Welcome to an introduction to Conscious Connected Breath.
In everyday life,
We want to breathe lightly,
Slowly and deeply through our nose.
However,
In Conscious Connected Breath practice,
We intentionally breathe deeply through our mouth,
Continuously without pause,
In a controlled hyperventilated manner.
In this way,
We take in more oxygen and lower our carbon dioxide levels,
So we become more alkaline.
Physically,
This means you may get a dry mouth and throat,
You may get some tingling,
You may become light-headed,
Have ringing in your ears,
Experience some temperature changes,
Or even have cramping of the hands and feet.
However,
These physical sensations should only be subtle in this short practice today.
When we breathe in a connected,
Circular manner,
It slows down a structure in the brain called the default mode network.
This is associated with our ego and our habitual way of thinking.
Breath work allows us to relax our obsessive thinking mind,
Allowing us to calm and break free from habitual thought patterns.
It gives our brain space to explore more unconscious material,
Like forgotten or suppressed memories.
During a breath work session,
Our subconscious mind often allows these memories to surface,
Which gives us opportunity to process and release them in a safe space.
When breath work is done regularly,
It strengthens neuro pathways to our subconscious.
Breath work then becomes a powerful tool to free us from our egoic mind,
Enabling us to become a calmer,
More balanced individual.
Now there are some contraindications.
A history of bipolar or schizophrenia,
The taking of anti-psychotic drugs,
Epilepsy,
Heart conditions,
Extremes of blood pressure,
And early or delicate pregnancy.
Now it doesn't mean you shouldn't do the breath work,
It's just best to consult with the doctor first and then possibly nose breathe only.
In my regular sessions,
We would actively breathe for around 30 minutes.
Today will be a 5 minute introduction.
Now I invite you to lay down with nothing under your head in order to keep your airway open.
Close your eyes and connect to your breath,
Taking soft,
Light inhales and exhales through your nose.
And just notice the subtle movements in your belly and chest.
See if you can let go of any tightness or tension in your body,
Allowing your inhale to flow and your exhale to flow.
I invite you to move to your heart space and ask yourself what are you intentionally breathing for today?
Just take a moment to breathe,
Feel into your body and set this intention.
Now start to deepen both your inhale and your exhale,
Still breathing through your nose,
Feeling the breath arise from your belly and travel to your chest.
And see if you can remove the pause at the top of your breath and the pause at the bottom of your breath,
Making your breath connected.
A constant circular breath.
Maybe visualise a circle to help you achieve this pattern.
Now you can stay breathing in this way or you can open your mouth wide,
Pull on your inhale and let go on your exhale,
Still consciously connecting your breath.
So your inhale becomes your exhale,
Becomes your inhale,
Becomes your exhale.
Be fully present with your breath,
Focus on your inhale,
Becoming your exhale,
Becoming your inhale,
Becoming your exhale in this conscious,
Connected,
Circular breath.
Now you are always in charge of your journey and that's the fantastic thing about breathwork,
The speed,
The depth,
The intensity is all under your control.
So your breath can be both your accelerator and your brake.
So play with your breath,
Choose to explore a longer,
Deeper inhale and exhale or a shorter,
Quicker inhale and exhale.
The main thing is to keep your breath connected and circular.
Now conscious,
Connected breathing is breathwork so there is effort involved to stay fully with the breath and out of the thoughts in your head.
So see if you can stay in your heart space,
Feel into your intention and be guided by your breath.
Stay in connected and staying committed to your journey today.
Just breathing into any of those physical sensations you may be feeling,
Whether you are feeling a little light headed,
Whether you are feeling any tingling in your body,
How does that feel?
Just breathe into that.
And be open to whatever comes up for you today,
Feeling into your breath,
Feeling into your body and knowing that all emotions are welcome.
Feel welcome to cry,
Feel welcome to shout,
Feel welcome to laugh,
Embracing anything that comes up for you,
Whether that's the physical sensations or whether that's any emotions.
Just staying with that circular,
Connected breath,
No pause at the top,
No pause at the bottom,
Just staying present with your breath.
And if you do catch your mind wandering,
Just come back to your inhale,
Back to your exhale and back to your intention for today.
Allowing your breath to move energy through your body to each and every cell,
Breathing fully,
Breathing freely.
Staying present for your few final breaths today on your journey.
Now allow your mouth to close,
Connect once again to your light,
Soft nose breathing.
Allow your pause to return at the top of your breath,
Allow your pause to return at the bottom of your breath and allow your body to relax fully and absorb whatever sensations came up for you today.
Now feel welcome to stay in this moment of bliss for as long as you feel you'd like and I hope to breathe again with you soon.
