Getting To Know Your Breath

This foundational practice cultivates a conscious connection with the breath. Practiced regularly it helps to rewire the nervous system to be more attentive. This is a stepping stone and forms a foundation for more advanced practices. In my private yoga therapy practice connecting with the breath is a first step to rebuilding a connection to the body. Practicing being in the body consciously is a large component of rewiring the nervous system towards balance.

Transcript

In this practice, You're invited to get to know your breath. See if you can sit with some kindness and compassion towards yourself and leaving judgment off to the side. There's no right or wrong, There's no good or bad. Really an exploration of noticing and connecting with your breath. Find a quiet space where you can spend the next little while uninterrupted. Sit or lay in a comfortable position. This could be in a chair or on the floor. Ensuring you are comfortable but in a position where you can stay attentive. Find a balance between attentiveness and ease. First let's observe where you're starting from today. We'll call this your baseline. How your mind and body feel right now. Let's observe your mind first. What's happening right now? Are your thoughts fast and racing? Are they slow, Heavy and sluggish? Somewhere in between. Using a scale of 0 to 10. 10 representing a racing hyperactive mind. And 0 a sluggish slow lethargic mind. In the middle, A calm focused mind. Thoughts may come and go but you don't get swept away in them. Notice what's happening right now. Next let's observe your body. What's your body's energy like right now? Is it intensely energetic, Fidgety and hyper? Is it sluggish, Lethargic, Heavy and slow? Or somewhere in between? Again let 0 represent a sluggish, Lethargic, Slow energy. And 10 an intense energy. In the middle, A sense of stability. Strong energy with a sense of ease and comfort wrapped around it. What is your body's energy like right now? Make a note of your base lines mentally or pause for a moment and write them down. At this point, If you would like to find more comfort, Go ahead and do so. If you're sitting, You may want to add something under the hips or lean against the wall. You can also lay down, Bend the knees, Rest the feet on the floor. Make sure you are comfortable yet in a position where you can stay attentive. Make a balance between attentiveness and ease. Now slowly close your eyes and begin to turn your focus inwards. Turning your attention from the outer world around you to the inner world inside. Allow your eyes to soften. You may even notice a softening around the whole face as you do so. Now turn your hearing from the sounds around you towards the sounds within you. Maybe listen for the sound of your breath. Don't worry if you don't hear it. Just continue to listen out for it. With your attention pointed inwards, Begin to breathe in and breathe out through your nose. You'll be feeling the temperature of the air at the tip of your nostrils as you breathe in and as you breathe out. Continue with this focus for a little while. Begin to explore by counting the length of your breath as you breathe in and as you breathe out. Try to let your breath continue in its natural rhythm as you count. As you breathe in, Begin to feel your ribcage expand towards the front. As you breathe out, Feel it settle, Release, Come back in. Breathing in, Feeling the expansion, Breathing out, Feeling it settle, Release, Come back in. Continue this focus for a little while. Now let's explore the side and the back of the ribs. As you breathe in, Feel the side and back of the ribs expand. Almost as though they're smiling. And as you breathe out, Feel them settle back in, Release. Breathing in, Expanding the sides and the back, Breathing out, Settle, Release, Come back in. Continue this focus for a little while. Now if you are able to, Come back to the count of your breath and begin to lengthen the breath just a little bit, Maybe one count. Continuing what it feels like to take conscious control of the breath. If this feels uncomfortable, Return to a more natural, Comfortable count. Trying to explore and play with the count. Maybe also still having a sense of awareness around the expansion on the inhales. Release, Settling back in as you breathe out. Continue this focus for a little while, This exploration. As you do so, Remember there is no good or bad, No right or wrong. Exploring the breath and exploring the sensation. Exploring the conscious control of the length of the breath. And now before we come to a close, Let's check in one more time. Come back to noticing how your mind is feeling right now. Are the thoughts slow, Heavy and sluggish? Or are they racing fast or somewhere in between? Again making a mental note somewhere between 0 and 10. Now checking in one last time with the body. Again noticing the energy in the body now. Is it heavy and sluggish and lethargic? Hyper agitated, Fast, Somewhere in the middle. Or it can balance with stability with a sense of ease. Somewhere between 0 and 10. Making a mental note of both of these numbers. And as you are ready, Slowly and gently begin to blink the eyes open. Let the awareness slowly come back to the outside. The sights, The sounds. Take as much time as you need to just bring yourself back to the space around you.