Welcome to the three-part breath.
A simple practice to help you slow down,
Return to your body and create a sense of calm through the breath.
First,
Finding a comfortable position,
Either sitting or lying down.
Letting your body settle.
I invite you to close down the eyes or bring a soft gaze.
Take a slow breath in through your nose and a long gentle exhale through your mouth.
As you continue to tune into the breath,
I'll first talk you through,
Step by step,
How we'll move through the three-part breath.
We'll first breathe into the belly,
Then the belly and the ribs,
Then the belly,
Ribs and chest,
And finally bringing it all together.
There's no right or wrong here,
Just gentle awareness of the breath.
We begin by placing your hand on your belly and on your next inhale,
Breathe only into this space.
Let the belly expand like a balloon.
Exhale slowly through the nose or mouth,
Letting your hand soften back down.
Two more breaths like so.
As you inhale,
The belly rises and as you exhale,
The belly softens.
One more time,
Inhale into the belly and exhale,
Letting go.
Now bringing your awareness and your hands to each side of your ribs.
As you inhale,
Breathe first into the belly,
Then letting the breath spread to the sides of your body.
Inhaling,
Bringing your awareness into the ribs,
Sideways,
Like wings opening.
And exhale gently,
Ribs soften,
Belly releases.
Two more breaths,
Inhale,
Belly,
Ribs.
Exhale,
Ribs,
Belly.
One more,
Belly,
Ribs,
And release.
Now adding the chest,
I invite you to bring your hands behind your head and feel your chest stretch and open out.
And as we inhale into the belly,
The ribs,
And then up into the chest,
Let the collarbones lift slightly,
Let the chest spread before exhaling slowly,
Releasing from the chest,
Ribs,
And belly.
And keeping your hands behind your head,
Two more breaths.
On the inhale,
Belly,
Ribs,
Chest,
And the exhale,
Chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
Last breath,
Full,
Expansive breath in,
Filling up space at the front and the back of the body.
And a long release,
Breath out.
And bringing your hands to rest by your side once more.
Now just letting the breath move smoothly and naturally,
Like a gentle wave that flows through the three parts.
On the inhale,
We open up space in the belly,
Ribs,
And the chest.
And on the exhale,
We let the breath fall away,
Finding a natural rhythm of the breath.
And taking this time to notice any shifts,
Even small ones,
In your body.
In your body or your mind.
Maybe a little more space,
A little more calm.
Take that with you as you move through the rest of your day.
Finishing by taking one last deep breath in,
And a long,
Slow exhale out.
And when you're ready,
Gently opening your eyes.
