Hey,
I'm Hannah,
And we're gonna move through a nice,
Calming breath work practice today.
Settle into any comfortable shape.
You might be seated,
You might be lying down.
Sitting on your couch or a chair is perfect.
Take a couple slow breaths,
Purposely just dragging out your inhale and your exhale.
This next breath,
Take it luxuriously slow.
And if that felt really difficult,
That's okay.
You're in the right place.
Together,
We'll work to really slow the breath down,
Especially the exhale.
And slowing down the exhale really helps us to calm down,
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system,
Which is a fancy way of saying you're moving into rest and digest mode.
So for this practice,
We're gonna breathe in to a count of four,
And every second round,
We'll extend the exhale by one count.
If that sounds like a lot of numbers,
That's okay.
Just follow along.
If it ever feels like the breath is just getting a little too long for you,
Pause at the number that you are at where you felt comfortable.
Stay there as long as you'd like.
Maybe over time,
You can work to deepen it,
But as long as you're keeping your breath mindful and slow,
That is what matters.
Try to keep your breath so gentle that one breath doesn't affect the following breath.
So no pulling or forcing to the best of your ability.
So start with an inhale through your nose,
No numbers,
And exhale the same way.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Ten,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
We'll stay at ten,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Ten,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Last round in,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Out,
Ten,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let your breath just breathe all on its own.
See if this can be effortless.
Notice how good it feels to breathe without counting your breath,
Without really using any effort.
You can check in with how your physical body feels or how your mind feels.
And you can keep coming back to this practice day after day and watch how it becomes easier and easier to lengthen your exhales.
You might get to the point where you can exhale for much longer than ten seconds or you could start at,
Say,
A six or an eight second exhale.
It's a great way to kind of train your breath,
Your body,
And your mind to be patient and to be calm.
Thanks for practicing with me.
