Pranayama Breathing - Influence

Influencing the breath by lengthening your inhales and extending your exhales to regulate the nervous system & access a new level of calm within the mind and body. Conscious breath patterns allow for the body to return back to its baseline, which acts as a reset having a positive effect on mental health and emotional wellbeing. A wandering mind is normal, notice it, welcome it, then come back to your breath. You will be breathing in through the nose, mouth closed, unless specified otherwise.

Transcript

Shadowing down the eyes,

Bringing your focus to the natural rhythm of your breath.

Noticing how it feels in this moment where the breath naturally places itself in your body.

We begin by inhaling into the belly for five,

Exhaling out of the belly for five.

So inhale belly 2 3 4 5,

Exhale belly 2 3 4 5,

Inhale 2 3 4 5,

Exhale 2 3 4 5,

Inhale 2 3 4 5,

Exhale 2 3 4 5.

So inhaling into the belly for five,

Exhaling out of the belly for five,

Keeping your mind connected to the count.

First few rounds is always about the mind coming down into the practice and getting connected.

So it's okay if you feel a little distracted,

Just surrender and soften.

The mind will come into where it needs to.

Just stay intentional with the breath,

Keep focusing on the movement of the belly,

How it lifts on the inhale and how it lowers on the exhale.

Inhaling into the belly for five,

Exhaling out of the belly for five.

Inhaling into the belly,

The belly fills up slowly and patiently watching the belly lift.

And on the exhale,

The belly lowers slowly and patiently,

Watching the belly lower,

Taking your time,

Allowing yourself to take in more oxygen by slowing down the breath.

You're accessing more air.

Inhaling into the belly for five,

Exhaling out of the belly for five.

You're doing so well.

Just allowing yourself to feel free and connected to this moment.

Letting go of any frustrations,

Any stress,

Any worries.

Inhaling peace,

Calm,

Serenity.

Exhaling,

Letting go.

Inhaling into the belly,

The belly fills up for five.

Exhaling out of the belly,

The belly empties out for five.

Cycling right away back in two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Beautiful.

In this very moment,

Watching the air fill up the belly on the inhale and watching the belly lower as you empty out completely.

Really grounding into this connection of your breathing,

This slowness,

This patience,

This fluidity.

And at the bottom of your next exhale,

We're going to bring the breath into the chest.

So inhaling into the chest for five and exhaling out of the chest for five.

So inhale chest,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Chest,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four.

So the same pattern as before,

However our placement of the breath is now in our chest.

And being specific with the placement of the breath helps to create that mobility in our diaphragm,

Telling the mind where we want the breath to go,

Allowing us to create that strength between the mind and the body connection.

The mind telling the body and the diaphragm to pull the air in on the inhale and the mind telling the body to push the air out on the exhale.

This diaphragm always having this beautiful pulling and pushing motion on the inhales and the exhales,

Allowing us to create that mobility.

And it's with that mobility that we can take in more air,

Maximizing our lung capacity,

Allowing us to remain present when experiencing external stresses.

Inhaling into the chest for five,

Exhaling out of the chest for five,

Keeping the mind connected to the breath,

Eliminating any distractions that may be arising,

Just noticing the distractions,

Thanking them and coming back to the breath.

There's no wrong or right way to do this,

Only the way that you need for you.

So no judgments,

No formings of opinions,

Remaining totally observant to yourself in this moment.

It's from this witnessing and observing state that we access greater perspective,

Greater perspective,

Deeper self-awareness.

Inhaling into the chest for five,

Exhaling out of the chest for five,

Keeping that count if you need it.

If you're embracing how the breath feels,

You can release that count and focus on the space that the chest is creating,

Ensuring to uphold that volume,

That capacity,

But anchoring into the feeling rather than the count.

Inhaling,

Chest lifts and fills up,

Exhaling slowly,

Extending and emptying out.

Beautiful.

Inhaling into the chest,

The chest fills up,

Complete and full.

And as you exhale,

You empty out slowly,

Pushing the air towards the feet and holding at the bottom of the exhale and just embracing this space here for a few moments.

No breath.

Our next pattern of breath will be a double inhale into the belly and a strong nasal exhale.

So when you're ready,

Inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the belly and a strong nasal exhale.

Belly,

Pause,

Belly,

Fill up,

Strong nasal exhale.

Belly,

Pause,

Belly,

Fill up,

Strong exhale and have some pressure and some strength on that exhale.

You're releasing,

Letting go of any stuck energy.

So it's important to have intention behind it while remaining connected.

Inhaling into the belly twice and a strong nasal exhale.

Filling up the lower belly,

Pause,

Filling up the upper belly,

Pause,

Strong nasal exhale.

You are safe and there is so much stability in you by just remaining witness to yourself,

Breathing,

Allowing yourself to come into a place of presence,

A place of peace.

A place of peace.

Inhaling into the belly twice and a strong nasal exhale.

Stirring up any stuck energy in the lower body and exhaling,

Releasing it on that strong exhale.

You're doing so well.

Keep feeling into this,

Keep allowing yourself to get there.

Inhaling into the lower belly,

Inhaling into the upper belly,

Strong nasal exhale.

Pulling the air into the belly,

Pause,

Pulling the air into the belly again,

Pause,

Strong nasal exhale,

Pushing the air out of the body.

Inhaling into the lower belly,

Inhaling into the upper belly,

Strong nasal exhale.

Really grounding into this connection of your breathing,

Keeping that breath active,

That fluidity,

That momentum,

Being calm and focused on your intention to soften to the experience.

Your intention to soften to the experience.

Inhaling into the lower belly,

Inhaling into the upper belly and a strong nasal exhale.

At the bottom of the exhale,

Cycling right away back in,

In,

Strong exhale,

Again in,

In,

Strong exhale and again in,

In,

Strong exhale and holding at the bottom of this exhale.

Containing the energy in the belly,

Stabilising the energy you've been creating through this progression of the patterns.

You are safe in the hold.

Our final pattern of breath will be a double chest inhale and a strong exhale.

So again,

Bringing the placement of the breath up into the chest,

Creating that mobility with the diaphragm,

Teaching our body to take in more air,

More oxygen.

So when you're ready,

When you're ready,

Double inhale into the chest and a strong nasal exhale.

Inhaling into the middle chest,

Pause,

Inhaling into the upper chest,

Strong exhale,

Releasing,

Letting go,

Cycling right away back in,

In and release,

Exhaling,

Emptying out,

Cycling right away back in,

In,

Exhale,

Release,

Emptying out,

Cycling again in,

In,

Exhale,

Release.

Keep feeling into that,

You've got this.

Inhaling into the chest twice and a strong nasal exhale.

This breathing pattern helping you to become familiar with the subtlety of breathing and to calm the erratic and impulsive activity of daily life.

Calming your breath rate,

Breath rate,

Lowering your heart rate,

Having this beautiful balance of inhales and exhales,

Awakening the respiratory channels,

Letting the body know that we're here for it,

We care.

Pulling the air into the chest twice and pushing the air out on the exhale,

Emptying out completely,

Finding freedom in the breath,

Inhaling into the chest,

Inhaling into the chest again,

Filling up and a strong nasal exhale,

Inhaling into the heart,

Pause,

Inhaling into the lungs,

Filling up and a strong nasal exhale.

Just be aware of any tension that the body may have picked up as we cycle through these patterns and letting that go,

Releasing the jaw,

The shoulders,

The neck,

And moving back,

Focusing on the breath,

Filling the heart space,

Filling up the lungs and a double exhale,

Releasing,

Letting go,

Finding length in that exhale,

Strength,

But extension,

Making each inhale and each exhale as soft and as loving as possible.

You're almost there,

You're doing so well.

Double inhale into the chest and a strong exhale,

Drawing the air into the chest,

Drawing the air into the chest again and a strong exhale,

Cycling right away back in,

Eliminating any pause that could be occurring at the bottom of the exhale,

Inhaling into the chest,

Inhaling into the chest again and a strong exhale,

So nice.

And one more into the chest,

Into the chest,

Strong exhale,

Pushing the air towards your feet and holding the breath at the bottom of the exhale,

Moving into a retention,

A beautiful breath hold that allows us to embrace the stability of no breath.

This is your practice,

Your connection,

Give yourself permission to be here.

Our final pattern of breath,

We will be inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the chest and a calm exhale,

Inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the chest,

Calm exhale,

Inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the chest and a calm exhale,

Belly,

Chest,

Extended,

Calm exhale,

Feeling into the energy you've created in the body,

Allowing yourself to just surrender here in these final moments.

Inhaling into the belly,

The belly fills up like a balloon,

Inhaling into the chest,

The chest expands and a calm extended exhale,

Pushing the air towards your feet,

Releasing and letting go,

Inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the chest,

A calm extended exhale,

Inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the chest,

Calm extended exhale,

Noticing the quality of your breath in this moment and how it's different to when you started and how slowing down and softening can allow you to access that state of clarity and peace with yourself.

Inhaling into the belly,

Inhaling into the chest,

Calm extended exhale and just holding at the bottom of this exhale,

Enjoying the energy you've created,

There's something here for you and when you're ready taking a slow calm inhale and a slow calm exhale and just coming back to the physical space and allowing yourself to feel the effects of the practice for just a little while longer.

Reviews

So beautiful! The energy is so calming towards the end!

Nice breathwork, a good chance to focus on placing the breath in the stomach and in the chest separately, and notice how each felt.