This is a short practice called diaphragmatic breathing.
You can do this practice either lying down or sitting in a chair.
So finding a time now where you'll be undisturbed for a couple of minutes.
And finding a posture which supports wakefulness and comfort.
Letting go of any tension in the body as best you can,
Allowing the shoulders to drop away from the ears,
Softening the jaw and allowing the forehead and the area around the eyes to be soft.
Nothing else to do,
Nowhere else to be.
And we begin by bringing the attention to the breath.
So resting the hands now on the lower belly,
So the area around the navel.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Knowing how the hands rise and fall as you breathe in and out.
Breathing all the way down into the belly and breathing out from this part of the belly.
Perhaps slightly elongating or lengthening the out-breath.
So maybe breathing in for three seconds,
One,
Two,
Three,
And breathing out for four,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Or finding a count that's suitable for you.
So it might not be three and four,
It might be two and three.
Being playful with this,
There's no right or wrong.
Breathing in and breathing out for slightly longer,
Allowing the body to sink further into the chair or the bed.
Knowing that there's nowhere else to be,
Nothing else to do.
But just this breathing,
This relaxing.
The belly rising,
The belly falling.
On each in-breath you might say opening,
And on each out-breath softening,
Letting go,
Allowing the tension to drain away from your body.
The body becoming heavier and heavier,
More and more relaxed.
Breathing in and breathing out.
So that the whole of the body feels refreshed and oxygenated,
Heavy and relaxed.
The belly rising and the belly falling as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
So now for the next minute or so,
Continuing with this practice,
Resting the hands on the belly and just breathing in and out as best you can,
Until you hear the sounds of the bell.
Cleaner line and silence.
Please stand for the The body becoming heavier and heavier,
More and more relaxed.
And as we bring this practice to a close,
Recognizing that you've taken some time out of your day to practice some self-soothing,
Some kindness towards yourself,
And that the breath is available to you at any time during the day when you feel frustrated or agitated,
Maybe thoughts are getting on top of you,
Certain emotions are hard to let go of.
The breath is something that we can come back to,
A place where we can rest our awareness,
Focusing on the in-breath and the out-breath.
And this can help with managing our emotions,
Our anxiety,
Our frustrations,
And that this is a skill,
Something we can call upon,
Something we can practice.
I'm noticing how the body maybe feels a little more relaxed,
A little bit more refreshed after this practice.
