Introduction To Breathwork

If you’re new to breathwork and you’re curious about how it can help you then you’ve come to the right place. In this guided meditation I’ll discuss what breathwork is, how it can help you, and then we’ll do a simple breathing exercise together. Breathwork teaches you how to actively notice, acknowledge, control, and direct your breath. It teaches you how to breathe consciously, with awareness, and intent. You’ll connect more deeply with your body, become more self-aware and the health benefits are plenty.

Music by Chris Zabriskie

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Jenna,

Owner of The Yogi Nest.

We offer alternative and holistic healing through mindful movement and mental wellness coaching in Los Angeles and online.

The purpose of this meditation is to familiarize yourself with what breathing exercises are and how to utilize breathwork meditations to improve your overall health and well-being.

If you're new to breathwork and you're curious about how it can help you,

Then you've come to the right place.

I'll quickly discuss what breathwork is,

How it can help you,

And then we'll do a short breathing exercise to get you started.

You won't need anything for today's meditation,

Just yourself and a comfortable and preferably distraction-free space to breathe with me.

So what is breathwork?

Before we dig into that,

I'd like to point out that you're breathing right now.

You breathe 24-7,

365 days a year,

Without even having to think about it.

When we breathe naturally and organically,

It is purely by reflex.

We don't have to think to breathe.

When we inhale fresh air,

We bring oxygen into the body,

Then we remove carbon dioxide from the body by breathing out stale air.

While practicing breathwork,

Breathing exercises,

Or breathwork meditations,

You will learn how to actively notice,

Acknowledge,

Control,

And direct your breath.

This practice teaches you how to breathe consciously,

With awareness and intent.

Not only does this practice teach you how to connect with your body more deeply,

And become more self-aware,

But the health benefits are plenty.

Breathing exercises can quickly and easily help you find relief from stress and anxiety.

Stress and anxiety trigger the fight or flight response,

Which releases a surge of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline into your body,

Causing your breathing to speed up,

Your pulse and blood pressure to increase,

And it puts your body into a state of hypervigilance,

Which can affect your immune system,

Quality of life,

And overall well-being.

Breathing exercises can reduce your blood pressure,

Lower your heart rate,

Help you cope with the symptoms of PTSD,

Manage symptoms of depression and sleeplessness,

Relieve mental,

Physical,

And emotional tension,

And so much more.

That being said,

Why don't we give it a try?

Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.

It's important that whether you're sitting or lying down,

That your spine is straight,

Allowing for air to easily flow in and out of your lungs.

You may close your eyes if that feels comfortable for you.

If not,

You may gaze 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.

You may even want to open and close your jaw a few times.

We tend to clench our jaws and hold a lot of stress here.

Take a moment to notice the points of contact between your body and whatever is supporting you.

A chair,

Couch,

Bed,

Yoga mat,

Floor,

Whatever it might be.

Knowing that your body is fully supported,

See if you can allow your body to release and relax even more,

Melting into that support beneath you.

Now start to notice your breath.

You don't need to do anything right now,

Just breathe normally and naturally in and out of your nose,

But do pay attention to your breath.

Without judgment or trying to change anything,

I just want you to notice where you're breathing.

Are you predominantly breathing in your upper chest?

More often than not,

This is where most people breathe,

And that breath is typically very short and shallow.

Are you breathing somewhere between your chest and belly,

Just below your ribs?

Or are you breathing only in your belly,

Near your belly button?

Now that you have a better idea of where and how you breathe naturally,

I'd like for you to see if you can allow your breath to be slower and longer,

Filling the whole space between your belly button and collarbones.

It can be helpful to place one hand on your lower belly and one on your upper chest,

So that you can not only feel the rise and fall of your breath beneath your hands,

But also to connect more deeply with your body.

Some of my clients also find it helpful to visualize a little glowing ball lifting and rising on the inhale,

Moving from the belly button all the way up to the space between the collarbones,

And then gently releasing down on the exhale,

Starting at the space between the collarbones and making its way back down towards the belly button.

Find what works best for you.

Now,

Notice your body rise,

Expand,

And lift as you inhale.

And as you exhale,

Notice your body release and relax.

Just be here for a moment,

Inhaling and exhaling through your nose,

Feeling your breath beneath your hands or visualizing that glowing ball moving with your breath or both.

Nice,

Long,

Slow breaths.

Good.

Now let's take one deep breath together,

Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through your mouth,

Filling the whole space between your belly button and collarbones on your inhale,

And emptying all the air between your collarbones and belly button on your exhale.

Do that one more time on your own.

Good.

Now return to normal breath,

Inhaling and exhaling out of your nose.

A note on thoughts,

Feelings,

And sensations that might arise while doing breathing exercises.

Thoughts will come and go.

My suggestion,

At least in the beginning,

Is to let them do just that.

Don't try to analyze or change them.

Let them come,

Acknowledge them,

And then let them pass you by like a scene on a movie screen.

If physical sensations present themselves,

Like itching,

Tingling,

Restlessness,

Cold,

Warmth,

Etc.

,

Do the same.

Let them come,

Notice them,

And then bring yourself back to your breath and see if the breath can help your body find relaxation and comfort.

I also like to keep a journal nearby so I can jot down notes about my experience and what came up for me once I've completed my meditation.

If you find you've wandered off during this meditation,

Just come back to the sound of my voice and your breath.

Let's continue to breathe.

For the remainder of this meditation,

Though,

I'd like you to choose whether you prefer to inhale and exhale through your nose,

Or if you prefer inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

I just want you to be comfortable so you can focus deeply on your breath.

Begin your inhale now for 1,

2,

3,

4.

Exhale 4,

3,

2,

1.

Inhale 1,

2,

3,

4.

Exhale 4,

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.

To close this meditation,

Let's take another deep breath together,

Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

Filling the whole space between your belly button and collarbones on your inhale and emptying all the air between your collarbones and belly button on your exhale.

Do that one more time on your own.

Good.

Now take a moment to notice how different you feel now,

Both physically and emotionally,

Than you did when you first started this breathing meditation.

Scan your body from the top of your head all the way down to your toes and notice how much more calm and relaxed you are.

Now,

Let's take a moment to notice how different you feel now,

Both physically and emotionally,

Than you did when you first started this breathing meditation.

Good.

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.

Congratulations on starting your breathwork practice.

How simple was that?

All you have to do to get started is notice your breath.

Be still and quiet with yourself for a few minutes a day.

Follow your inhales and exhales.

Find relief from stress and anxiety and connect more deeply with yourself.

You can come back to this meditation as many times as you need to in order to get comfortable with breathwork.

When you feel like you're ready to take your breathwork practice to the next level,

Check out my 5-minute,

4-4 breathing meditation.

Breathwork is so valuable to our overall health and well-being.

It's accessible to all and it's accessible anytime,

Anywhere.

Come back to this practice anytime you feel like you need some relief from stress and anxiety,

When you can't sleep,

When your thoughts are racing,

Or when you just need to connect more deeply with yourself.

The benefits are endless.

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.

Take care.

Reviews

Calm, soothing voice. A good introduction to breathwork. Although I’m not a beginner, I am always learning.

Loved this practice and found interesting insights as to how I breathed and what I prefer. Very calming practice. Thank you🌸🌸🌸🦋🦋

Will do this more as I rebuild my breath work practice.

Lovely. So relaxing I’m going to follow your breathing classes from now. Thank you.

Great intro!

A really good intro to breathwork. Very calming voice. Good information and a good breathwork meditation. Thank you! I’d love to see a “fall back to sleep” breathwork meditation from you for the middle of the night.

I'm new to breathwork and the explanation and instructions were very helpful and clear. Thank you so much for this. 🙏🦋

Thanks Jenna, I highly recommended this meditation for people who are just starting a meditation regimen, or for a quick review for those who are already meditating. This probably isn’t the forum, but I would love your recommendation on a meditation to control blood pressure, and your thoughts on the Wim Hof breathing method 🤔. Have a great week!

Fantastic thank you

Relaxing and helpful in easing stress, lovely voice