Hello and welcome.
My name is Campbell and I invite you to join me in a comfortable seated position or laying down.
Most importantly,
Comfortable.
Today we're going to explore the volume of our breath.
So we'll be taking gradually larger breaths up until our full capacity and then smaller breaths down to our minimum capacity.
Always follow your body,
Never forcing.
Begin by gently closing down the eyes.
Perhaps beginning to first notice your breath.
Where is the breath moving?
How is the breath moving?
I'm starting to feel the body.
As your breath moves in,
Just notice the gentle expansion of the belly,
Perhaps the chest.
As you exhale,
Notice gentle contraction.
As you exhale,
Notice gentle contraction.
So we want our inhales to be active,
But our exhales also to be gently active.
So let's begin to draw a little bit deeper,
Perhaps 10% more,
But also pushing out that little active exhale.
So we start to begin to pull and push the breath in a continuous cycle.
Now the breath doesn't have to be fast or intense,
It's smooth and controlled.
Let's again increase the breath by 10%,
Making it a little bit deeper,
Perhaps a little bit slower.
So the breath beginning to expand in the body,
Taking up a bit more space and gently pushing out.
And again a little deeper,
So beginning now to move into the fullness of the breath.
Feel it expanding and building,
Moving up through the body.
And as you exhale,
Feel the shoulders drop,
The chest drops,
The belly gently squeezes in.
So drawing a slow,
Full breath in and gently pushing a controlled,
Full breath out.
Over your next few breaths,
I want you to try and reach 100%,
So a full,
Full inhale and a full,
Complete exhale.
Drawing and expanding in the body,
Letting go,
Trying to relax and contract.
Let's take three more breaths at 100%,
Feel your full breath.
Now we're going to drop it to 75%,
So feel the breath rise up through the body but not quite as full now.
Three quarters in,
Three quarters out.
Feel this next capacity of your breath.
And again let's now drop down to 50%,
So the breath becoming smaller,
Perhaps a little bit slower.
The breath expanding in the belly,
Perhaps into the lower ribs,
But the chest and shoulders now beginning to soften.
The breath slowing.
So again,
Drop down now to 25%.
The breath softer and smaller again.
Starting now to pay attention to the noise and the sensation of the breath.
If you're still feeling a lot of movement,
Make the breath a little bit smaller.
If there is noise,
Make it a bit more quiet.
If there is sensation,
Let's again begin to slow,
Let's drop down.
Now to,
Where's the smallest breath you can manage,
Perhaps 5%,
Even 1%.
So soft and slow,
Just barely moving in and out through the nose.
Notice what's happening in the body here,
Let's stay soft and relaxed.
Observing the sensations in the body as we slow the breath down.
Imagine if someone is to see you,
They think you are holding your breath,
It's so soft,
So subtle.
Let's see if we can maintain a slower pattern of breath,
Just a few more moments.
Now we're going to step our way back up,
So next breath in,
Make it a 10%.
Gently pushing out,
Drawing in to 25%.
Starting to feel the breath moving in now to 50%,
It rises up through the body.
75%,
Feel the breath swelling up into the chest.
And up to 100% from the base of the belly all the way up into the head.
Let's take 5 breaths at a slow 100% capacity.
And now our next inhale,
Let's gently hold at the top,
So draw the breath in and pause.
Feel perhaps that little lift in energy and warmth,
Slight buzz.
Relax the shoulders,
Relax the jaw,
Let an exhale spill from an open mouth.
Feeling the body become a little bit heavier.
Let's draw in a very slow,
Conscious inhale,
Gently expanding the breath in the body.
And an easy exhale like a breeze,
Just moving through the trees.
Drawing the breath in.
On the exhale,
Crashing like a gentle wave down over the body.
Drawing in again the breath quite deep,
Slow and conscious,
It spills back out,
The body softening.
Let's begin,
Let the breath slow a little more,
Just noticing a gentle space at the end of the exhale,
A subtle pause.
So feel the inhale expand in the body,
Relax and let that exhale fall.
But notice that space,
Just hover there a moment,
A timeless moment until the next breath floats back in.
Relax as we sigh it out and again that space appears,
Notice the space between each exhale and inhale.
Drop down to that space,
Try to drop down into the body.
Can you feel as that space begins to stretch?
Now let's take one final breath,
So drawing in a little deeper,
Relax with a sigh.
Simply allow the natural breath to find its way back,
Slowly removing that sense of control.
But back to simple observation.
And tune in,
Notice the physical body.
Noticing the breath moving in and out.
It's beginning to move the body,
Opening and closing the hands,
Gently shrugging the shoulders to the ears,
Stretching or yawning.
Gently opening the eyes,
Readjusting to the light in your space.
And taking a moment,
Just a quiet observation before moving on.
