Welcome to full yogic breath relaxation.
Take a moment just to get everything that you're gonna need for your most comfortable relaxation possible.
You can lie on your yoga mat or on a bed.
You might like to put a pillow underneath your knees if you're more comfortable with them bent or underneath your head.
You can get a blanket to spread over to keep you warm or rest an eye bag over your eyes to help them relax.
Making these preparations now to get the most out of your relaxation time.
Just feeling your body soften and rest and settle into the support of the floor beneath you.
Unconsciously relaxing your ears knowing that if you hear sounds outside of the room you can just let them remain there without becoming distractions for you without engaging with them.
Feeling the eyes rest softly closed your gaze turning inwards.
I'm just feeling each part of your body that touches the ground soften and relax and settle.
Any tension melting away.
Just observing your natural breath as it flows in and out through the nostrils.
And if your mind starts to drift you can always use the focus of the inhale flowing in to bring your awareness right back into the present.
And the release of the breath out to let go of any distractions.
Send your awareness down to your toes and consciously soften and relax each toe.
Feeling the soles of the feet relax the tops of the feet relax.
Feeling as your heels relax and your ankles relax.
Your calves and your shins soften and relax.
Any tightness or tension melting away.
Feeling as your knees relax and your thighs relax.
Hips and buttocks softening and relaxing.
Belly relaxed.
Lower back relaxing.
Chest relaxing.
Upper back relaxing beneath it.
Feeling as your shoulders relax and the upper arms relax.
Feeling your elbows relax and your forearms relax and the wrists relax.
Feeling as the palms of the hands relax and the fingers and the thumbs relax.
Consciously letting go of any tension from the hands.
Bring your awareness up to your neck and your throat and feeling them soften and release.
Feeling your jaw relaxed.
Upper and lower teeth resting gently apart and your tongue just resting behind your lower teeth.
Feeling as the mouth relaxes and little muscles around the mouth relax.
As your cheeks relax little muscles around the eyes relax.
The eyes themselves relax as your gaze turns inwards.
Any little furrows between the eyebrows smoothing out.
Feeling your forehead relax and your scalp relax.
Feeling all the little muscles of the face that you use to communicate with the world around you soften and relax.
Feeling the larger muscles of the body that you use to lift you up and move you around.
Soften and release.
If you do notice there's any part of your face or body that's not quite relaxed yet.
Next time you're ready with an inhale send it right to that spot.
With your next breath out send the message to soften and release and let go.
Using your inhales to channel energy and oxygen through your body.
Releasing and relaxing even more with each breath out.
And in full yogic breathing we really refine and expand our awareness of the breath.
We'll start focusing on each area of the lungs individually and then combine them for a deep full breath.
The next time you're ready for an inhale feel it flow in through the nostrils and flow right down to the bottoms of the lungs.
And just feeling the belly relax as the breath flows out again.
With each breath in send it as deep as you can so you feel your belly rise and soften and release as that breath flows away.
As you're breathing to the bottoms of the lungs your diaphragm descends and the abdomen moves outwards.
This action gives the internal organs a gentle massage.
So it's a healthy thing to do for our digestive system.
It's also a very soothing way to breathe for the heart and for the nervous system.
Breathing right to the bottom of the lungs is very efficient and because you're getting a lot of oxygen per breath you don't need to take as many.
The heart doesn't need to pump as hard.
The heart and the nervous system get the message to relax.
And just continue at your own pace taking these deep breaths to the belly.
Feeling your mind and your body relax as each breath flows out.
Now from here expanding the breath into the side ribs.
There's no need to tense the belly but instead of breathing right to the bottoms of the lungs focus on expanding the breath out sideways so that each time you inhale you feel that sideways expansion into the ribs.
And then just that relaxing release as the breath flows away.
We often underutilize the space in the sides of the lungs so really focus now on taking that expansive sideways inhale.
Softening and releasing as each breath flows away again.
Now from here setting the breath into the upper chest.
Take advantage of that lung tissue right up under the collarbones and around the shoulders.
This will be a shallower breath so be really focused on a relaxing exhale.
And it's useful to explore this space at top of the lungs but be mindful if you find yourself breathing like this in everyday life during your yoga practice it could be sending your mind into a stress response taking these shallow breaths.
Practice now releasing any tension as you release each breath out.
In your everyday life if you find yourself taking quick shallow breaths notice how your mental and emotional state shifts when you take longer and deeper ones.
And from here now take some deep relaxed breaths into the back of the body.
This is a really soothing grounding breath.
The inhale you'll feel your rib cage gently expand to the ground beneath you.
And feeling the whole body soften and rest and relax as each breath flows out again.
The back of the body is another place we often underutilize.
So give it lots of focused attention now each breath in expanding into the back of the heart,
The back of the rib cage.
With each breath out softening and relaxing letting go.
Now from here we'll combine these areas of breath awareness.
If my pace is different to yours just go at a comfortable rhythm for you.
Of course at any stage you're always welcome to return to a natural breath.
The next time you're ready for an inhale direct it right down to the belly out to the side ribs into the upper chest and then into the back of the body.
And being mindful to completely release the last of each breath before you take the next one in.
Feeling each inhale flow in and circulate that breath down,
Out,
Up and back.
Slow smooth stream of breath out again on each exhale.
This is a very cleansing way to breathe.
There's often air that gets stale and stagnant.
If you circulate each breath through the entire lungs sweeping out any nooks and crannies you'll be sweeping out that stagnant air and replacing it with fresh energy and fresh oxygen.
The focus required to send breath into each part of the lungs can help to steady your mind.
You might also like to work with a visualization.
You might like to visualize a pool of water and then a drop falling in.
The large ripples are at land and then the smaller ripples that flow on right to the edge of the pool.
Then the whole pool becoming calm and still and settled again.
Think of your breath like that.
The large ripples that flow down,
Out,
Up and back.
And the small ripples of breath that radiate out to the tips of the fingers,
The tips of the toes and the crown of the head.
And the whole body becoming calm,
Still and settled like that pool of water.
And from here just take two more of these deep full yogic breaths.
Making your breath your entire focus.
When you return to your natural breathing notice if it just naturally feels more comfortable to take these deeper fuller breaths.
Noticing as well your state of mind following the practice that you've done and how your body's feeling.
Tuning into that connection between mind,
Body and breath.
Just feeling that support of the ground beneath you.
Noticing your toes and your fingers giving them a little wiggle gradually letting those movements start to wake your body up again.
When you feel ready for it just using your way over onto one side and making your way up at your own pace.
I'm wishing you Namaste.
Thanking you so much for sharing this practice with me.
Namaste.
