Welcome to this practice of coherent breathing.
So we'll start by either lying down or sitting up in a position that allows the belly to be really soft and relaxed.
And we'll start the clicker ticker which allows us to synchronise our breathing.
So throughout this practice we're breathing in and out at the nose and never breathing out through the mouth.
So breathing in the belly rises.
Breathing out the belly flings.
Breathing in,
Letting the belly rise.
Breathing out,
The belly flings.
And keeping that going throughout the practice.
Allowing the belly to be really soft.
Not aiming for a deep breath but aiming for a low breath.
And know that by practising this type of breathing you're bringing all of the body systems into a state of synchrony,
Into a state of coherence.
And if we want to refine or augment this practice a little further we can bring in two extra elements.
So we can bring in a baby snore,
A little bit of resistance in the back of the throat.
In yoga we call it the bhajan breath.
So it sounds a little bit like the tides of the sea.
It's a very gentle constriction at the vocal cords but always without strain.
And one other way we can augment this breathing practice is by making baby fists with the hands.
So joining the thumb and the tip of the index finger together as if we're making an okay sound.
And then sliding the index finger down the thumb so the tip of the index finger is touching the base of the thumb.
And then just tucking the middle two fingers into the centre of the palm and not gripping on there,
Just very lightly holding that.
You may or may not be able to feel a pulse in the centre of the palm.
And it's thought that having the hands in this position allows the diaphragm to be a little bit clearer than moving with the breath.
So as well as breathing in this six seconds in,
Six seconds out rhythm,
Which is equivalent to five breaths per minute.
Adding that baby snore and adding the very light fists as well.
Similar to how a newborn baby would sleep with the fists in that position.
And one last thing we can add to this practice is imagining the breath moving in the body.
So on the inhale,
Imagining that the breath is moving up a central channel deep inside the body.
So on the inhale the breath moving from the base of the spine up to the crown of the head.
And on the exhale the breath moving down from the crown of the head back down to the base of the spine.
And with every inhale the breath travelling up and with every exhale the breath travelling back down.
And the noise of the ticker ticker which we may or may not wipe is reminding the brain that we're breathing in this six seconds in,
Six seconds out rhythm.
And with every inhale the belly rises imagining the breath travelling up to the crown of the head.
And on the exhale the belly falls,
The breath travels down the central channel to the base of the spine.
Keeping that gentle restriction at the vocal cords,
That baby's smell.
Bringing some sound to the breath,
It's only like the tides of the sea.
And the baby fists very lightly gripping there,
Perhaps feeling the pulse in the centre of the palm,
Freeing up the diaphragm,
Moving both the breath.
Again imagining that the breath is travelling up the central channel deep inside the belly.
Rising up with the inhale from the base of the spine to the crown of the head and falling back down off the exhale.
And at the end of the next exhale just releasing any effort in the breath.
Releasing the hands,
Letting go of that baby's smell at the vocal cords and just observing any effects of the practice.
I'll bring this practice to a close.
Thank you for practicing coherent breathing with me today.
