Welcome,
My name is Julia and I'm a Certified Breathwork Facilitator.
Today's practice is a safe space for when life feels like too much.
Too many decisions,
Too much of the news,
Too many demands pulling at your attention.
When you're feeling overwhelmed from carrying it all,
Distressed from work,
From family,
The state of the world,
Or just juggling everything.
Feeling overwhelmed doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong,
It just means that you've been taking on more than your nervous system can keep up with.
Breathwork is one of the best ways to help bring that all back into balance,
And the best part is that you always have your breath with you.
So let's take a moment to settle in.
Finding a position where your body feels supported,
Whether that's sitting tall,
Lying down,
Or anything in between.
This is your practice and your time to reset.
Letting your eyes close if that feels good,
Or just letting them soften.
Dropping your shoulders.
Unclenching your abdomen.
Noticing the physical presence of your body,
Where it meets the ground or the surface beneath you.
Faking out one or two emotions or feelings that you're experiencing right now.
How is it that you'd like to feel at the end of this practice?
Calling that new emotion or feeling to mind.
Breathing it in.
Using your inhale to help anchor that new sensation within your body.
Let's begin with a gentle exhale,
Sinking our breath.
Inhaling through the nose,
And then opening your mouth softly.
Sighing it all out.
Allowing yourself to make any noise or any sounds if that feels good.
Let's do that one more time.
Breathing in through the nose,
And sighing it all out through your mouth.
Now,
Bringing your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath.
Just noticing how it feels without trying to change it,
Without making any comments or any judgments on how you think it should be.
Sometimes when we're overwhelmed,
Our breath becomes shallow and quick,
Or sometimes we forget to breathe altogether.
When this happens,
It signals to our bodies that we're under attack.
By consciously slowing and deepening our breath,
We're sending the opposite message,
That it's safe enough to relax,
Even just by one percent.
So let's send that signal to our bodies.
Starting to guide the breath.
Inhaling slowly through the nose,
Filling your abdomen,
Your ribcage,
All the way up into your chest,
Your shoulders.
Breathing it out softly through your mouth,
Trying to make your exhale just a little bit longer than your inhale.
Signaling to your mind that it's time for that tension to melt away,
Just one percent at a time.
Breathing in through the nose,
Filling your torso,
And then a nice slow exhale out through the mouth.
Keep this going at your own pace.
Inhaling to expand and soften,
Exhaling to release.
We'll be here for a few moments,
Just breathing.
If it feels like a struggle to lengthen that exhale,
You can try pursing your lips,
To slow it down.
If you feel your mind's wandering to everything that's waiting for you,
No worries.
Gently guiding it back to your breath,
Without judging yourself for shifting focus.
Now,
Let's move into a different rhythm.
Inhaling for a count of four,
Holding gently at the top,
And exhaling for a count of six.
Inhale,
Hold,
Exhale.
Keeping this pattern up,
That longer exhale activates our parasympathetic nervous system,
Our rest and adjust state,
Which helps quiet the stress response that fuels those feelings of overwhelm.
Inhale.
As you breathe,
You might want to picture your inhale creating space inside,
Physically expanding your body to let in fresh,
New breath filled with calm,
Positivity,
Peace,
Or whatever emotion you brought to mind earlier.
Holding onto that at the top,
And as you exhale,
Physically blowing off steam,
Your own personal release valve,
Letting go of clutter,
Stagnant energy,
All of that overwhelm,
Staying with this pattern.
Maybe there's a reason you've been carrying this energy.
Maybe it felt necessary,
Wanted,
Even.
But recognizing that sometimes,
Even things that are necessary can feel like too much,
That it's okay to acknowledge that,
And to take steps towards freeing yourself from it.
As you breathe here,
Let's take a moment to check in with ourselves again.
Has anything shifted or softened?
Using that breathing pattern to release any of those areas of tension or holding that you might have noticed.
And if there are no areas in particular,
Or if everything is feeling tense,
You can try clenching and curling up with the inhale,
Holding at the top,
And physically releasing everything with that exhale.
Knowing that it's okay to let go.
It's okay to pause.
After your next exhale,
Releasing that breath,
And we'll shift back to those big sighs that we started out with.
Inhaling through the nose,
And sighing it out dramatically through your mouth,
Clearing everything.
Again,
Inhaling,
And letting it all go.
One more time,
Breathing in through the nose,
And sighing it all out through your mouth.
Taking your time,
Returning to your natural breath.
Noticing how it feels compared to when we began.
Every time that we take a few moments to breathe and check in with ourselves,
It takes us closer to baseline.
You can use these simple breathing practices daily,
Or whenever you need a moment of peace.
And if you find yourself back in that feeling of overwhelm,
Don't judge yourself.
You know exactly what you need to do to take a step back from it.
Thanking yourself for showing up.
I know just how challenging that can feel to take those first steps,
Those breaths.
Take a moment to acknowledge just how resilient you are.
And remember,
Your breath is always with you,
Especially when the world feels heavy.
Gently shifting back to the space that you're in,
Taking a little stretch,
Or a wiggle,
Or any movement that's calling to you right now.
If your eyes were closed,
Quickly rubbing the palms of your hands together to create warmth,
Then opening your warmed palms over your closed eyes,
Softly blinking your eyes open from underneath this cocoon of safety.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
Wishing you a calmer and more peaceful time ahead.
