest easily.
And now begin taking several deep,
Full relaxation breaths.
For this first few breaths,
Allow yourself to feel the fullness of your breath.
It can sometimes help to put one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest.
Breathe in through your nose,
First expanding your abdomen and then your chest,
Maximizing the air entering and leaving your body.
And now,
Breathe out fully through your mouth,
First releasing your chest and then your abdomen.
Notice any tension or holding in your body as you breathe in and then allowing yourself to release and soften and let go as you breathe out.
Repeat this practice for a minute or two,
Breathing in awareness and vitality and breathing out anything that is not serving you.
And now that you've experienced the fullness of the relaxation breath,
Allow your breath to have its own rate and rhythm as you invite it into your belly or abdomen area.
Become aware of the gentle rising and falling of the abdomen as it expands gently with the in-breath and contracts with the out-breath.
Continue to just breathe,
Noticing the abdomen expanding as you breathe in and contracting as you breathe out.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly begin to deepen your breath once again,
Increasing your awareness to include your body against the chair or the cushion,
Any sounds around you,
The sensations of your clothes against your skin,
Then gently moving your fingers and toes.
And when you are ready,
Opening your eyes and coming back to the room.
The relaxation breath is a practice in grounding.
It is traditionally used at the beginning of each of your meditation sittings,
But it can also be brought into your daily life.
Moment to moment,
Day by day,
When you are feeling imbalanced,
Stressed or anxious,
Or when you feel it is useful to return to your breath,
To this moment,
To this space.
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