This is one of my very favorite breath practices.
It's a great natural energy booster and it feels kind of like sitting outside and breathing in the sunshine.
It's perfect at the beginning of the day when you're just getting out of bed or when you're reaching for that second cup of coffee.
It's called 20 Connected Breaths.
We're going to start by settling in and getting familiar with the geography of our lungs.
So wherever you are,
Find a comfortable place,
Close or lower your eyes.
Invite the sense of dropping down your mind into your body.
All your bones,
All your muscles,
Your tissues.
Just relaxing deeply under the field of gravity into your seat or the bed below you.
Envision the shape of your lungs inside of you.
As you take your next breath,
I want you to really visualize bringing fresh new oxygen and rich air to the very lower lobes of your lungs.
Feeling your lungs expand from the inside outward and then letting your exhale go really easily,
Really gently.
Letting the breath just spill back out of you.
Another deep breath just like that.
Expand 360 degrees using the diaphragm and then release,
Let go,
Drop it out and settle into how good that feels.
All right,
Bringing your awareness up to the middle section of your lungs,
Around the sides of your heart,
In front of your heart.
Now breathe into this space.
Expanding 360 degrees as if the sun is shining from your heart in all directions.
Let go,
Let the air spill out again,
Relax into it.
Another big heart centered breath just like that.
And let that go.
Enjoy it.
Drop your shoulders.
Now moving up to the ceiling of our lungs,
Breathe and expand over the roof of your heart.
Feel the breath gently meet your collarbones and then let that go.
Let it pour out of you.
Relax under it,
Around it.
Release your breath.
Just breathe normally.
Enjoy sinking a little deeper into your seat.
Now taking this awareness of the generous space you have inside to breathe into,
We're going to move into 20 connected breaths.
So the focus here is to breathe in a circular fashion with little to no pause in between the inhale and the exhale.
You can envision a wheel turning slowly and smoothly.
The inhale is the same length as the exhale.
We take four huge expansive breaths and on the fifth breath,
A double inhale,
Drop it out,
Move right into the next breath for a total of 20.
This first round,
We're going to be breathing in and out through the nose.
You may feel lightheaded or tingly and that's totally normal.
If the sensation becomes too strong,
Just slow down the breathing,
Take smaller sips.
All right,
Here we go.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Inhale,
Exhale.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Expand,
Let it go.
Double inhale and drop it out right into the next one.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Expand inside,
Release.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Double breath here,
Snap it loose,
Let it go.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Inhale,
Exhale.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
Double inhale here all the way to the top and drop it down,
Let it go.
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Breathe in,
Breathe out,
Breathe in,
Let it go.
Really expand,
Feel that breath,
Breathe out,
Double breath here and drop it out.
Settle here,
Soak it up,
Feel any differences in your body,
Any sensations arising.
There's the quality of your mind.
Okay,
We're going to go into our second round.
If you're feeling good and you want to continue creating a buzz,
I invite you to breathe in through your mouth,
Out through your mouth for this next round.
If the sensations were really strong last time,
Go ahead and just continue breathing through the nose.
All right,
Draw the breath in,
Release it,
Inhale,
Exhale,
Open and expand,
Let go.
Bring it in,
Drop it out,
Double inhale here and relax,
Release next round.
Inhale,
Let go,
Inhale,
Let go.
Double.
Last round.
Enjoy that last one,
Sink down into it and wrap your awareness around how you're feeling.
In the intensity and the subtlety,
Trying not to judge it,
Just being a little bit more open to whatever is going on inside.
Okay,
If you're someone who loves a double shot of espresso,
This last lightning round is for you.
If you're feeling good,
Feel free to stop the recording here.
We're going to breathe in and out of the mouth again,
Just quickening the pace.
Let my breath be your cue.
Here we go.
Smile on that last one.
Release your breath.
Just breathe normally,
Embracing what you're feeling,
Embracing what you created inside,
This feeling of brightness,
Of charge.
See yourself holding all of it with perhaps a bit more spaciousness than you had 10 minutes ago.
Soak in all the wonderful benefits you just created for your system,
Your bloodstream,
Your liver,
Kidneys,
Heart,
Nervous system,
Brain.
We're all thanking you.
Bring two hands to the heart if that feels good and give yourself a huge thank you for choosing to be present with your breath and your body today.
This was all you.
I hope you enjoyed that short breath top off and I hope you have a wonderful day.
