Welcome.
Today I'm going to guide you through a short breathing practice which is based on coherent breath and this is a type of breathing practice that has a lot of scientific evidence behind it in terms of its benefits in mental health and general well-being.
So let's begin.
Take a moment to find a comfortable seat.
I'd suggest sitting on a chair if you're comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor or similar,
Please do that.
You can also take practice lying down.
And wherever you are,
Make sure you've got a nice tall spine.
So if you're seated,
Maybe take a few rolls of the shoulders,
Creating a little bit of space in the upper chest.
Nice and find a nice tall spine and imagine that you've got a wall behind you supporting your back.
Take a nice deep inhale and a nice long exhale.
Placing your hands wherever feels comfortable for you and if it helps to better connect with the breath,
You can place your hands on your belly.
And if you're comfortable closing the eyes,
You can close the eyes,
Otherwise allow the eyes and the gaze to be soft.
And take a few moments to tune into the rhythm of your natural breath.
So feeling the gentle movement of your body,
Your belly,
Your ribs,
As you breathe in and as you breathe out.
And now starting to bring a little bit of evenness to your breath.
So slowly,
See if you can even out your inhale and your exhale.
And bringing a count into this,
So you can start with a count of four on the inhale and four on the exhale.
And bringing a count into this,
So you can start with a count of four on the inhale and four on the exhale.
And if this feels comfortable,
You can stay with this or you can lengthen the breath a little bit.
So counting to five on the inhale and five on the exhale.
Or maybe even six on the inhale.
And six on the exhale.
So finding the length,
The count that works best for you today.
And as you breathe in,
Imagine the breath,
Feel it or visualize it as a clear white light traveling from the tip of your spine up to the crown of your head.
And as you breathe out,
Imagine the same bright white light traveling from the crown of your head back down to the tip of your spine.
On your inhale,
Imagine,
Feel,
Visualize the breath as a bright white light traveling up from the tip of your spine to the crown of your head.
And on the exhale,
Imagine the breath traveling back down to the tip of your spine.
So keep following the breath like that.
Following your own counts.
Remember to count to four on the inhale,
Four on the exhale,
Or maybe five or six on the exhale.
So counting to six,
Keeping an even inhale and an even exhale.
Trying to keep the breath nice and steady.
Soft belly breath.
Maintaining this visual or feeling of the breath as a bright white light traveling from the tip of your spine to the crown of your head on the inhale.
And down from the crown of your head to the tip of your spine on the exhale.
And whenever you notice your mind drifting off,
Remember that that's what minds do.
They're programmed to think about the past or the future.
So with kindness and compassion,
Gently bring your mind back.
Using the count and the visualization as a way to keep the mind focused.
Staying with your count,
Even inhale,
Even exhale.
Feeling or visualizing the breath traveling up on the inhale and down on the exhale.
We'll stay with this breath for a few more moments.
We'll stay with this breath for a few more moments,
Even inhale,
Even exhale.
Really trying to feel or visualize the movement of the breath as this clear white light.
And now let go of that pattern of breathing.
Come back to your natural breath.
And take a few moments here.
Noticing how your body feels.
Noticing how your mind is.
And whenever you're ready,
Opening your eyes,
Bringing a bit of movement to your body.
Thank you for joining me and I hope you enjoyed that.
