Welcome to your practice.
Find your way into a comfortable seated position.
In this meditation,
We include practices designed to support your vagal tone.
Helping your nervous system become more regulated and resilient to stress.
Allow your body to settle into the support beneath you.
Let your hands rest easily.
And if it feels comfortable,
Gently close your eyes.
Taking a moment to turn your attention inward.
Notice your breathing.
And the sensations that you notice within your body.
Do you feel more tight or open?
This is our pre-check.
Now bring your attention to your face,
Softening your forehead,
Releasing the muscles around your eyes.
Allowing your jaw to loosen and your tongue to rest comfortably in your mouth.
Let go of your shoulders and begin to deepen your breath.
We will explore two simple breathing practices inspired by the work of Dr.
Andrew Huberman from Stanford University.
These breathing practices involve a prolonged exhalation.
Remember your breathing should always be comfortable and natural for your body.
If you feel lightheaded,
Simply return to your natural breathing and join in again as you're ready.
Adjust yourself now so you're sitting upright as we move into our elongated exhale breath.
This is the pattern for the practice.
Inhaling through the nose for four counts,
Exhaling through the mouth for six to eight counts.
You may feel your belly slightly engaged to complete the exhale,
But be gentle,
No forcing.
The exact breath count is not important.
Comfort is more important than the number.
I will guide you through the first three breaths.
Remember,
Inhaling nose,
Exhaling mouth.
Let's begin.
Exhale together.
Inhale 2,
3,
4.
Exhale 2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
2 3 4 Exhale 2 3 4 5 6 Inhale 2 3 4 Exhale 2 3 4 5 6 Breathing at your own pace now.
Just keeping with the pattern of inhaling to 4 and exhaling to 6,
7 or 8.
Giving yourself permission to let it be a comfortable breath.
A gentle practice.
Breathing in easily.
And allowing your focus to be the exhale,
Slow and unhurried.
You are inviting your nervous system to move toward a calmer state.
Moving away from the stress response.
And in to rest and digest.
Keeping your shoulders relaxed.
You You may notice your exhalations naturally becoming slower.
Continuing with this practice,
Allowing it to be a natural rhythm.
To strengthen vagal tone,
It's recommended that we return to this simple practice throughout the day.
Whenever you remember,
A slow conscious exhale supports your nervous system.
Letting go of your practice,
Returning to your natural breath.
Simply notice any changes.
How does your body feel now?
If you need to give your body more time to breathe naturally before the next practice,
Simply pause your recording.
Our next breath is a great way to release tension in the body quickly and return it to calm.
It's the sighing breath.
This is the pattern.
Inhaling through the nose,
Pause.
Inhale a second time,
A sip of air.
And exhale with a long,
Slow sigh from the mouth.
I'll demonstrate.
Just listen.
Inhaling.
Pause.
Inhale,
Sit.
Exhale.
Let's do it together.
Stay relaxed.
No reason to try too hard.
If my pace is not good for you,
Simply go at your own rhythm.
Let's begin together with an exhale.
Inhale.
Pause.
Inhale,
Sit.
Exhale,
Long,
Slow sigh.
Inhaling Pause.
Inhale,
Sit.
Exhale,
Sigh.
Inhale,
Pause.
Inhale,
Sit.
Exhale,
Sigh.
Continuing at your own pace.
Focusing on the exhalation.
Create one more breath on your own.
As you're ready,
Allowing your breath to completely return to normal.
I invite you to sit back in your chair and simply notice.
Checking in.
Reconnecting with your body.
Perhaps you notice more saliva within your mouth.
This is one of the body's signals that lets you know that you've moved from the stress response into rest and digest.
If you found this practice difficult,
I encourage you to keep practicing,
Allowing yourself to do it in a gentle way.
The body learns through repetition.
And when you remember,
Come back to those elongated exhalations throughout your day to support your nervous system.
Wishing you deep peace and restoration,
My friends.
