The Seasons Of Breath

The seasons of breath. This is a focused way of breathing that connects us to the seasons of nature. Each season represents an element of our breath cycle. An explanation of this is followed by a guided demonstration for you to follow.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to our next breathing technique session,

Our talk.

This one,

This particular breath is more focused on the seasons and elements around us rather than the actual breath or the how deep or how specifically we're actually breathing.

So it's more about the process of the breath rather than the breath itself.

So I'd like you to start thinking about your breath as a complete cycle.

So if you breathe in right now just kind of following your breath from the inhale through your nose,

Following it down through maybe,

Maybe you feel the rise and fall in your chest or maybe it's down in your belly and also all the way out again until you feel that air exhale from your nose or your mouth,

Whichever one works for you.

And just feeling that complete cycle and as you feel that cycle you'll probably notice there is a little space,

A little moment between your in breath and your out breath and your out breath and your in breath.

So thinking of it as a circle,

It's like an inhale and a moment of pause and an exhale and a pause.

So start thinking about that cycle as it can be connected to the natural cycles of seasons.

Imagine that in breath being spring.

As you're breathing in a refreshing season it offers new life,

It starts the growing season,

It develops,

It merges.

When we think about our out breath and we think of autumn which is like a release season,

Quite often it's kind of expressed about the trees losing and releasing the leaves,

Letting go of what no longer serves them.

So just starting off with that with your inhale being our spring,

Aligning it to that refreshment and that invigor and the out breath,

Our autumn,

Our release,

That natural cycle of releasing those leaves.

Think about the leaves that will turn into mulch into the earth providing nourishment and continues that cycle of life.

And then we have two other seasons,

We have summer.

Summer tends to be a time when we relax,

When many people think about their holidays and winter is that period of rest.

It's when many living beings go into that period of hibernation,

It's when our trees and plant life pull all their resources back down into their roots.

There's dark nights and mornings and we all tend to rest that little bit more.

So adding all these cycles together we get a real natural aligned approach,

A more seasonal approach.

So on the in breath is spring and that little pause,

That little bit of relaxation is summer before we release on the out breath with autumn and that slight pause again being our rest of winter.

So breathing in spring,

Pausing for relaxation with summer,

Releasing in autumn and resting in winter.

So it's different ways you can do this,

For me I just say the seasons,

I breathe in with the spring,

I pause with summer,

I release with autumn and I pause again for that rest of winter.

So I just say breathing in spring,

Summer,

Autumn and I exhale and winter.

So I kind of focus my breath in that cycle to go with those seasons.

I know as I've taught this over the years some people prefer things like refresh instead of the word spring,

You know but still having that connection between that season,

Relax for summer,

Release for autumn and rest for winter.

So just bear,

Just also just bring into your mind on the relax and the rest on the winter and summer there is no in or out breaths,

It's just that moment of pause at either side and that is all there is to it.

It's simple but yet it can be really powerful.

It helps to really focus our breath to become very mindful and also our connection with nature.

So let's have a little practice of this and we'll just do our usual 12 rounds and I will talk you right the way through it using different elements as well,

Using different words.

So if you are sitting down I would suggest you put your hands on your knees because that helps to relax your shoulders down,

Put your feet very much onto the floor so you can feel the earth beneath you,

Have your chin parallel to the floor so you're allowing those airways to be very much open.

Relax your jaw.

Personally with all these balancing breathing techniques I breathe both in and out of my nose and something that we will bring in on one of the later talks is using our throat to control that breath as well but we'll go into that on another day.

So close your eyes if it feels good to do so.

If it doesn't see if you can lower your gaze enough just to barely be seen through your eyelashes.

Bring your shoulders down,

Chin parallel.

I'm going to count you three,

Two,

One.

So two,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale spring,

Summer,

Exhale autumn,

Winter.

Inhale spring,

Summer,

Exhale autumn,

Winter.

Inhale spring,

Summer,

Exhale autumn,

Winter.

Inhale and relax for summer.

Exhale and rest for winter.

Inhale,

Relax for summer.

Exhale and rest for winter.

Inhale and rest for summer.

Exhale and rest for winter.

Inhale that freshness,

Relax through the summer.

Exhale all that release and just rest.

Inhale that freshness and relax for summer.

Exhale everything to release and just rest for winter.

Inhale that freshness and relax for summer.

Exhale and release and just rest for winter.

Spring summer,

Autumn,

Winter.

Spring summer,

Autumn,

Winter.

Spring summer,

Autumn,

Winter and relax.

When I practice this,

It actually enables me to become really focused and I find that my senses become heightened and more aware with what I can hear and smell and what I can feel.

So it's a really nice,

Comes under the water category of balancing breath with just that nature connection and kind of stepping into those seasons and again just our natural cycle.

Hope you enjoyed that.

Look forward to hearing some comments and I will hopefully see you soon.

Thanks then.

Reviews

Focusing on the seasons for breathing cycles helped me stay present for this meditation 🧘amazing!

Thank you for offering this innovative way to approach the breathing cycles with the symbolism of the seasons. Simple but effective.