Welcome!
Breathe into your belly.
It's a very common instruction in meditation and yoga classes.
While it may seem like a convenient metaphor for active and engaged breathing,
I would like to introduce you into breathing into your pelvic floor or perineum.
A deep breath that benefits the pelvic floor in many,
Many ways.
When you breathe in,
The pelvic floor is receiving your breath.
And as you exhale,
The breath goes up and out.
A healthy pelvic floor stretches as you breathe in and contracts slightly as the breath goes up and out.
Breathing into your perineum,
You know this little soft spot between the entrance of your vagina and your anus or between the ball sack and your anus.
It deepens your breath.
It helps to relax your abdomen and belly and enhances the overall energy in all your cells.
Unlike other breathing sessions or meditation sessions,
This breathing experience is done while lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart.
So please make yourself comfortable on a yoga mat or a carpet or maybe even your sofa or bed.
Now to begin,
Take a minute to tune in into your body.
Just notice how you're feeling.
Notice where there are some areas of tension or tightness and also notice the relaxed areas in your body too.
Become aware of how easy or uneasy,
How peaceful or restless your mind is at this moment.
And notice the movement of your breath.
And while you're doing all of this,
While you're becoming more aware,
Try not to judge or try not to change or alter anything.
Just be the observer.
Now just put one hand on your lower belly below your navel and put your other hand gently on your chest.
Allow yourself to feel the breath moving under your hands for a couple of minutes.
You will feel as you breathe in that it creates a movement inside of your body and it feels like your belly is gently touching your hand from the inside and your chest is touching your hand from the inside.
And then when you exhale,
The hands sink a bit deeper and feel a little heavier as the air is going out of your chest,
Out of your body.
Just become very aware of the warmth of your hands,
On your clothing or on your skin as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Then for the next round of this exercise,
As you exhale,
You're going to gently contract your lower abdomen,
Moving the navel towards your spine.
If you are repeating this a few times,
Each time emptying out the air more fully,
You will see that your inhalation is going to be deeper in a very natural way.
So let the belly be relaxed and be soft as you inhale.
Allow the air to fill your lungs as your belly naturally inflates.
And imagine you can really breathe deeper into your pelvis and into the direction of your perineum.
And every time you exhale,
You gently contract your lower abdomen,
The pelvic floor muscles.
Become very aware of how your breath is deepening.
Repeating this a few more times at your pace.
And now just return to your normal breath.
Relax.
And feel how you feel at this moment.
For round two,
You again draw your navel towards your spine as you exhale,
But you're going to add a slight sighing sound on the exhale.
And as you will get used to adding the sighing sound on the exhale,
Begin to add it on your inhale as well.
This will challenge your diaphragm and make the movement of your breath slightly deeper again.
It also adds a meditative quality to the flow of your breath.
So breathe in and out,
Making a gentle sound.
And repeat this deeper breath for the next few minutes.
Remember to slightly contract the muscles when exhaling,
Sighing when you exhale,
And exhale.
And now just return to your normal breath.
And now just return to your normal breath.
You can return to your normal breath again and try to just relax.
You have now completed this short deepening breathing meditation.
And maybe it's good to remain silent and just feel,
Just sense,
How things may have altered.
How do you feel?
How do you feel in your body and in your mind at this very moment?
I hope you'll have an easy day or night after doing this.
And remember that you can come back as much as you like to explore a little more and further.
