Welcome to Day 3 of the Burnout and Exhaustion Challenge here on Insight Timer.
So many of us are always available,
Never switching off and never saying no.
This challenge is a chance to remind your body what stopping actually feels like.
Let's jump in to today's session.
Hello and welcome back to the 10 Day Burnout and Exhaustion Challenge.
My name is Lisa Kolpa and I am so grateful to be practicing with you today.
When we're feeling overwhelmed,
Exhausted,
Or living under chronic stress,
One of the very first things that changes is our breath.
Now,
If you saw today's practice and your first thought was,
Oh no,
Breath work,
I just want to say,
Welcome,
You're in very good company.
For some people,
Bringing awareness to the breath feels instantly calming,
And for others,
Focusing on the breath can feel a little vulnerable at first.
But do not worry,
Today is simply about getting a little more curious about the breath that has always been present within us.
To create a little more space,
Softness,
And ease.
And remember,
You're always welcome to breathe in whatever way feels supportive for your body today.
So with that,
My friends,
Let's go ahead and dive on in to our practice.
Feel free to find a comfortable seated position or my favorite with breath work,
Lying on down,
Especially if you can get a little lightheaded.
Feel free to roll shoulders,
To take a morning stretch,
To yawn which is already naturally tuning on into breath work.
And once you find yourself.
In a supported position.
I invite you to think of something or someone.
That brings you such joy.
It can be your favorite place in nature.
Cuddling with your fur baby.
Or the sunlight beaming.
Gently on your skin.
And I invite you to breathe into that joy,
Feeling your body expand,
Belly,
Chest,
All the way to toes.
And exhale into softness and feeling safe.
To letting go of any heaviness.
Inhaling,
Feeling an expansion.
If it feels good,
Maybe even feeling the expansion in your toes and fingertips.
And exhaling,
Feeling a softening.
Now you can return to breathing naturally.
And let's continue to add on a little bit more.
Thinking of that thing that brings us joy,
Or maybe something different that brings us joy.
Inhaling into that beautiful space.
And exhaling into softness and coziness,
Maybe adding a sigh.
Let's try that again.
Inhaling into expansion,
Into joy,
Feeling the belly expand,
Chest expand,
And exhaling,
Softening.
Sighing out.
Continuing that breath-like flow at your own pace.
Finding your own rhythm that feels good.
Continuing with,
Expanding into joy,
Exhale,
Sighing out,
Releasing.
Into that joy.
Continuing at your own pace.
You can stay with this rhythm.
Or feel free to dive on into a more traditional way.
Deep belly breath with somatic sigh.
Maybe placing a hand on heart and belly.
Feeling the joy whatever it is.
Inhaling into belly,
Feeling that expansion.
And exhale,
Feeling that softening,
Letting go.
Inhale,
Feeling that beautiful expansion.
And exhale.
Feeling that softening.
Maybe two more times,
Inhaling,
Feeling the expansion.
And exhale feeling the softening.
One last time.
Breathing at your own rhythm.
Taking a moment of gratitude and pride.
In exploring the breath today.
Noticing how you feel.
And if there are any subtle shifts and differences.
Tomorrow we'll explore another gentle practice for navigating burnout and exhaustion as we continue supporting our nervous system together.
I'd love to hear from the community forum how you feel,
What did you notice,
What was your experience like?
Always feel free that if things start to feel too heavy,
Feel free to utilize this technique to shift ourselves and the nervous system from burnout to free joyful breath.
I thank you so much for joining me.
Please enjoy the rest of your challenge.
And until next time,
Namaste.
