Hello everyone,
This is Dorothy Ratusni and welcome to Breath Walk.
I'm going to be joining you outside for Breath Walk today.
Hopefully you can experience it at some point outside where you can have the many benefits of being in nature,
Breathing in fresh,
Clean air,
And enjoying the sights around you.
Breath Walk is a science of combining specific patterns of breathing synchronized with your walking steps and enhanced with the art of directed meditative attention.
Breath Walk is simple,
Natural,
And effective.
Once you know how to choose and do a breathing pattern as you walk,
You will have an immediate path to physical and mental wellness.
In this technique,
You link your breath to the rhythm of your steps.
This conscious linking engages the mind,
Especially if you use a mantra to help connect your breaths and steps.
This exercise,
If you will,
Is helpful to alleviate exhaustion,
Anxiety,
And it's relaxing and energizing at the same time.
So begin in a comfortable pace walking.
Walk with your head up,
Your chin drawn in slightly,
And your shoulders comfortably back.
Inhale a complete breath and count silently to four,
Taking a step with each count.
Exhale slowly through the nostrils with a count of four breaths and steps.
Inhale a complete breath again when you're ready,
Counting silently to four,
Taking one step with each count,
And then as you exhale,
Counting four breaths and steps,
Completing the cycle.
Allow yourself to continue repeating this for a little while.
Find your comfortable tempo of walking.
Fill your lungs deeply with every inhalation,
Releasing all of your breath on every exhalation.
From time to time,
You can relax your breath patterns and walk normally.
Be mindful of your surroundings.
Breathe deeply,
Enjoying the beauty and the fresh air.
You can use your silent counts to four or as you walk each step,
You can repeat a mantra or a positive self-statement.
Sometimes it's fun to go back and forth between counting breaths and then repeating to yourself a positive statement or mantra.
I am calmness.
I am one with my surroundings.
When we are outside,
We can take in the sounds around us.
We can acknowledge sounds in the presence of other beings,
Man and animal,
And yet we can focus on and be attentive to our breath.
This also helps us to practice our focus of attention,
To be aware of the sounds we hear and yet attuned and focused on the present and our breath.
When you practice awareness of your breath,
You generate the energy of mindfulness.
With the practice of mindful walking and mindful breathing,
You generate this powerful energy.
You feel exhilarated.
You feel awake in your mind and body.
You can appreciate the energy of mindfulness that is with breath and steps of walking.
Allow yourself to continue at your own pace,
Whether using mantra or positive statements said quietly to yourself or using the counts of four,
Inhaling and then exhaling for four,
Pairing each inhalation and exhalation with a step.
This is your breath walk.
