Hi,
I'm Jenna,
Owner of the Yogi Nest.
I get a lot of requests for ways to help reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety.
More now than ever,
Stress and anxiety have become a part of our normal daily lives,
But it's extremely detrimental to our health,
So it's important that we find easy and actionable ways to put it in check quickly.
Today,
We'll be doing a breathing exercise called 4-4 breathing or breath mirroring.
You'll be inhaling and exhaling through your nose,
Both for the count of four.
This is a great way to quickly reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety,
And all you need is a comfortable place to sit or lie down with little to no distractions.
If you've never done breath work before,
You might want to check out my meditation called Introduction to Breath Work,
Where I discuss what breath work is,
How it can help you,
And provide a short breathing exercise to get you started.
If you're looking for a quicker and less advanced solution,
Try the five-minute version,
And if you're looking for something a little more advanced,
Try the 20-minute version.
Let's go ahead and find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and get started.
Whether you're sitting or lying down,
Make sure your spine is straight,
Allowing for air to easily flow in and out of the lungs.
You may close your eyes if that feels comfortable.
If not,
Try gazing down at the tip of your nose or focus on a fixed spot on a wall,
Floor,
Or even the palms of your hands.
Draw your shoulders down away from your ears.
Allow your face,
Eyes,
And jaw to release and relax.
Notice the points of contact between your body and the support beneath you,
And allow your body to release and relax,
Melting into that support.
When we're experiencing stress and anxiety,
Our breath tends to live predominantly in our upper chest and is short and shallow.
It's easy to feel the pressure and pain in your body,
And it's hard to feel the pressure and pain in your body.
I'd like for you to see if you can allow your breath to be slow and long now,
Filling the whole space between your belly button and collar bones.
Place one hand on your lower belly and one on your upper chest,
Feeling the rise and fall of your breath beneath your hands and connecting more deeply to your body.
As you work on allowing your breath to be slower and longer,
You might also observe how your body feels when you shift from short,
Shallow breaths to long,
Deep,
Slow breaths.
Notice the temperature of your breath today,
The cool air entering the nostrils on your inhale,
And the warm air leaving the nostrils on your exhale.
Let's start by taking one deep breath together,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
Good.
Now return to normal breath,
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose.
If you find yourself feeling lightheaded or dizzy,
Slow the breath down or even temporarily come back to your normal breathing pattern until it passes,
Then come back to the sound of my voice and breathe as I count once again.
Let's begin counting,
Starting on an inhale.
Inhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
Two,
One,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
Two,
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Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
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Inhale,
Two,
Three,
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Exhale,
Three,
Two,
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Inhale,
Two,
Three,
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Exhale,
Three,
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Inhale,
Two,
Three,
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Exhale,
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Inhale,
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Exhale,
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Inhale,
Two,
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Inhale,
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Exhale,
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Inhale,
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Exhale,
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Inhale,
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Exhale,
Three,
Two,
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Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Three,
Two,
One.
Good.
Now return to normal breathing,
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose.
Take a moment to scan your body now from the top of your head all the way down to your toes and notice how different you feel now both physically and emotionally than you did when you first started this breathing meditation.
Notice the shift in your thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions and sensations.
You can begin to bring some small movements back into your fingers and toes and when you're ready,
You can open your eyes or drift off to sleep.
Come back to this meditation anytime you feel stress and anxiety weighing you down and remember that breathing exercises like this one are accessible anytime,
Anywhere.
If you're in a meeting,
Traffic or in the middle of a disagreement,
Just take a moment to notice your breath,
Slow it down and follow your inhales and exhales until you start to feel stress and anxiety dissipate.
Please leave me a message to let me know how this meditation went for you or to ask any questions that came up for you during this practice.
You may also drop me a meditation request that you think might be helpful for you.
Be well.
