Hello and welcome to this mindfulness practice.
Today we are going to work with the four body scan known as the cautious and the cleansing breath.
When used together they can aid a wonderful night's sleep and separately the cleansing breath can be used to manage stress and frustration.
So let's begin with some diaphragmatic breathing.
So I invite you to lie down and make yourself comfortable.
Let's take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the nose.
And again as you breathe in allow your abdomen,
Your side body and your back body to expand and as you exhale allow these areas to soften,
To move inwards and relax.
Once more breathing in and breathing out.
Good.
If it feels comfortable to do so maintain this breathing pattern.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose.
As you breathe in the abdomen expands,
The side body expands and the back expands.
And as you exhale everything relaxes back into centre.
Good.
So of the four bodies,
The cautious,
The least dense are our thoughts.
Thoughts are lingering for you.
Thoughts that perhaps have lingered just for today.
Maybe they've been there for days,
Weeks,
Maybe months.
Do these thoughts serve you?
They may be positive thoughts,
They may be negative thoughts.
But for right now try not to judge,
No need to change them,
Just observe.
You may want to take the step to thank these thoughts for trying to guide you.
Next is our emotional body.
Observe what emotions have lingered for you today.
Perhaps these emotions have lingered for days,
Weeks or months.
Are they positive or are they negative emotions?
Do they serve you?
For right now try not to judge,
No need to change them,
Just observe.
And you may wish to take the step to thank these emotions for being a guide.
Next we look at our energy.
How do you feel right now?
Full of vibrancy,
Energy,
Zesty?
Or do you feel depleted,
Empty,
Perhaps like a car towards the end of its fuel?
The fuel light is on and you wonder will I make it to the end of the day?
But for right now try not to judge,
No need to change them,
Just breathe and observe.
Lastly we look at the most dense of the bodies and that's our physical body.
As you continue to take diaphragmatic breaths,
Observe are there any areas of pain in the body,
Of stiffness or perhaps even restlessness?
If there are,
Try not to judge,
No need to change them,
Just observe.
Perhaps you may wish to take the step to thank your body for all it does for you.
Boom.
Let's take two deep breaths together,
Breathing in through the nose,
Allowing your abdomen,
Your side body and your back to expand.
And as you exhale allow them to relax back into centre.
And again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Good.
Allowing your body to just melt and sink into the surface that supports you as we discuss and move into the cleansing breath.
So maintain your diaphragmatic breathing just for this moment.
With the cleansing breath we breathe in through the nose and we breathe out of the mouth as if breathing out through a straw,
As if breathing through pursed lips.
And our aim for the cleansing breath is to focus on our exhalation and to try to breathe out for longer.
As an example,
We breathe in through the nose for three and we would breathe out of the mouth through pursed lips as if breathing out of a straw for six.
If the breathing count that I give does not work for you,
Then feel free to choose a breathing count that works for you.
No tension,
Relax.
And if at any time you start to feel breathless,
Just return to your natural comfortable breathing.
Here we go.
Breathing in through the nose.
And out through the nose.
Let's begin our cleansing breath.
In for three.
One,
Two,
Three.
Out through pursed lips for six.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
In for three.
One,
Two,
Three.
Out for six.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
In for three.
One,
Two,
Three.
Out for six.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
This time in for four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out for eight.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
In for four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Out for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Now follow your own breathing pattern.
Breathing in softly,
Relax,
No tension.
Breathing out slowly through pursed lips.
Relax.
One more time.
Wherever you are,
Complete your cycle of breath.
Finishing on the exhale and return to diaphragmatic breathing.
Another deep breath together.
Breathing in.
And out through the nose.
Wonderful.
If you feel sleep just waiting for you around the corner,
Allow them to lead you into that wonderful dreamland.
I thank you for joining me on this journey,
On this practice,
And I look forward to sharing with you again.
