Welcome to this short morning breathwork practice to both energize your day and move into it with a sense of calm.
Before we begin,
Just take a moment to check in with how you're feeling.
Remember there's no right or wrong,
No good or bad emotion.
The nature of being human is to experience a spectrum of emotions and sensations daily,
And none of these define you.
To open our practice,
We're going to do a short vagus nerve stimulation exercise,
Which will allow us to move out of an activated state and into more ease.
Sitting comfortably,
Keeping your head facing forward,
You're simply going to move your eyeline to the right as far as it will go,
And we're going to hold this for 30 seconds.
The vagus nerve is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system,
Extending from your head all the way into your abdomen.
Its role is to send messages from the inner organs,
The brain,
The heart,
The lungs,
The liver.
When our body is activated into a stress response,
The vagus nerve is responsible for moving us back into the parasympathetic nervous system,
Relieving tension from our body and bringing us back into balance.
You can move your eyeline back to centre now,
Before we take it to the other side.
Keeping your head facing forward,
Moving your eyeline to the left now,
As far as it will go,
And again,
We'll hold for 30 seconds.
This exercise is so simple yet so effective.
Done daily,
It can improve our vagal tone,
Which is associated with improved physical health,
A reduction in stress,
And a greater sense of wellbeing.
It's also a beautiful reminder to have faith in the power of simplicity.
As you're doing this exercise,
You may notice a yawn,
A swallow or a sigh.
These natural urges are all signs that the nervous system is relaxing.
You can bring your eyeline back to centre now,
And close down the eyes a moment.
We're going to invite the breath to move deeper into the body.
Allow your belly to fall outwards and your ribs to expand out and up on the inhale,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
In your own time,
Take four deep breaths in and exhale with a sigh.
Three more in your own time.
Keeping your eyes closed,
Do a quick scan down your body to see if you can let go of any tension that might still be there.
Your eyebrows,
Your jaw,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Tummy,
Hands,
Thighs,
Calves,
Feet.
Can you relax your body just 1% more?
Now we're going to do a breathing exercise called box breath,
A practice that can increase mental clarity,
Energy and focus.
It works by breathing in through your nose for a count of four,
Holding for a count of four,
Exhaling through your nose for a count of four and again holding for a count of four.
If four doesn't feel available to you right now,
Then you can use a count of two or three.
For this guided practice,
I'll be counting to four.
Before we begin,
Exhale fully.
Breathe in through your nose,
Hold.
Breathe out through your nose,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in and hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in and hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
Breathe in,
Hold.
Breathe out,
Hold.
And release the count,
Allowing the breath to return to a natural rhythm.
In a moment I'm going to leave you but first I'd like to invite you to choose an intention for the day ahead.
Maybe you want to focus on the quality rather than the quantity of your work today.
Maybe you want to remain calm under pressure,
Find joy in the more mundane of tasks,
Or perhaps just simply be really present in each experience.
Take a moment and either say aloud or to yourself your intention.
Thank you for joining me.
Have a beautiful day.
Sending love as ever.
