Mindful breathing for relaxation.
This is the second breath meditation in a series of breath meditations.
This one will be followed by complete breath and breath ratios.
If you're new to the practice of breathing techniques,
Please start with my breath inquiry meditation.
When we feel fatigued,
Stressed,
Or scared,
Our unconscious or involuntary breath responds by being incomplete or unbalanced.
This can range from the more obvious hyperventilation,
Shallow rapid breathing,
Or maybe a simple reflexive sigh.
Breathing is our link between the mind and the body.
Our respiratory mechanism is a unique system in that we can voluntarily and willfully regulate it.
When the breath is regulated and balanced,
The inhale and the exhale are complementary opposites.
We also begin to direct our prana or life force in our body.
If at any time you feel lightheaded,
The breath is strained,
Or you feel anxious,
Please go back to simply observing your natural breath.
Or you may want to go back to the breath observation practice.
Begin by finding a comfortable position.
You may be lying down or sit in a restful position with a long spine and spacious torso.
Allow yourself to settle in and relax.
Notice where the body naturally moves with the breath.
Are you breathing through the nose or the mouth?
If you can,
Please breathe through the nose.
Or you may start by inhaling through the nose and exhaling out the mouth.
Slowly begin to increase your inhalation.
Feel the cool air entering the nose as it comes in.
Lengthen the exhalation to match.
Feel the warm air leave your nose as it goes out.
Lengthen the exhalation to match.
Feel the warm air leave your nose as it goes out.
Sense the movement pattern of the muscles in your body.
The front of the body.
The back of the body.
The right side of the body.
The left side of the body.
Can you feel the skin stretch as you breathe in?
Do you feel the skin soften as you breathe out?
Notice the direction of the current of air as it flows in and out of your lungs.
Can you visualize the lungs as they fill from top to bottom?
From the collarbones to the bottoms of the ribs?
How does the air leave the lungs?
How does the air leave the lungs?
Can you allow the breath to leave the body just a bit slower and more completely?
Continue to find a steady rhythm.
Keep the mind focused on the rise and the fall of the breath.
The mind will wander off.
Bring it back to the breath.
Visualize the diaphragm,
The dome-shaped muscle just under the ribs.
It contracts as you breathe in and relaxes as you breathe out.
Inhale to vitalize and nourish.
Exhale to purify and purge.
Let your awareness rest in the sensations in the body.
And the movement of the breath.
We'll pause for a moment as you continue for five to eight more rounds of breath.
Noticing how you move from breath to breath.
Noticing how you move from breath to breath.
To relax more deeply,
Focus on the exhalation and the feeling of emptying and letting go.
Sense the space at the bottom of the exhalation.
That moment when the exhalation is about to become the inhalation.
Pause momentarily before taking the next breath in.
The bottom of the exhalation provides a peaceful pause.
The heart rate decreases.
The diaphragm,
Our engine of our breathing is relaxed.
Your body is supported and still.
What do you experience in the peaceful pause at the end of the exhalation?
Is there an image or an affirmation you would like to fill the space of the peaceful pause with?
Of the peaceful pause with?
Practice this breathing pattern for five to eight more rounds of breath on your own.
Or until you feel comfortable with it.
Then let your breath go back into its spontaneous flow.
You may notice that you feel calmer and more relaxed.
You may notice that you feel calmer and more relaxed.
Pause momentarily before taking the next breath in.
