Welcome to your practice.
As the day comes to a close,
It can be helpful to create a small ritual that signals to the body that the workday is ending.
Maybe setting aside time each night to practice breathing,
Reflect on the day,
And recommit to your goals.
Breathing can become a part of a nighttime shutdown routine that helps the body transition away from the stimulation of our workday and move into rest.
We'll be practicing two techniques here together that are great for downshifting the system,
Allowing us to release tension and come into rest,
As we mentioned.
So get a comfortable seat,
Have some back support,
Even if you want to come laying down,
Whatever feels good in this moment.
And for the first technique,
We'll be practicing a humming breath,
So we'll be inhaling through the nose,
And on the exhale,
You'll make a subtle vibration and humming sound as you breathe out.
So we breathe in,
And then we hum on the exhale,
Having the breath move into the lower part of the body,
The diaphragm,
As you exhale and release.
As we breathe,
This vibration can stimulate the vagus nerve,
Helping the body settle,
Helping us release any overthinking or rumination coming into rest.
Let's begin.
Slow subtle breathing in through the nose,
And humming vibration as you exhale through the nose on the way out.
Just 10 rounds,
Breathing in through the nose,
Humming and exhaling on the way out.
You may notice how just even a couple minutes here,
A few moments together,
Can really help release through the sound,
That vibration,
Again,
Activating our vagus nerve,
Settling the system.
Now let's place the hands on the belly.
We'll practice 10 rounds together,
Diaphragmatic breathing.
So we simply move our awareness and attention into the belly.
I like to imagine breathing to the lowest part of my body,
So the belly moves front,
Back,
And side to side.
What I mean by that is when I inhale,
I imagine my breath moving into the front part of the body,
The lower back,
And the sides of my body.
So I'm really filling in as much as I can here,
So try that.
And then when I exhale,
I imagine letting all the breath out.
So I imagine my belly button coming towards my spine and just letting all the breath out of the body.
So breathing in,
Let the chest stay relatively still as the breath moves deeper into the body.
And then as you exhale,
Bring the belly button towards the spine,
Letting all the breath out.
Keeping the hands on the belly as you breathe,
Creating that connection to the breath and the body,
Again,
Allowing the system to come into rest.
Allowing all of the accumulation from your day to simply settle.
Every time we exhale,
We're signaling to the body,
To the nervous system,
That we are ready to settle and be supported,
Allowing any stress or tension to dissolve.
Beautiful work.
Just finish off here.
Release the technique and allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
Notice how the body feels,
Maybe softer.
Notice the mind if it feels a little less busy or noisy.
Even a few minutes of slow breathing in the evening can support the body's transition into rest,
Allowing you to get the rest and recovery that you need.
Let's take one more deep inhale together.
Let it go.
And that completes your evening practice.
Remember,
Come back to this every day if you can,
Just taking a few moments for yourself,
Allowing the system to rest and replenish,
Recover for the following day.
Until next time.
