Our body's natural breath is diaphragmatic,
About the same length on the inhale and the exhale,
Through the nose,
And it's smooth and continuous.
Stress,
Anxiety,
Hypervigilance often interfere with the natural rhythm of the breath.
This is a simple practice to come back into regulation.
Allow your breath to be continuous and smooth,
And about the same length on the inhale as the exhale.
It's important for our physical health and the health of our heart.
It's important for our nervous system regulation,
Coming down from hypervigilance or up from a state of freeze,
And it's a simple practice.
Bring your awareness to the flow of breath in your nostrils.
Notice how it's a bit cooler on the inhale and warmer as you breathe out.
Bring your attention to your chest and stomach area,
And notice which part of that area is moving with your breath.
The diaphragm muscle is attached to the lower rib cage,
And when we are breathing diaphragmatically,
The stomach area softens as we breathe out.
There is an expansion as we breathe in.
You might put a hand on your chest and a hand on your stomach area to bring yourself more into awareness of what is moving.
If you find that you have more movement in the chest,
The answer is to soften your stomach muscles.
If we have a habit of holding our gut tight because of stress or hypervigilance,
This can be a practice to ease into,
And it's very important.
The next step is to notice,
Do we have a continuity in our breath?
A habit of holding our breath is a stress response.
It's something we do when we're frightened or in danger,
And a habit of holding our breath signals to our nervous system that we have to be on alert.
A smooth,
Continuous flow of breath with enough volume to nourish the body with oxygen is very reassuring to the body,
And we can develop a habit of breathing like that 24 hours a day.
Let's practice.
Notice how long it takes you to inhale,
And then see if you could match the length of your exhalation to be about the same length.
If you're breathing into a count of two,
Inhale,
And then exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Two.
Exhale,
Two.
Inhale,
Two.
Exhale,
Two.
And generally,
After we've done that for a few breaths,
We could extend our breath a little bit more.
For the next couple of minutes,
We're going to do a three-second inhale and exhale.
Focus on softening your stomach muscles as you breathe out,
And a smooth continuity to the breath.
Inhale,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Two,
Three.
Keep a mental count.
Inhaling to three,
Exhaling to three.
Letting your stomach area soften as you breathe out.
Smooth turnaround into the inhale,
Breathing a sufficient volume that you can nourish your body with the oxygen.
And a smooth turnaround as you finish breathing in.
Let go of the breath.
Let the exhale begin,
Two,
Three.
Inhale,
Two,
Three.
Keep your attention focused.
Notice your response to the continuity and to the length.
You could shorten or lengthen it.
If you're breathing into a count of four,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Smooth continuity.
Let your body be at ease.
No struggle with the breath.
As we're breathing in,
We accept the nourishment of the inhale,
And then we let it go.
The smooth,
Continuous flow of breath.
It releases out of the lungs,
Through the nose.
Our stomach area softens back towards the spine.
And then in a few seconds,
We're ready for a new in-breath.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
One,
Two.
Breathe the length that's comfortable for you,
That's not a struggle.
And each time you breathe out,
Let your belly soften.
Notice if it feels like there's some tension in your body,
Because this is a different kind of pattern than you're used to.
Many people breathe primarily in the chest,
So to breathe diaphragmatically can be uncomfortable.
We've developed tightness and contraction in the body,
And this could be too sudden of a shift.
You might want to work with it for six breaths,
And then let yourself come back to your regular way,
And then for a couple of minutes,
Be patient,
Offer yourself some kindness.
We didn't decide to hold our breath,
That's a response to stress or trauma.
Once we have an established habit of breathing in our chest or holding our breath,
It's really important to allow our body to breathe the way it's meant to breathe.
Diaphragmatic,
With the belly softening on the exhale,
Through the nose,
About the same length,
And continuous and smooth.
Come back to this practice again and again.
At various times through the day,
Check what's going on with your breath.
Are you holding your breath?
Is your breath shallow?
You could perhaps relax the muscles of your neck,
Shoulders,
Upper back,
Your chest.
Take some deeper breaths,
And soften your belly as you exhale.
Inhale,
Two,
Three.
Exhale,
Two,
Three.
Just for six or eight breaths,
Several times a day,
Check in.
How is your body doing with your breathing right now?
And how could you help?
Through mindfulness,
Through softening.
Breathing in an unhealthy way is a habit.
It starts due to stress,
And we can turn that around with awareness.
