Welcome.
This is a brief breathing exercise that is helpful before giving an interview or presentation.
I invite you to get comfortable in your chair,
Relax your hands in your lap,
And close your eyes.
Can we begin by drawing our awareness to our breath?
Simply noticing the inhalation and exhalation as we breathe in and out through our nose.
Make any subtle adjustments to feel more comfortable in your seat.
And give yourself permission to be fully in this present moment.
If thoughts come to your mind,
Gently acknowledge them,
Turn them into clouds,
And allow them to float by.
Return to your breath.
Your breath is your anchor.
In a moment,
I'm going to give you different breathing variations.
If at any time you feel lightheaded,
Stop and allow your breathing to return to normal.
So first we begin by sloughing off any tension.
So I'd like you to take a deep inhale,
Perhaps draw your shoulders up to your ears,
Open your mouth,
And just sigh it out.
Do that one more time.
Inhale,
Draw the shoulders up,
Open your mouth,
And just sigh it out.
And then return to breathing in and out through your nose.
Next,
I'd like you to imagine you're inhaling for a count of four,
Pausing at the top of the breath,
And then exhaling for a count of four,
Pausing at the bottom of the breath.
Imagine it almost as if it were a wave going up and down.
So we inhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Pause,
And exhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Do that on your own a few more times,
Keeping your breath as slow and calm as possible.
Allow your breathing to return to normal once again,
Simply noticing the inhalation and the exhalation,
Allowing your breathing to be soft and calm.
We're going to do that activity one more time with a variation.
This time,
We're inhaling for a count of four,
Pausing at the top of the breath,
And then exhaling for a count of six,
Pausing at the bottom of the breath.
So we inhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Pause,
Exhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Pause at the bottom.
Do that a couple more times on your own.
You might choose to stop counting and simply focus on making your exhale a little bit longer than your inhale.
And now allow your breathing to return to normal.
Simply noticing the inhalation and exhalation.
I'm going to be quiet for a few moments.
If any thoughts come to your mind,
Allow them to float by and return to watching your breath.
And when you're ready,
Can slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me.
