Hello,
Today we're going to be working on a breathing technique that is called coherence breathing or heart coherence breathing.
And essentially what this breathing technique is,
Is just slow breaths.
So these slow breaths bring us to a point where the cardiovascular,
The pulmonary,
And the circulatory systems are all working in a state of coherence,
Meaning that they are maximally efficient with each other.
Now humans have evolved to typically take short,
Shallow breaths,
About two to three seconds per inhale and two to three seconds per exhale.
With heart coherence breathing,
We are going to be taking deep,
Long breaths.
So the optimal inhale and exhale time is actually 5.
5 seconds.
So anywhere in the five to six second inhale and five to six second exhale range is beautiful.
It's wonderful.
And this type of breathing technique,
It's really powerful because it's so simple.
And it has been shown that we can get the same types of benefits of yoga and meditation just by breathing slowly like this.
So this can be done while we are walking.
This can be done while we are cooking.
This can be done while we are waiting for the bus.
Everything we are doing and no one has to know.
Alright,
So let's get started.
So find a comfortable position if you haven't already.
Either sitting up,
Lying down,
Whatever makes sense to you.
Closing your eyes.
And let's take three cleansing breaths just to release anything that came before this.
Anything that's to come after this.
Let's just clear our energy fields.
So breathing in and breathing out with this sigh.
One more time.
Breathing in and letting it all out.
Whatever feels best to you.
One last time.
Breathing in.
Holding at the top.
And letting it all go.
Bringing your breathing back to normal in and out through the nose.
Focusing your attention on your breath to come more deeply into this meditation and in this moment.
Thoughts might arise throughout this meditation and just know that that is so okay.
Notice your thoughts.
Become a silent observer of these thoughts.
See if you can let them pass.
But don't judge yourself for them.
Don't get hard on yourself.
This technique is more about the control of the breath than of the mind.
Which is why it is in some ways more accessible to more people.
So let's begin with the breath.
So breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Breathing out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
In and out.
In and out.
In release.
Breathing just like that.
Counting for yourself.
Keeping this gentle focus on each inhale and on each exhale.
And noticing the quality of each breath.
Are you feeling restrictive?
Are you feeling a sense of needing to control the breath?
Are you tensing up to make sure that you get the exact right cadence?
Or are you being gentle with each breath?
Compassionate with each breath?
Are you allowing the breath to flow in and out of you?
We can look at how we breathe as a smaller picture into the whole of how we live.
So are you taking each breath calmly,
With compassion,
Or are you rushing through each breath,
Waiting for it to be done,
Judging it?
In two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Out two,
Three,
Four.
Four,
Five.
Continuing just like that on your own.
Trust that you're doing it so right.
And as you're breathing in,
Begin by breathing into the belly.
And throughout your five seconds,
You can pull this breath up to your chest.
And then exhale.
With each exhale,
See if you can release some more tension.
Any more judgments.
Any thoughts that aren't serving you.
Let those go with each exhale.
A tip I like to use with my exhales is to slightly constrict my airway,
Almost as if you are steaming up a window.
And by constricting with each exhale,
It allows you to draw out the exhale so that we can have these slow,
Intentional exhales where all the air doesn't just immediately rush out.
Breathing in and releasing.
In and out.
As we slow down the breath,
We are actually controlling our anatomic nervous system.
By slowing down the breath,
We slow down our heartbeat.
We can reduce and lower our blood pressure.
We can help to push ourselves into this parasympathetic state.
Breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And out.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
So good.
You are doing so great.
Now,
I invite you to place your hands on your body in whichever way you feel connected with yourself.
Maybe it's both hands on your heart,
Both on your belly,
One on your belly,
One on your chest.
And taking a moment to drop into your body,
Into your being,
And just be present with yourself.
How do you feel?
Where is your energy at right now?
So good.
So beautiful.
That is our coherent breathing practice.
This is available to you at any time,
In any place.
Just remembering how powerful your breath can be.
You can begin to bring some awareness,
Some life into your body,
Wiggling your fingers and your toes.
Maybe you give yourself a nice stretch.
And in your own time,
Whenever you're ready,
Blinking your eyes open.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Namaste.
