Find a comfortable position for your body,
Either sitting up in a chair with your feet anchored onto the floor,
Or sitting on the ground in a comfortable seated position.
The position isn't important,
But the alignment of the spine is.
Regardless of where you choose to sit,
Simply align your shoulders over your hips,
Resisting the urge to round the spine forward or back.
We can hold a position comfortably longer when the spine is in its natural,
Neutral position.
Noticing before we begin how you feel in this moment,
Collecting internal data so that at the end of this practice,
We can compare.
What is your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10,
With 10 being totally stressed out?
Then check in with your physical body and rate how much tension you feel in your body right now.
On a scale of 1 to 10,
With 10 being your whole body is tight and tense.
Allow your eyes to gently close,
Resting your sense of vision,
And observe how that heightens your sense of hearing.
Begin to observe all of the different sounds around you in this moment,
Using your sense of hearing like radar,
Seeking out the sounds that are farthest away from you.
Then move your attention from one sound to the next,
Getting closer and closer to your body.
Not attempting to distinguish the origin of each sound,
Or to label sound as good or bad.
All sound is simply vibration.
Begin to feel your ears hearing.
Then invite all the external sounds to fade into the background.
As you begin to sense your physical body,
Feel the temperature of the air on your skin.
Observe the weight of your clothes,
And notice your body resting here completely comfortable and at ease.
Check in with the sensations in your mouth,
And notice if there are any residual tastes left over.
Can you create space between your upper and lower teeth?
Allow your tongue to soften and melt,
And feel the bottom jaw growing heavier and heavier.
Notice the weight of your body completely supported and held,
And consciously accept the support being offered.
Notice all points of contact between your body and the support under you.
At each point of contact,
Imagine or feel that you can grow roots deep into Mother Earth.
Grow your roots deep and wide so that you can feel strong and steady,
Supported and held.
Now before we begin our breath practice,
Let's release everything that no longer serves us.
Expand your physical body from the top of your head all the way down to your feet,
And notice without judgment any areas of tightness or tension hiding out within.
Staying at the top of the head,
Notice sensation in your scalp,
Your forehead,
Both temples,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
Radiant vibration.
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Both cheeks together,
Nose,
Jaw,
Chin,
Neck and throat,
Both shoulders,
Both upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists,
Hands and fingers.
Allow your awareness to rest on the tips of your fingers,
Observing any sensations you discover there.
Check in with the upper chest and back,
Front and back of the ribs,
Belly and low back,
Both hips,
Buttocks,
Both upper legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
Ankles,
Feet and toes.
Rest your awareness on the tips of your toes.
Now any stress,
Tension or tightness you discovered hiding out within,
Imagine you can gather it as you inhale through your nose,
And as you exhale through your mouth,
Let it all go.
Sigh out your stress,
Your worry,
Your sadness and guilt.
Breathe out any dark emotions you've been storing deep within the tissues of your body.
Set yourself free so you can ride the wave of your breath effortlessly without any blockage or resistance.
Let it all go.
Then shift your awareness to the nose.
Notice the tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Both nostrils together.
Feel the touch of the air in the nostrils and explore any scent or aroma you notice within the nose.
Then begin to follow the breath into your body.
Become curious.
Where is the bottom of your breath in this moment?
Due to the stress of everyday life,
Many of us practice tension breath and don't even realize it.
We breathe in and out of the chest only.
We may feel the chest lift with the inhale,
And lower with the exhale.
But this breath communicates to our nervous system that there is danger to stay in high alert.
If we discover that the bottom of our breath is in our chest,
It's okay.
Awareness is the first step.
Once we acknowledge what is without judgment,
We have the ability to change it so that we can feel better.
In detox breath,
Or complete breath,
We breathe in through the nose and take in a third of the lungs capacity deep into the diaphragm,
Expanding the belly out.
Then we breathe the next third into the rib cage,
Allowing the ribs to grow wider.
And finally,
We breathe the last third into the chest,
Releasing the breath through the nose in the reverse order,
Emptying the chest,
Then the ribs,
Then the belly.
Let's practice this together,
Inviting your breath to just naturally slow down.
Now as your breath continues to fall in and fall out,
Think about a pitcher of water.
If we fill up a glass,
Naturally we fill the bottom first,
Then the middle,
Then finally the top.
So imagine that you can pour the breath into your body,
Filling up the abdomen,
Then the ribs,
And finally the chest.
Once you feel the collarbone rising,
Begin to pour the breath back out,
First from the chest,
Then the ribs,
And finally the belly.
Mentally repeat,
Inhaling belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
Exhaling chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
Slowing down and letting go.
Total awareness on filling up and emptying out.
Observe when you reach the top of the inhale,
Can you sip in just a little more air?
And on the exhale,
Can you squeeze out every last drop of air to create even more space for your next inhalation?
Total awareness on inhaling belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
And exhaling chest,
Ribs,
Belly.
This is both a calming and energizing breath.
A complete breath is the best way to use the breath to oxygenate and detoxify the cells of the body.
With every exhalation,
We are releasing toxins,
Both emotional and physical.
When we breathe out the dense,
Heavy emotions we have stored in the body,
We experience more energy.
Taking five more slow,
Complete breaths.
Now let's collect our after data.
Release the effort of that breath.
Welcoming the breath to simply fall in and fall out with as little effort possible.
And ask yourself,
What is my stress level now on a scale of 1 to 10?
With 10 being totally stressed out.
Then check in with your physical body and rate how much tension you feel in your body right now.
On a scale of 1 to 10,
With 10 being your whole body is tight and tense.
When you're ready,
Blink your eyes open with a smile.
Thank you for joining me today to explore complete breath.
Have a great rest of your day and keep practicing.
