Welcome to this short pranayama or breath work practice for anxiety.
I'll be guiding you through a few rounds of straw breath.
Now personally,
I love this breath because it's so easy to do.
You can do it on the go.
You can incorporate it into your daily routine.
And it's a great tool to pull out when you notice yourself feeling a little bit heightened.
So you can feel those sensations associated with anxiety.
This technique is really helpful as it encourages a longer exhale.
It also engages your diaphragm.
And all of these components are ways that you can access and turn on your parasympathetic nervous system.
It's a really handy bottom up technique that stimulates the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system to tell first your body and then eventually your mind that you are safe in this moment.
So firstly,
I'm going to talk you through the technique and then I'll guide you through three rounds of straw breath.
One round is an inhalation through the nose.
The exhalation will be through the mouth.
You will purse your lips as if to make an O with the lips,
As if you're blowing out of a straw.
You will exhale in this way only 80% of the breath.
So not all of the breath.
Once you complete the 80%,
Close the mouth and exhale the remaining 20% through the nose,
Really pushing in the diaphragm to push out the breath through the nose.
Once you complete one round of straw breath,
Just take a few moments to allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm before starting another round of straw breath.
Okay,
Now if you feel ready to start this practice,
Please follow along with my voice as I guide you through a few rounds.
Gently start to call your awareness back,
Bringing all of your attention into the here and now.
An invitation to perhaps place one hand on the heart,
The other on the belly.
Maybe both palms come to the diaphragm or hands can be simply placed in your lap.
Your eyes can be closed or they can be simply downcast,
Whatever feels right for you.
Before we begin,
Just take a moment to notice your internal landscape.
Noticing the quality of the thoughts,
Quality of the breath,
Maybe a pattern of the natural rhythm of the breath,
Any kind of sensation or emotions that you're bringing to this practice without needing to change it,
Just noticing.
We'll commence our first round.
So inhaling together through the nose,
Filling up the belly,
Chest,
And exhaling through the mouth as if you're blowing out of a straw.
Once you've exhaled 80 percent,
Closing the mouth,
Pushing the remainder out of the nose using the diaphragm.
Releasing control of the breath.
Let's take a moment to notice,
Observe.
Okay,
We'll start the second round.
On the next inhale,
Inhaling through the nose.
Once more filling up the belly,
The chest,
And the exhalation through the mouth,
Blowing it out through the straw.
At 80 percent,
Closing the mouth,
Breathing out through the nose.
Once again,
Returning to your natural rhythm to notice,
To experience.
Okay,
Our third and final round together.
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling through the mouth,
Closing the mouth,
Exhaling through the nose,
Emptying the breath.
And now witness,
Noticing now what has shifted or what remains the same compared to when you started this practice.
You are so very welcome to continue completing more rounds if that feels right for you.
Otherwise,
You can finish up with me here.
Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your day.
Namaste.
