Soothe Yourself
This pranayama meditation allows you to experience what it’s like to soothe yourself through the use of intentional breathing. When the prana channel is blocked or restricted, you may experience a lack of focus and negative emotions like anxiety, fear, worry, tension, depression, anger, and grief. By contrast, when the prana channel is open and flowing freely and smoothly, the mind becomes calm and focused, and we can experience happiness, positivity, and enthusiasm.
Transcript
Today we'll be doing a pranayama meditation.
The intention of this is to experience what it's like to soothe ourselves.
Through the use of intentional breathing we can help settle our nervous systems and we'll also give some love and attention to the root chakra.
In Sanskrit prana means life energy and yama means control.
So by practicing pranayama we've taken control of our life force and our energy by taking control of our breath.
This then allows us some control over our bodies otherwise automatic activities such as the beating of our hearts and the widening and narrowing of our arteries and blood vessels.
There are three stages to pranayama.
The inhalation,
The exhalation and the holding of the breath.
When your prana flow is blocked or restricted you may experience a lack of focus or negative emotions like anxiety,
Fear,
Worry,
Tension,
Depression,
Anger and even grief.
And by contrast when your prana channels are open and flowing freely and smoothly the mind becomes calm and focused and we can experience happiness,
Positivity,
Enthusiasm and creativity.
So skillful and conscious regulation of our breathing really can affect and help us regulate our immediate emotional states.
Physiologically we can look to the vagus nerve to understand how breathing has these effects.
The vagus nerve is also called the wandering nerve because of the way it travels or wanders from our brains through our faces,
Through our chests and to our abdomens.
It's a mixed nerve with both efferent or motor nerves and afferent or sensory nerves.
And specifically 20% of the nerves are efferent meaning that communication starts in the brain and goes to the body.
The remaining 80% are afferent meaning that communication is moving from our bodies to our brains.
And as this nerve wanders through our body it innervates the muscles of our throat through its connection to the pharynx and larynx,
The organs of our respiration through our lungs,
Circulation through the heart,
Digestion through the stomach,
The liver,
The pancreas,
The duodenum and the large and small intestine and elimination through the kidneys.
There are a few ways to positively stimulate the vagus nerve.
These include singing,
Humming,
Chanting and gargling,
Cold water submersion,
Exercise,
Massage and specific to this meditation due to its interaction with the diaphragm,
Abdominal breathing.
Today we'll focus on abdominal breathing which is also helpful for the root chakra and then we'll move into a measured breathing technique of 4-2-4-2.
And this means that we'll inhale for a count of 4,
Hold the top of the breath for a count of 2,
Exhale for a count of 4 and hold the bottom of the exhale for a count of 2.
We'll breathe at a rate of 60 beats per minute and this helps our brains reach the alpha brainwave state.
The alpha brainwaves are usually dominant when our brains are alert yet relaxed.
The benefits of this state include improved memory,
Increased intelligence,
Increased creativity and increased alertness.
And alpha waves also act as a natural antidepressant by promoting the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
If at any time this becomes too much,
Leave the counting out and stick with abdominal breathing and if that's too much,
Simply sit silently and observe your natural breathing rhythms.
And let's begin.
Today's meditation can be done lying down or seated.
If you're lying down,
Feel free to use pillows under your head or beneath your knees to help keep you in a comfortable position.
During the meditation,
Your eyes can be closed or you can have them capped with your gaze lowered.
And if you feel like you need to open your eyes during the meditation,
Feel free to do so and then when you're ready,
Close or cap them again and return to the meditation.
Take a few moments to settle in.
Leave all of your senses open and welcome all aspects of your experience.
You may notice sounds in your environment.
They may be nearby,
Such as the hum of an appliance or the quiet buzz of electricity.
Perhaps there are sounds further away like birds singing or traffic noises or any other activity around you.
Take a moment to notice what's happening and know that you're a part of it all.
You may notice smells in your environment or tastes in your mouth.
You may notice the sensations of your physical body.
Perhaps you're aware of the points where your body is in contact with the surface beneath you or where your bottom is in contact with its seat.
You may notice where your feet are and where your hands are.
Perhaps you notice the temperature in the room.
And whatever you notice,
Accept it all.
Now mindfully take a full breath in and slowly let it out.
And again,
Take a full breath in and slowly let it out.
Begin to ground yourself.
Imagine that roots are spreading down from the soles of your feet,
Reaching into the earth's center and that these roots are anchoring you to the ground.
And as you inhale,
Imagine that you're taking in life-sustaining energy from the earth through these roots that have connected you to the earth.
And as you exhale,
Imagine that this energy is returning to the earth.
And as you continue breathing on your own,
Enjoy this continuous cycle of giving and receiving.
Now let's take a slightly deeper,
Fuller breath.
And as you do so,
Imagine this energy is once again moving upward through your feet and then continuing through your lower legs and your upper legs,
Right into your pelvic floor and the root chakras revolving rich red cortex.
And then imagine the energy moving downward again as it returns to the earth through your pelvis,
Your legs and your feet.
And now place one hand on the middle of your upper chest and place your other hand on your stomach.
Notice your natural breathing patterns without changing anything just yet.
Simply observe and watch out for any tendency to question whether you're doing it right and know that whatever you're doing is right.
Slowly breathe in through your nose,
Drawing your breath in towards your stomach.
You may notice that your stomach rises and gently pushes upward against your hand while for now your chest remains still.
And slowly exhale by gently tightening your abdominal muscles and letting your stomach move downward again with your chest remaining still.
And repeat this abdominal breathing a few times on your own.
On your next inhalation,
Let's go a little bit deeper so that once you feel the rise of your stomach,
You continue to inhale until you feel a rise in your chest.
And as you slowly exhale,
Release the breath from your chest first and then empty your stomach.
Continue this a few times on your own.
We'll add another layer to our intentional breathing now with the 4-2-4-2 pattern.
And if at any time this becomes too much,
Then let it go and return to your abdominal breathing or simply let go of all attention to regular or simply let go of all attention to your regulated breathing and just be with your natural breath.
We'll keep the pace at about 60 beats per minute.
So on your next inhalation,
Draw the breath into a steady count of 4.
1-2-3-4.
And at the top of the breath,
Hold for 2.
1-2.
And then slowly and steadily exhale to a count of 4.
1-2-3-4.
And at the bottom of the exhale,
Hold for a count of 1-2.
And then inhale again.
1-2-3-4.
Hold for 2.
Exhale slowly.
2-3-4.
And hold for 2.
And inhale.
2-3-4.
Hold.
And exhale.
2-3-4.
And hold.
2.
And inhale.
And continue this regulated breathing for the next 5 minutes,
And I'll keep track of the time.
And now let go of the regulation of your breath,
And if your hands are on your stomach or your chest,
You can let that go too.
Keep your eyes closed or capped.
Chanting is another way to stimulate the vagus nerve and the relaxation response.
So let's revisit the root chakra with 11 rounds of the Bija mantra Lam.
We'll inhale together,
And on the exhale you can chant Lam.
And it's natural to feel self-conscious doing this.
So you can put your attention on the vibration,
The feeling of the chant,
Rather than the sound you make.
And you can also do it silently.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And let's inhale.
And on the exhale.
Lam.
And you can let go of the mantra now,
And we'll sit in silence for five more minutes,
And I'll keep track of the time.
You could also invite a silent mantra into the silent portion of the practice.
I'd like to offer the mantra,
I am rooted.
I am rooted.
And keeping your eyes closed,
Start to take some deeper breaths now as you begin to transition out of your practice.
Slowly reacquaint yourself with the sensation of being in your environment.
Notice the space your physical body is taking up,
And begin to wake your body up even more by slowly moving your mind.
And as you do that,
You'll notice that your body is becoming more and more aware of the sensations that are moving your muscles,
Perhaps starting with your hands and your feet,
Or adjusting your arms and your legs.
Simply allow for any movement your body's asking you for.
You might become aware again of the feeling of the surface beneath you,
The air around you,
And the taste in your mouth.
And when you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
