Let's take a journey through our respiratory system.
We'll use our sense of touch to connect us to the breath as it travels through the body.
My name is Emily.
I'm a massage therapist and I'm so happy that you're here with me.
Begin by lightly placing the finger pads of both hands on the bridge of the nose.
Pull the hands apart as they glide across your cheeks and out towards your ears.
Repeat this again.
Fingers to the bridge of the nose and gliding across the cheekbones under the eyes,
Gently stretching the skin towards the ears.
One last time.
This time imagining opening up the sinuses on either side of the nose,
Breathing in through the nose and exhaling.
Now just place the finger pads on the bridge of the nose and close your eyes as you inhale and imagine the air moving into the nostrils and through the nasal cavity.
Exhale through the nose and imagine the air moving out through the nostrils.
Listen to your breath and feel its temperature as you inhale and exhale.
Allow distracting thoughts to fall away as you bring a microscopic image of your nasal passage into your mind's eye.
Picturing the air passing by the little hair of your nose and the mucous membranes.
Imagining all the twists and turns of the nasal cavity.
Extend gratitude to your body.
Trust its innate wisdom.
Have faith in its complex architecture.
Your body is on your side.
Now bring the finger pads to rest at the top of the throat below the chin.
Using light pressure stroke down the front of the throat saying hello to the voice box.
Give a very light massage to the front of the neck.
Imagining the breath move through your vocal cords down the throat.
Now at the base of the throat trace your finger pads down the length of the sternum.
The windpipe laying beneath it and out around either side of the ribcage.
The lungs laying beneath them.
Repeat this again at the base of the throat tracing over the windpipe and across the lungs.
Do this again a few times making this a sensory and relaxing experience.
As you imagine and feel the breath moving down the windpipe and out into either lobe of the lung.
Now cross your arms across each other.
So right hand rests on the left ribcage.
Left hand rests on the right ribcage.
Now breathe here as you imagine the expanse and contraction of the lungs.
And as you feel the expanse and contraction of the ribcage.
Perhaps you notice restrictions on one side or the other.
If you'd like bring some healing touch to any restrictions that you feel.
Allowing your touch to warm and comfort those restricted areas.
Sit quietly here and extend gratitude to the body.
Trust its innate wisdom.
Have faith in its complex architecture.
Your body is on your side.
Now imagining the breath starting from the nostrils and you can trace it if you'd like.
Moving into the nostrils and weaving through the nasal cavity.
Moving down the throat and past the vocal cords.
As it flows down the windpipe and then out into the voluminous right and left lungs.
Filling them up with oxygen from the outside world.
Now imagine our tiny capillaries picking up the oxygen from our lungs and moving it towards the heart.
Our strong heart pumps the oxygen through its vessels.
You can place two stacked hands over your heart as you breathe.
Feeling into its rhythm.
What do you feel?
Honoring your heart's hard work as it welcomes oxygen and prepares to pump it out to all the organs and tissues of your body.
For this last part of our breath journey,
Imagine your heart pumping rich oxygen out to the rest of the body.
To your brain.
To your organs.
Along the upper limbs out towards your fingertips.
And along the lower limbs out towards the tips of your toes.
Rest into this miraculous sensation of heart pumping rich oxygen to all parts of your body.
Let this energize you.
Extend gratitude to your body.
Trust its innate wisdom.
Have faith in its complex architecture.
Your body is on your side.
Now to close.
Bring your palms to touch in front of your chest,
Hands together.
Breathe in and exhale.
Thank you for joining me.
Always remember that the healing power of touch is right at your fingertips.
