Morning Breath-Work For Energy

Begin your day with mindful breathing practices--sure to help you boost alertness, energy, and clarity! Refresh body and mind with loosening belly breaths, energizing 3-part breaths, and invigorating sun breaths. A gentle, but brisk and stimulating practice. (Please note: this is not a quiet, soothing pranayama practice, but a motivating, energizing, quick one--best when feeling sluggish, foggy-headed, or in need of some pep.)

Transcript

Good morning.

This is Larissa Hall-Carlson with some mindful breathing practices to help you wake up and take on the day with fresh energy.

Begin by finding a steady,

Comfortable seat and take some care to sit up tall,

Establishing a position of poise and alertness.

Take a few moments to notice how you're feeling this morning.

Be especially aware of any areas that feel sluggish,

Congested,

Or foggy.

Soften or close the eyes.

Loosen up and relax all the muscles in the face and jaw.

Loosen and relax the shoulders.

Keeping the spine long,

Drop the attention down into the belly and begin to deepen the breath there.

If it's comfortable,

Breathe in and out through the nose,

Sending each breath down towards the belly.

On the inhalation,

Let the belly open and widen with breath.

On the exhalation,

Deflate the balloon of the belly,

Pulling the belly button back towards the spine and squeezing empty.

Each inhalation,

Let the belly open,

Refreshing and revitalizing.

Each exhalation,

Draw the belly button back towards the spine,

Squeezing out the stale air.

Continue like that,

Deep belly breaths or diaphragmatic breaths,

Sending the air down into the lower lobes of the lungs,

And as the belly softens,

The breathing diaphragm descends and rises with ease and grace,

Inviting good exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide while massaging the internal organs,

Helping to stimulate and aid digestion,

Waking the body and the mind through the breath.

Now let's build from this belly breath into the complete yogic breath or the three-part breath.

So on the next inhalation,

Breathe down towards the belly,

Let it open and widen.

Then bring the attention to the rib cage,

Sip in more air.

Let the ribs flare open like the gills of a fish.

Bring the attention now to the upper chest and shoulders.

Sip in a little more air.

Fill the upper lungs with breath.

Stay tall as you exhale,

Exhale,

Exhale it all out,

Squeezing empty at the bottom,

And begin again.

Breathe down towards the belly.

Let it puff like a balloon.

Breathe out into the ribs.

Let them flare open.

Breathe up to the shoulders and collarbones,

Bringing loads of rejuvenating energy.

Stay tall as you exhale,

Exhale,

Exhale thoroughly,

And then start again.

Add your own rhythm to this three-part breath.

And if you'd like,

You can layer on the ocean sounding breath,

Inviting a soft constriction in the throat,

Inviting that hissing,

Warming ocean sound to enhance focus and concentration,

A beautiful way to brighten and wake up the mind.

Doing this three-part breath to stretch open the torso,

Clearing out clutter and congestion from the night,

Getting good movement and circulation of breath,

Pumping the heart,

Oxygenating the bloodstream,

Clearing out the cobwebs in the mind,

Energizing the system for the day ahead.

You can stay like this doing the three-part breath with the ocean sound,

Or you can add another level,

Coming into sun breath,

So bringing the arms into the movement.

For sun breaths,

Keep the spine nice and long,

The head aligned right over the center of the shoulders.

And the next time you inhale,

Send the arms out to the sides and reach them up overhead,

Fingertips touch.

And keep the spine long as you exhale the arms out to the sides and down.

Continue like that,

Coordinating the breath with the movement,

Inhaling the arms out and up,

Getting a little taller,

A little lighter.

Stay tall as you exhale the arms out to the sides and down,

Squeezing empty at the bottom.

Find your own rhythm.

Go as fast or slow as you'd like here with these sun breaths,

Energizing,

Enlivening,

Inviting more brilliance and dazzle into the body and mind,

Loosening the shoulders,

Opening the side torso,

Waking and stretching,

Bringing brightness and joy into the mind here.

Now on the next exhalation,

Return the hands back to the lap,

Let the natural breath return,

Soften everything.

Pause and feel,

Pause and feel the effects,

What has loosened,

Opened,

Stretched,

Awakened,

Lightened.

Just feeling openness in the lungs,

Sparkle in the mind.

Gradually let the eyes flutter open,

Taking in the color and light of the morning,

Wishing you a day filled with luminosity.

Reviews

Great session. The guidance makes the breathwork smooth. Thanks

A simple and energizing practice! I am excited to try this perfectly brief practice on a busy morning before work.

Always a pleasure to hear your calming voice, Larissa. So glad I found another track of yours. Thank you.

Thank you. I enjoy the pace of your voice and the practice that is so helpful beginning the day. Blessed be.

Her guidance is absolutely fantastic. The use of the yogic breath is super calming and helps me get deeper in tune with my breathing. My favourite meditation by far!

Great guidance. I’ve done a lot of different breathing techniques already but this was a new and really nice experience!

Great practice! Practical, with lots of options for variety. And short too 🙌🏼

This was great. I will use this daily to re energize my body and mind throughout the work day. Thank you!

Thanks for sharing your gift. I loved this breath work. Cheryl J.

Brought a feeling of positive energy to start the day!

Great short practice to get your blood pumping in the am. Thank you!

This simple meditation was fantastic! I would give it 6 stars!

Excellent 🤩🤩🤩 morning breath work. Thank you 🙏🏻 so much. This was just what my body was needing 💗💗

Feeling energised to start my day!!
Thank you 😊🙏🏼

This is the perfect addition to my daily rising ritual. Thank you. It felt so good, expansive and invigorating.

The almost constant talking and fast pace is exactly what I needed to stop dozing back off this morning. Thank you for this offering. 💖

Dazzle, sparkle, luminosity— lovely way to start the day. Thank you✨🌟

Powerful! Have not tried this breath technique before but it worked and felt lighter and clearer afterwards thank you 🙏🏻 🌟

Perfect morning breath work when time is short and the body needs help waking up. Thank you 🙏

Perfect after stretch in bed with hannah brown. Wide a wake and energized