Welcome to your three-dimensional breathing practice.
My name is Miranda and I will be your guide.
I'm going to invite you to start by getting comfortable.
And I know I say this a lot,
But comfort matters because discomfort is distracting.
And so as much as you can,
I invite you to attend to the needs of your body before you get started.
So if you have to pause this recording and put on extra layers or add pillows or rearrange your body in space,
Take as much time as you need to do that.
And then come back when you're ready.
So I'll invite you to begin by noticing how you're breathing and where you're breathing.
So without changing anything,
Just invite you to tune in,
To drop your awareness down into your body,
And in particular to notice where you feel air entering your body and where you feel it leaving.
So maybe you feel it coming across your upper lip.
Maybe you feel it rounding the curves inside your sinuses.
Maybe you feel it in your throat or in your chest or maybe deep in your belly.
But just noticing where you're breathing initially.
And again,
There's no judgment.
You're not doing it right or wrong depending on where you feel it.
It's just getting present and having a place to start.
And then we're going to play with the three dimensions of breath.
And so I invite you to close your eyes or drop your gaze if that helps you tune into your body more.
And if that doesn't feel comfortable in your body,
Keep your eyes open.
Just find a place to rest your eyes or your gaze.
Begin to breathe a little bit more deeply.
And I invite you to notice the up and down nature of your breath or the vertical nature of breathing.
And so as you breathe in,
I invite you to feel your spine lengthen.
I invite you to feel your shoulders maybe come up a little bit.
And as you breathe out,
I invite you to let your shoulders come down.
Maybe let your vertebrae compress a little bit more.
And so keep breathing and keep noticing that tendency to go up and down as we breathe.
Maybe you feel it in your chest or in your back.
Maybe you even feel your head get a little bit taller farther away from the ground as you breathe in.
It's probably pretty small and pretty subtle.
Doesn't need to be anything big.
I invite you to fine tune your noticing and your awareness to see if you can just feel that up and down nature in your body.
Can even imagine your breath traveling up and down your spine.
And as you feel that undulation up and down,
Or that sensation in your body,
I invite you to hold on to it almost like something in your awareness that you're focusing on.
And so holding on to that sensation of up and down.
And then we're going to add another dimension.
And that's the dimension of left to right or side to side.
So as you breathe in,
You feel your ribs expand on either side of your body.
And as you breathe out,
You feel them contract or compress.
So as you breathe in,
You maybe feel a little bit more space between your ribs.
Maybe you feel part of your body,
Your chest,
Your side body pressing into your inner upper arms.
And as you breathe out,
Maybe you feel a little bit more space,
A little bit more pressure,
Or rather less pressure.
And so just noticing your body go out side to side,
Left to right,
As you breathe in,
And as you breathe out.
And so you're holding on to that sensation of up and down.
And you're adding to it side to side.
And so feeling,
Tracking,
Focusing on both of those sensations,
Up and down,
Side to side.
And we're going to add a third dimension to our breath.
And that's the dimension of front to back.
And so as you breathe in,
Feeling your chest,
Your belly puff out,
Round out.
As you breathe out,
Feeling your chest and your belly come back in.
And it's not just the front of your body.
It can be your back body as well.
So as you breathe in,
Maybe you feel your shoulder blades get a little bit farther apart from each other.
And as you breathe out,
You feel them melt just a little bit,
Almost infinitesimally closer to each other.
And as you breathe and feel the roundness in your body front to back,
Don't forget your lower back,
Seeing if you can feel space created there as well.
And so you're holding on to the sensation of can you feel yourself getting taller and shorter?
Can you feel yourself getting broader side to side and narrower?
And then can you feel yourself getting deeper as you breathe in front to back and shallower as you exhale?
It's a lot to pay attention to.
I understand that.
It's a lot to keep in your awareness to feel those three directions and to feel the attending sensations in your body.
And so I invite you to let go,
To stop focusing on them in particular and just breathe.
And your focus will wonder where it needs to be placed now that you're not paying attention to those specific dimensions.
And I invite your attention to notice what feels different in your body after you explored those three dimensions of breath.
What if anything feels different?
What feels the same?
What are you noticing?
What's standing out,
If anything?
And so as you continue to notice,
I invite you to take one thing with you that you noticed inside you today that you want to carry with you as you go.
Maybe that was a good feeling of breathing deep into your lower back.
Maybe it was new awareness about how you breathe.
Maybe it was a thought that came up or something that struck you about the practice of being with yourself and being present this way.
Either way,
Whatever it is,
With a soft touch,
Just something to take with you as you go.
And then as we wrap up,
I invite you to put a hand on your heart,
To feel the weight of your palm,
To take some breaths,
Really breathing into your chest and feeling your palm and your chest go up and down.
Thanking your body for the gift of breath,
The gift of presence,
And the gift of being able to feel and to notice where you are right now,
However easy or hard that may be,
Whatever place or moment you are in in your life.
And so with that piece of gratitude in your mind,
You're welcome to open your eyes,
Release your hand.
And when you're ready,
Move on with the rest of your day.
Thanks for spending a little bit of time with me,
But more important,
With yourself.
Have a great rest of your day.
