Breathing With The Rhythm Of The Universe

This is a simple breathing practice that can be used for relaxation, and to reconnect with yourself at a deeper level. It can be done absolutely anywhere, and is a useful tool for grounding and resetting in stressful situations. It can be done before rising in morning to prepare for the day, or before going to bed to promote relaxation.

Transcript

I'm introducing today a Qigong breathing practice called Breathing with the Rhythm of the Universe. This can be a deeply relaxing practice. Or it can be quite strong and energetic depending on how fast you do it. It's also a very good practice for distracting the mind, So useful in those stressful situations where you're trying to regain your balance. I always recommend doing this practice seated. On the edge of the chair. With your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. Don't lean against the back, That tends to collapse you and it makes it much harder for you to use your ribcage fully. So sit comfortably and place your hands on your lower stomach. And for a couple of breaths, I just want to breathe, Focusing on taking air into the bottom of your lungs. So making the stomach expand as the diaphragm pushes downwards, Opening up the lungs to there. And just breathe in very deeply. He moves, Your internal tissues move. It's not a case of forcing your belly out to make your hands move, It's about letting it happen naturally. And if you're not used to breathing deeply, That may be a subtle movement at first. So what we're going to do is take a normal breath in. And then start with an out-breath. I always recommend starting breathing practices with an out-breath. Because. . . Taking a deep breath in prior to doing something. Is something that might trigger the nervous system into thinking that there's danger around at the beginnings of the fight-flight-freeze mechanism. By breathing out first, You're telling your nervous system that it's perfectly safe to relax and just do whatever you're going to do next. So breathe in and then breathe out. For a count of eight. Or as close to eight as you can get, Bearing in mind you haven't taken a deep breath in. Then what we're going to do is hold the bottom of the breath for a count of four, But not holding a kind of glottal stop. Block your throat kind of a way. Just imagine switching from breathing out to then breathing in and notice what changes in your body as you do that and after the fourth count then breathe in for a count of eight. We then repeat the hold but without it being a kind of That kind of a hold is just a gentle, I've reached my capacity, I'm going to stop breathing in, I'm going to turn to breathing out over a count of four beats. It's actually physically impossible to count out loud when you're doing the practice to give a demonstration of the rhythm of doing this. So it's out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Switch over, 2, 3, 4. In, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Switch, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Two, Three, Four, In two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Switch, Two, Three, Four, And so on. At first you can start with your counting matching your breath so how much capacity you have in your lungs at the moment and then as you establish the rhythm over a couple of breaths you could start slowing the counting in your head and seeing how that affects your ability to breathe more deeply. There's no right or wrong length of time to hold. It's your count, Your body, You know what is right for you. When you finish the practice, Just stop the counting and then go back to breathing in a natural rhythm. And it may be helpful to just shake your body like that to break the pattern of the counting breath in your head. Take a few normal breaths and then you can carry on back to your day. Enjoy the practice.