Radiant Breathwork: Breathing Space & Light Into Resistance
In this session, Brenton Harris guides you into a gentle, breath-centered journey that explores and transforms resistance, both in the body and in the mind. We’ll begin with a 10-minute exploratory exercise that brings awareness to the intimate connection between our breath and body. We’ll also explore the “edges” or resistance points of breath in the body, and then gently relax them into openness. Then we’ll move into a more active, energizing breath-pattern, and combine it with a 15-minute guided visualization that both hosts and transforms your inner experience of resistance, in an embodied way. This practice is important for everyone, yet particularly potent for anyone feeling stuck, blocked, resistant, or struggling with acceptance.
Transcript
Welcome to Radiant Breathwork.
My name is Brenton and I'll be your guide today as we breathe space and light into resistance and tension,
Both in body and in mind.
Before we begin,
Take a moment to check your surroundings,
Your setting,
So that there is nothing that will pull your attention from yourself and your breath.
Position yourself so that ideally you're lying on your back,
Perhaps with a pillow under your knees to support your lower back,
And with your head either lying with a small towel rolled under your neck,
Or just let the back of your head rest on your mat.
Lying on your back will help soften the resistance of gravity as you breathe.
It'll make it easier to take deep,
Diaphragmatic breaths.
For this session,
We're going to focus upon breathing in and out through the nose,
As long as it feels comfortable to you.
That needs to change,
Just trust your body and go with it.
When you find a comfortable position,
Let your eyes close and let there be softness in your head,
Brow,
And face.
Softness that begins to slowly move down your body.
Feel yourself ease into the safe support of Earth beneath you,
As you trade the heaviness of responsibility or burden for the heaviness of gravity.
Natural heaviness pulling you into a sense of calm and presence.
Now begin to pull your awareness inward.
Move from the sounds and the smells around you,
To the taste in your mouth,
And then to the feeling of your breath.
Without trying to change or control it,
Just let your awareness rest on your breathing,
Almost as if you're watching someone else breathe.
Notice the feeling of air moving into and out of your body.
Feel the slight coolness in your nostrils as you breathe in,
As you breathe out.
If you'd like,
You can take a moment and bring your fingers to the space just below your nostrils,
So that you can feel your breath on your fingertips.
Now I invite you to find your heartbeat with your fingertips,
Maybe on your wrist or your neck.
Again,
Just noticing and connecting with the quiet cadence of your heart.
Once you comfortably find your heartbeat,
Let your awareness expand to your breath.
There's an intimacy in the connection between our breathing and our heartbeat.
Be in the space of that intimate connection for a minute now.
Now relax your position and release this focus in holding and building background connection with both your breath and your heart.
We're going to move into a slightly more controlled pattern now,
So that we can deepen our exploration of breath and space in the body.
So on your next inhale,
Breathe in slowly through your nose and deep into your belly,
And pause for a moment at the top of your breath,
And then breathe out through your nose again,
Long and slow.
Breathe to whatever count or length feels right for you now.
Whatever it is,
Maintain that slow,
Low cadence of belly breathing,
Finding whatever count feels natural for you right now.
Breathing low and slow like this,
We stimulate our vagus nerve,
And in turn,
That rest and digest parasympathetic nervous system.
So every breath you take like this,
Tiptoes you toward deeper sense of calm,
Deeper sense of presence.
Continue this even,
Slow pattern of breath in and out,
And as you do so,
Begin to notice the edges in your breath,
And the edges in your body as you breathe.
You may encounter a sense of tightness,
A sense of tightness or resistance in a place like your chest or your diaphragm,
Or maybe a tightness or a closing in your jaw or your throat.
Maybe it even feels like one side of you receives more air than the other.
Whatever and wherever it may be,
Notice these points of resistance in your breath and body.
On your next inhale,
Imagine that you breathe directly into those points of resistance that you perceive,
And feel them become malleable and soften with your inhale,
So that as you breathe out,
The resistance flows and leaves with your breath.
Continue the cycle now,
Directing this experience with your intention,
Your powerful attention.
Breathing into the resistance and edges in your body,
And breathing out into greater space and openness.
If it helps,
You can imagine yourself like a river,
Being the water,
So that as you breathe in,
You perceive the piranha that moves into and through you,
And as you breathe out,
Your waters flow through the dams and blockages along your path,
Releasing them to flow downstream.
You may start to notice that those edges are gently expanding,
And if you do or you don't,
That's okay,
Just keep this slow pattern for just a moment longer.
Breathing into tension and breathing out space.
We'll take three final breaths now,
Bailing from your belly up to your chest and back out again.
So breathe out,
Completely release.
Now breathe in for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Breathe out for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Breathe in for 6,
Feeling the openness of the blue sky inside your body,
Your lungs.
Breathe out for 6,
Returning to emptiness and space.
Breathe in for 6,
As deep as you can.
Breathe out for 6,
Relaxing into the exhale and letting go.
And now let your breathing be free,
Uncontrolled,
And feel the expanded edges of your breath,
In both body and mind,
And perceive the element of space in body and mind also.
Now return to that pranic breath,
Breathing slow and low and intentional.
Let your awareness stay with the spaciousness you've created with your breath.
Really,
You've returned your awareness to the space that is the core of your being,
And the space inside you that is you,
As vast like an open blue clear sky.
And within it,
There is space to accommodate all things,
All experiences,
All emotions,
All thoughts.
The sky-like space of inner being accepts it all.
So within this space inside,
Let yourself call to mind an experience in your life that needs it,
That needs space.
A situation that feels stuck,
Or an experience that stimulated resistance inside.
Continue to breathe as you let this experience formulate in your mind.
You might image the person or the object that stimulates it.
And if you can't see in your mind's eye,
You can recall the visceral experience.
And as this experience begins to crystallize,
Notice where you feel it in your body,
This energy of resistance.
Notice where you've become tense,
Or where that sense of space you cultivated seems to have collapsed.
It might help to notice whether the resistance seems dull or piercing.
Maybe it has a shape.
Is it round or pointy?
Does it have corners or edges?
Does it have a color?
Or maybe it even makes a sound.
And just as you explore the edges of your breath earlier,
Explore the edges of your resistance with this experience or situation now.
Taking that shape and color and feeling and breathing with it.
If it helps you to stay present with it,
Then you can either place your hands on or near the area of your body where you feel that energy of resistance as you host this experience in your mind.
Or you can simply place one hand lightly on your belly and the other gently on your chest.
Let this experience bubble to the surface.
Let the feelings that come with it be present as you continue to slowly breathe in and breathe out.
Still hosting this experience of resistance within the space inside you,
We'll begin to bring intentionality to the breath once again to help bring space and light to the situation.
Now exhale completely.
On your next inhale,
Breathe in deep into the belly.
Then breathe in again deeply into the chest.
Then exhale and empty,
Letting the breath fall away.
Again,
Into the belly,
Into the chest,
And relax and exhale.
Continue this pattern on your own now,
Breathing in to the belly and into the chest,
And then allow the breath to fall away in a big exhale.
Into the belly,
Into the chest,
Out and relax.
Continue this breath pattern,
Allowing the energy to begin to move through your body as the prana increases,
And now begin to return your awareness to the experience hosted inside you.
The resistance you encounter in the situation you recall.
Remember the shape and the texture,
The color,
Perhaps the people,
The other images,
And the feelings that arise inside as you host it now.
Let it all be present in the area of your heart center.
A spaciousness present within the portal of your chest as you continue to breathe in,
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Now with each inhale,
Begin to imagine a purifying white light forming in your belly that begins to grow.
Keep breathing into belly,
Into chest,
And let it go.
Know that this is a light,
A spacious presence and calm akin to the luminous presence of inner being.
Imagine that this light grows to fill your belly,
Opening space in your mind and your body as it shines outward.
Every inhale,
The light grows.
Now let this light rise upward to your heart space as you breathe into the belly,
And move the light up as you breathe in again to the chest,
And then breathe out as the light expands.
Continuing into the belly,
Into the chest,
And breathing out,
Letting it go.
Continuing this breath pattern now,
And in your mind's eye,
Seeing the image of your resistance beginning to dissolve into that calm peace of light in your heart.
With every breath in,
This light crystallizes in this heart center now,
And in your mind's eye,
See the image of your resistance beginning to dissolve into that calm peace of light that you cultivated and brought to the space of your heart.
As the image fades to white,
Feel the resistance you encountered in your body begin to dissolve into openness,
Into relaxation,
Into ease.
Taking five final breaths now,
Breathing out completely,
And now slowly breathe in for 10,
9,
8,
The resistance relaxes into space and light,
3,
2,
1,
And hold feeling only light and space now that pushes any last residue of misunderstanding and impatience and anything else into a small bit of shadow that you can now breathe out.
Feeling it release through your nostrils or mouth,
Evaporating into the energy of the all.
Let your breathing be normal now,
Relaxed.
Let there be space now between you and your experience.
Just rest for a few minutes,
Riding the gentle rise and fall of your breathing,
Resting in the space between each breath.
Wherever you are in your breathing,
Let your next inhale bring just a little more energy and wakefulness,
Slowly returning yourself to the sense of space you inhabit.
Whenever you're ready,
You can blink your eyes open.
Remember the space inside you,
Always.
Some final words from the Upanishads,
One of the oldest spiritual texts on earth.
As great as the infinite space beyond,
Is the space within the lotus of the heart.
Both heaven and earth are contained in that inner space.
Both fire and air,
Sun and moon,
Lightning and stars.
Whether we know it in this world or know it not,
Everything is contained in that inner space.
Thank you for breathing with me.
Thank you,
Gratitude.
