Hello and welcome to today's diaphragmatic breathwork practice.
If you are here from the series,
Then this meditation and session will connect with the third episode,
But if you haven't listened to the series yet,
That's perfectly fine.
It's not a pre-requirement,
So just settle in comfortably and let's begin.
If you want to hear more about diaphragmatic breathing,
You can always just listen to the series episode as well.
You can practice this laying down or sitting up.
If you're getting ready for bed or you want to relax even further,
Then just lay down and make sure that there is no thick pillow under your head and nothing constricts your breath and the flow of air through your throat.
To start off,
Just check in with yourself.
Just notice your breath.
Notice how your body is feeling.
Just take a few conscious breaths in your own rhythm,
In your own time,
And just tune in to your body's sensations.
Check if you can get just a little bit more comfortable.
Now if you want,
You can place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
This will help you to observe the right pattern and also to connect a bit more to yourself.
We're going to be breathing through our tummy,
All the way through opening up our diaphragm and our ribcage,
And then breathing into our chest,
All the way up to our collarbones.
Right now,
Just feel the free flow of air in your body.
Observe how you're feeling right now,
How your breath is.
Is it shallow?
Is it fast?
And we'll check back in with it after the session.
So we'll start with an exhale,
And then start to breathe in through your tummy,
All the way through your ribcage,
Filling up your lungs with air,
Feel your chest expanding all the way up to your collarbones,
And then exhaling through your chest,
Closing up your ribcage,
And exhaling every ounce of air from your belly.
And just inhaling again through your belly,
Opening up the ribcage,
Feel the expansion in your chest,
Notice how it makes you feel to have so much air in your body,
And just exhaling all the way down.
You don't have to rush,
Focus on the form,
On the right pattern.
You can even pause after every inhale on the top,
Holding the breath for a few seconds,
And then once you've exhaled all the air,
You can just hold the exhale for a few seconds.
Inhaling through your belly,
Expanding,
Opening up your chest,
Letting in all the air,
Enjoying the expansion,
And then just letting out the air with control.
And just notice if you feel any tension anywhere along the way,
If you feel like your body is stuck and can't expand,
It's okay,
Just notice.
If at any stage you feel fatigued,
Or out of breath,
Or dizzy,
Just get back to your normal breath,
And then start again whenever you're ready.
Just a few deep breaths can reset your day,
Can set you up for a more conscious,
More productive,
More connected day.
Just breathe,
Just make sure that you follow along the air,
And you can feel the path connecting to your body.
If any emotions,
Feelings come to the surface,
Just breathe through them.
Just observe them,
Let them come and go.
Just two more breaths in,
And out.
And after your last exhale,
Just hold the exhale for as long as you can.
And then when you feel like you need to breathe again,
Just breathe in fully all the way to the top of your lungs,
And hold the inhale,
Feel the expansion.
And then you can just get back to your normal breath whenever you need to breathe again.
Don't push yourself,
You're not competing with anyone,
Not even with yourself.
You don't have to prove anything.
And just check in with the parts of your body,
Or the parts of yourself that might have been a bit sticky,
A bit heavy,
A bit tense before this session.
See if they're feeling a bit more looked after,
And just ask yourself what part needs the most attention today.
What is it that you can nourish yourself with today the most?
What is one thing you can take with yourself today?
Whenever you're ready,
You can either transition into your meditation practice,
Into a restful night of sleep,
Or you can open your eyes and start your day.
Thank you so much for joining me today,
And I hope to see you in our next track.
