Hi,
I'm Jenna,
Owner of the Yogi Nest.
We offer alternative and holistic healing through mindful movement and mindset coaching in Los Angeles and online.
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 you don't need any experience.
Just 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 Breathwork,
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 something a little more advanced,
I also have this same breathing exercise available in 10 and 20 minutes.
Without further ado,
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and let's 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.
Allow your breath to be slow and long,
Filling the whole space between your belly button and collarbones.
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.
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 out of 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 1 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1 inhale 2 3 4 exhale 3 2 1.
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 and emotions.
You can begin to bring some small movements back into your fingers and toes now 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.
The cool thing about 4-4 breathing is that it's so easy you can do it anywhere.
You could be in a meeting,
Your car,
The middle of a disagreement.
You can access this anytime,
Anywhere.
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 any meditation requests that you think might be helpful for you.
Be well.
