Breathe With Forbsie: Breath Awareness

We breathe all day every day, from the moment we are born to the moment we leave this world. Do you ever notice it? How is the way you are breathing impacting how you're feeling? Is it supporting your health or hampering it? Join me to begin to explore your relationship with your breath.

Recorded from a live event on Insight Timer (November 27, 2022)

Transcript

Good morning,

Good morning,

Good afternoon,

Good evening,

Good morning,

Wherever you might be joining in from.

I am happy to have you here.

Excited to have a few folks join.

This is my first live session on Insight Timer.

My name is Forbesy and I'm excited to share a little bit about the breath with you this morning.

It is something that is always with us from the first day we join this world to the day that we leave it.

We are breathing and how many of us notice?

So the intention behind this morning's practice is to notice,

Is to bring a bit of awareness to our breath.

There is so much out there with the pranayama and breath work,

Transformational breath work,

Rebirthing breath work.

There's so many supportive modalities with the breath that exist for us to experiment with,

But they all begin in the same place,

The awareness of the breath.

We can't do anything to change it or to benefit from different practices if we're not tuned into it,

If we're not paying attention.

So those who are new to me,

A little bit of background,

I found breath work,

I guess I've been practicing probably for a little over 10 years now.

I was introduced to pranayama when I did my yoga teacher training and I found transformational breath work about four years ago and just dove into this world.

There's so many different things that our breath impacts in our day-to-day life and in our on and in our like the bigger picture and the longer term and the more I learn,

The more I want to know and the more I want to share this with people.

So I'm honored that you've chosen to spend your time with me today and I hope that you find benefit in this little practice here.

So as we come together initially,

I invite you just to literally take a moment and shake off everything else.

Give your whole body a little shake,

We'll shake off everything that came before,

Everything that's coming after,

The things that we need will be there for us to pick up again.

Let's try to get really present here and now together in this moment,

Giving it all the good shake,

Letting it go.

Nothing,

You can't change the past and we can't change the future except by what we do right here,

Right now,

In this present moment and this present moment is our gift to ourselves with this breath as we connect in this little community and our individual spaces coming together thanks to these virtual platforms we have.

So I invite you to find now a comfortable position.

So this can be seated in a chair on the floor,

On a couch,

Lying down and it's just what's going to allow you to relax so you can be present with yourself,

With your breath in this moment.

Pillows,

Blankets,

Whatever supports will be of benefit to you.

I invite you to grab those,

Take a moment,

Get fully settled in here.

Finding your position,

Beginning to sink into the support beneath you,

Inviting your entire body to relax,

To rest for a moment,

Fully settling in the support of the earth beneath you,

Feeling the air around you,

Occupying the space you are in.

As you are ready,

I invite you to soften your gaze or close your eyes and begin to notice your breath.

Bring your attention and your focus to each inhale and each exhale,

Not looking to change anything,

Just to see what's here with you now.

No judgment,

Just observe.

Do you bring the air in through your nose or through your mouth?

Does it leave your body through your nose or your mouth?

Maybe it's a combination of.

Can you notice the change in temperature?

The air is a little bit cooler entering your body and a little bit warmer as it leaves.

With each inhale,

Do you notice your chest expand,

Your ribs expand,

Your belly expand?

Where in your body does your breath go?

Again,

Just noticing there's no need to judge anything,

There's no need to change anything.

The aim is to be present here with the breath,

To be aware of our current state,

But also with that,

Knowing that things that we bring attention to tend to change.

So don't worry if you've noticed it kind of shift.

Just know that our goal is not to consciously change anything,

Just to continuously observe and notice.

Take note of the speed of your breath.

Are you breathing very quickly,

Slowly?

Does it shift sort of back and forth between them?

Is your breath flowing steadily in and out?

Are there pauses between the inhale and exhale,

Continuing to shift between the different qualities of your breath,

The rate,

The depth,

Whether it's coming in through your nose or your mouth?

What areas of your body expand with the inhale and contract with the exhale?

Can you notice all of these things at once?

Notice the state of your mind and your body.

In a moment,

I'm going to invite a bit of experimentation to have some awareness of shifts and changes that can happen.

So take a moment here,

Take a quick scan,

Notice the sensations arising in your body.

If there are any thoughts rising in your mind,

What is your current state of being right here,

Right now with this breath?

Remember,

There's no need to judge anything.

We're just here to bring some awareness to the present moment,

To our present state of being,

To right here,

Right now,

Just to see what is.

To continue with a sense of awareness,

To bring a little experimentation to notice how the breath shifts things in the body and in the mind.

I invite you to speed up the breath for a minute here.

See if you can breathe twice as fast as you have been breathing.

Not looking to get anything too crazy,

But just a little faster than you were and notice how that shifts things.

Does it change sensations in your body?

Do different thoughts arise?

Does the breath move differently in your body?

Maybe it's a little shallower,

Maybe it's a little deeper,

Maybe different areas of your body you notice expand and contract to increase the speed of the breath.

Just notice what shifted.

How does that impact how you feel overall?

Staying curious with this.

It's all information.

It's all ways to know a little bit more about you in this moment,

In this state,

Your own personal relationship with your breath.

Staying with this faster breath for about another 30 seconds here,

Just observing your internal world.

Now releasing that breath and a control over it,

Allowing it to return to its natural rate and rhythm for you in this moment.

And again,

Just notice,

Bring some awareness to the shifts and changes that happen as your breath shifts and changes within you,

Welcoming back that natural,

Automatic,

Don't have to think about breath that keeps you going day after day,

Maybe offering it a little gratitude.

Life would be much harder if we had to think about breathing all the time.

Now for another,

For the next minute or two here,

I invite you to invite your breath to slow down.

See if you can begin to extend the exhale and in turn,

Extending the inhale.

You're not looking to push or force anything,

Each breath,

Inviting it to get a little bit longer,

A little bit slower,

And begin to notice how this shifts your sense of being,

Your state.

You may find that this brings a sense of relaxation and calm.

You may find the absolute opposite.

We spend so much time go,

Go,

Go,

Going,

That slowing down can feel really foreign and really uncomfortable.

But see if you can maintain curiosity with whatever is arising,

Whether it is a sense of calm and peace or a sense of urgency to do something.

There's nothing else you need to do in this moment.

We're staying with the breath,

Noticing what it brings with each inhale and each exhale,

Continuing to find that slower pace and just be.

Beautiful work,

Everyone.

I invite you now to let go of any control of the breath,

Allowing it to return to its natural rate and rhythm,

Inviting it to nourish your body in whatever way is needed in this moment.

Let go of any control,

But stay with the breath,

Watching the inhale and exhale,

Feeling the cooler air enter your body and the warmer air being released,

Feeling the breath fill your lungs,

Potentially expanding your chest,

Your ribs,

Your belly,

Maybe all three,

Maybe just one,

Just noticing,

Just being present,

Being here with you and your breath.

We'll stay with this for a few minutes here.

I'll leave you in some silence.

A little bit of music to be you and your breath in this moment.

Beautiful.

Continuing to stay with your breath as long as you'd like,

When you're ready,

Being gentle with yourself,

Become fully back into the space and time.

Invite you to bring in a full,

Deep inhale,

Release it with a sigh.

Do that a couple more times if that feels good.

Inviting your awareness back to feel the support beneath you.

When you're ready,

Bringing a little bit of a pause,

Just focusing on you.

When you're ready,

Bringing a little movement to your fingers and your toes,

Maybe a little wiggle through the entire body,

Beginning to wake every cell up again,

Slowly,

Gently opening your eyes and bringing back your focus,

Taking a moment just to look around,

Orient yourself to your space,

Find something pleasant to focus your attention for a moment,

Maybe a color,

Maybe a plant or a book,

Different item in your room that brings you joy,

Taking your time here,

Coming back fully.

Again,

If you just want to stay in this space for a while,

More than welcome.

It's been a pleasure to be in community with you this morning,

To breathe with you.

Thank you for joining me.