Breathwork for Beginners

Breathwork for Beginners: This 20-minute practice will guide you in a safe, easy three-part breath session. This breathwork will help you learn to tune into your body, increase your resiliency, and ease your own anxiety, depression, and fears. It can also help you access the joy within your body as you learn to experience sensations with equanimity. Make a cozy, safe space for yourself, and let's begin.

Transcript

Welcome.

I'm Katie May and I'm here to guide you today in a short breath work experience.

Let's start by finding a cozy and safe space to lay down flat on your back,

Making this space safe for yourself by closing a door or letting others around you know that you will be practicing for the next few minutes,

Inviting your pets in to practice with you or creating a space separate.

You may want a blanket or a shawl to pull over yourself if you experience temperature changes,

An eye mask or something to place over your eyes and headphones to listen to this recording.

This is a three part breath.

Know that this breath is intended to help us connect more deeply with the awareness within our bodies and you may experience sensations,

Memories,

Fluctuations in temperature,

Tingliness or a tightness in your muscles.

As you do this breath work,

Please go at your own pace and remember this is your experience.

Design it as you choose.

You are a sovereign being.

Choose your path and choose your practice in the way that is best for your body,

For your heart,

For your mind and for your spirit.

Let's begin.

Starting to tune in by taking a deep breath in through the nose and exhaling through the open mouth.

Taking a deep breath in through the nose and exhaling through the open mouth.

As you do so,

See if you can receive this breath in the body.

Feel the belly soften,

Maybe softening the hip joints.

Deep breath in through the nose and exhaling through the open mouth.

On your next breath I invite you to make that exhale a sigh.

Give it a sound.

That sound of your own voice can be the most powerful sound for you to hear in the universe.

So let's do that again.

Inhaling and on the next exhale making a louder sound.

Listening to the sound of your own voice.

That unique signature that only you make in this world.

Once more in through the nose and exhaling perhaps with the loudest sigh,

The loudest sound that you have made yet.

Listening as you make that noise,

That sound,

That ahhh.

Beautiful.

This is our belly breath.

Big breath in through the nose,

Exhaling through the open mouth.

Now we'll warm up the breathing apparatus for the heart breath.

If you'd like to place your hand on your chest,

Perhaps with a thumb and a finger right at your collarbone.

Now we're going to breathe through the open mouth just into the area of the lungs underneath this hand.

The upper third of your lungs.

Breathing in through the mouth and exhaling through the mouth.

Breathing in through the mouth,

Exhaling through the mouth.

In through the mouth,

Exhaling through the mouth.

This is our heart breath.

This can be a stimulating breath.

This is the breath we use as a tool to work throughout the body uncovering and excavating those things that our body is holding on to.

The third part of the breath is the exhale,

Allowing the exhale to simply be calm,

Even without elongating or forcing it.

The next few breaths,

Breathe in any way you like through the mouth or the nose and just notice your exhale.

Inhaling and exhaling.

And so here we are ready to begin.

We're going to weave it all together,

Breathing completely through the open mouth.

Breathing in through the mouth into the belly first receiving it in that softening belly.

Breathing into the heart,

Second inhale and then exhaling all through the open mouth into the belly,

Into the heart.

Exhale to the belly,

To the heart.

Exhale.

Continue breathing in this way,

Finding your own pace,

Finding your own pattern,

Remembering you are a sovereign being,

Remembering it is safe to do this practice.

That this practice is a beautiful and important one for connecting to the body.

If at any point in time you feel like it is too much,

You feel too anxious,

You've reached an edge,

I encourage you to slow down your breathing and perhaps return to just the belly breath.

Taking a few calm relaxing belly breaths to bring yourself back from that edge.

If it is not enough,

You're not feeling it and you would like to go deeper,

I encourage you to breathe a little more quickly or pull in more air with each of your two inhales.

This is your practice and your body.

Keep breathing big breaths into the belly,

Big breaths into the heart,

Into the belly,

Into the heart and release.

As things come up in your experience,

Can you first simply become aware of them?

Can you acknowledge them and simply surrender to the experience allowing it to be what it may be,

Knowing that this practice may be entirely different each time,

Knowing that this practice may bring up uncomfortable things,

It may bring up very joyful things.

So this becomes a practice of equanimity.

Can we simply observe the emotions,

The memories,

The experiences that we are having,

Can we simply observe?

If you've lost your path,

If you've lost your rhythm,

Let my voice be your reminder.

Come back to the breath,

Into the belly,

Into the heart and release,

Into the belly,

Into the heart and release.

Letting your body guide the way,

Knowing that your breath can be as nourishing as the best meal you've ever had,

As refreshing as a glass of cool water on a hot day.

Letting your breath nourish your body with a big breath into the belly,

Breath into the heart and release.

If you'd like to,

You can start to play with your pacing.

If you'd like to pick it up,

We can do 10 breaths a little bit faster.

Count yourself through them into the belly,

Into the heart and release.

Belly,

Heart,

Release.

Belly,

Heart,

Release.

Belly,

Heart,

Release.

Halfway there.

If you'd like to,

You can keep going with that quicker pace,

Or you can let go of that and come back to a rhythm that feels more comfortable for you.

Choosing your path,

Choosing your practice,

Embracing your sovereignty,

Acknowledging in this moment you are safe.

It is safe to be doing this practice.

Any sensations you're experiencing,

The physical tingling or tensing,

It will pass into the belly,

Into the heart and release.

We're going to breathe together for one more minute.

Into the belly,

Into the heart and release.

Belly,

Heart,

Release.

Belly,

Heart,

Release.

Belly,

Heart,

Release.

And now completely letting that practice go.

Giving yourself a few cleansing,

Refreshing breaths and letting yourself rest in stillness.

Giving yourself the gift of rest.

So often we spend all of our time moving and going and doing.

This is a moment to simply be.

Taking a radical moment of rest.

You've done such good work.

Now is the time to let the breath come as it may.

It may be through the nose,

Through the mouth or perhaps it feels like your whole body has dissolved and you are simply part of the very air that surrounds you,

Breathing through the skin.

However you are,

Wherever you are,

Remember that you have created a safe space for yourself and it's time to simply rest.

You You You If you're ready to come back to this moment this time in this place Without changing a thing I encourage you to place your awareness Where the breath enters the body Perhaps that's right at the entrance of the nostrils Perhaps it's your lips as you feel the air flow into the mouth And simply observe ah this This is an inhale And this this is an exhale Observing the inhale observing the exhale And can you find that moment When an inhale becomes an exhale and an exhale becomes an inhale You When you're ready start to deepen the exhale deepen the inhale a Little bit more air into the belly Allows a little more air to release from the body Tuning in to this breath The very first thing we do in life is take a breath And the very last thing we do in life is a release that breath Like one long breath from birth to death When You're ready to bring more life into your body inhaling and Sending that inhale all the way down the body to your feet perhaps stretching your feet Flexing them rolling the ankles one direction then another direction Letting the movement be guided by your breath Maybe you'd like to send a breath all the way down your arms shoulders to elbows elbows to ankles Elbows to wrists Rolling the wrists first one direction then the next Stretching the fingers wide pulling them in tight When you're ready,

Let's bring those hands together in front of your heart Pressing palm to palm finger to finger thumb to thumb like mirror images Of each other pressing firmly left into right and right into left balancing these bodies You're releasing that pressure if you'd like to everything is optional.

These are all simply invitations I invite you if you'd like to Rubbing one hand against the other Starting to rub the two hands together generating some heat some warmth some friction Or you can rub a palm on the opposite arm.

However you like When you've done that I Invite you to place your hands anywhere on your body.

You would like to perhaps on the heart perhaps on the belly Cupping the cheeks or cupped over the eyes and just take a moment To thank yourself for your practice Thank you Sending a wave of gratitude from my heart to yours Thank you so much for your practice today You