Hello.
Take a moment to notice your body position.
Sit up nice and tall.
If you're in a chair,
Uncross the legs,
Both feet flat on the floor.
For a moment squeeze your shoulders up by your ears and then pull them back and down as if your shoulder blades are sliding down your back.
Let the back of your hands rest in your lap.
Allow your elbows to feel heavy,
Drawing the shoulders down as the top of the head reaches tall toward the ceiling.
Take a long smooth deep breath in through your nose.
Through the nose let it out.
Take a few more deep breaths in and out through your nose.
As you do,
Begin to imagine that there are no more lungs in your chest,
But a balloon in your belly.
As you breathe in,
Visualize the air traveling down the back of your throat,
Down into your belly,
The balloon filling,
The belly expanding,
The balloon emptying.
Bring your right hand to rest softly on your stomach.
As you breathe,
Feel your belly move and expand forward into your hand on the inhales.
Gently draw back as you exhale.
In your mind's eye,
Visualize the air traveling down,
Filling up your belly space and emptying out on the exhale.
Leave your right hand on your belly.
Bring your left hand against the left side of your ribcage.
Now imagine there are two balloons or compartments for the air,
One on top of the other.
Let all of your air out.
As you inhale,
Fill up your belly.
Keep inhaling,
Overflow up into your ribcage.
As you exhale,
Empty the ribcage and then the belly.
Inhaling,
Belly and then up into the ribcage.
Exhaling,
Ribcage and then down into the belly.
On the inhale,
Feel the belly expand forward and the ribs out to the sides.
On the exhale,
Feel the ribs draw in and the belly draw back.
Inhaling,
Belly,
Ribcage.
Exhaling,
Empty the ribs,
Empty the belly.
Take a few more rounds,
Feeling the two distinct movements.
Imagining two compartments filling with the air and then emptying one after the other.
Now bring your right hand to the top of your chest.
In your mind's eye,
Visualize three compartments.
Take a second to let all of your air out.
Inhale,
Fill up your belly.
Fill up your ribcage.
Keep breathing,
Fill up into the top of your chest.
Exhale,
Let your chest fall and then the ribs and then the belly.
Inhaling,
Belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
Exhale,
Chest,
Ribs.
Inhaling,
Belly expands,
Ribs expand,
Chest rises.
Exhaling,
Chest falls,
Ribs draw in,
Belly draws back.
Inhaling,
From the bottom,
Gradually up to the top.
Exhaling,
From the top,
Gradually down to the bottom.
Feel the three different movements in your body.
Belly moving,
Ribs expanding,
Chest rising.
Visualize three different compartments for the breath.
Filling up,
From the bottom to the top.
Just like filling a cup with water.
See the water pouring into the cup.
The cup filling from the bottom to the top.
And then as it empties,
You drink it down.
The water line drops from the top to the bottom.
Air filling your torso from the bottom,
Gradually all the way up to the collarbones.
And then emptying from the top,
Slowly all the way down into your belly.
After you complete your next exhale,
Let that fall away.
Release the image of the three compartments and simply take a long,
Smooth,
Deep breath in through your nose and a smooth exhale.
