Congratulate yourself for taking this time to dedicate to your mental wellness and find a comfortable place to sit or lie.
If you're sitting,
Have your feet firmly planted on the ground or perhaps you're sitting cross-legged on a cushion with your hips higher than your knees,
Maintaining a wakeful posture with the crown of your head reaching up toward the sky.
And as you begin to settle into your body,
Just noticing your breath,
Observing how it enters and leaves your body,
Feeling the rise and fall of your chest and the rise and fall of your belly.
And with each exhale,
Allowing the muscles in your body to relax,
Allowing yourself to be supported by your chair or cushion,
Allowing the muscles in the forehead,
In the face to relax,
Perhaps even the mouth will open,
Allowing the jaw to be relaxed.
And now begin to be more deliberate with your breath,
Elongating your inhales and exhales.
So inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of four.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Now let's add breath retention.
So we'll inhale together for four.
Hold the breath for four.
Slowly exhale for four.
And hold the breath for four.
Inhaling for four.
Holding the breath for four.
Exhaling for four.
And holding for four.
So repeat this pattern,
Inhaling,
Holding,
Exhaling,
Holding.
Perhaps two or three more rounds on your own.
And now allowing your breath to return to normal,
Not elongating or holding the breath,
But letting it flow freely in and freely out.
And now just notice,
Starting at the top of your head and working your awareness down to your feet,
Notice any changes in your body after you've deliberately practiced focusing on your breath.
Notice if your nervous system feels different than when we first began.
And recognize that you were able to access this state within you in only five minutes.
So anytime you need to return to this state of calm,
You can follow along.
Take care and thank you for practicing.
