Hello and welcome to this meditation where our focus will be on breath work.
I want to just remind you to be gentle with yourself and if you ever feel faint just take a break and breathe normally or lie down,
Do whatever feels right for you yeah?
Just listen to your body and listen to what you feel is right for you because breath work can be hard work sometimes and especially if you're new to breath work.
We're going to go through different types of techniques and methods and I guess it's for you to try and figure out which ones suit you and which ones that give you a sense of stillness and calm,
A sense of going inwards and forgetting everything on the outside but also connecting with yourself through breath,
Connecting to your mind,
Body and soul by letting go and just being still and quiet and peaceful.
We often say that breath is a great tool to use in meditation and it can really help you,
Guide you through meditation.
So today let's try a few different techniques and hopefully you'll find some tranquility.
I would recommend sitting upright for breath work so that you really can feel the breath expanding throughout your chest and throughout your stomach.
You of course can lie down if that feels better for you but maybe try sitting upright if this is on a chair or on the floor but keep a straight back,
Find a still and quiet space.
Slowly close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose and let all the air out through your mouth with a sigh.
Do a few couple of deep good breaths here.
Slowly,
Deeply inhale and slowly,
Deeply exhale.
Do a few at your own pace,
Find your own rhythm but really fill your body with air.
On your next exhale,
Quiet down the mind,
Quiet down the body,
Let go of any sensations or tension and breathe normally,
Quietly through your mouth or nose.
Let your focus drift towards your breath,
Let your breath guide you and whenever your mind starts to wander or thoughts come crashing down or come floating in,
Try and bring your attention and your awareness back to your breath.
Inhale and exhale.
We're going to move into our first technique where I want you to breathe in for four counts through your nose,
Hold your breath for four counts,
Breathe out through your mouth for four counts and hold your breath for four counts.
I'll count in the beginning and then let you go at your own pace.
So breathe in to start and breathe out.
Breathe in through your nose for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold your breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Breathe out your mouth for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold your breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Breathe in one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Breathe out one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Breathe in one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Breathe out one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Breathe out one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Now carry on counting by yourself,
Counting under your breath,
Breathing in,
Holding,
Breathing out and holding.
So we'll do a few rounds here and I'll let you know when we're ready to stop.
Whenever you're ready,
You can let go of your counting and breathe normally.
Keep your eyes closed and just calm the body and the breathing down.
Well done.
Inhale and exhale.
Scan your body and see if you can feel any tension that's let go or that's loosened.
Maybe if there's a little tension left anywhere,
Breathe in towards that space and let it go.
Just be aware if you feel any differently after this method.
And know that you can come back to this technique at any time.
Our next exercise is a 4-7-8 exercise.
This is good for your nervous system and we're going to stimulate a little bit more here and get our bodies a little bit stimulated and a little bit more awake before we quiet down afterwards.
We're going to inhale through our noses for four counts,
Hold for seven counts and exhale through the mouth for eight counts.
I'll count with you in the beginning and after a while you can do a few rounds by yourself counting under your breath and doing it in your own pace.
Inhale to start and exhale.
Just let all the air out and let it go.
Inhale through your nose for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold your breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Breathe out through your mouth for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Breathe in through your nose for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold your breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Breathe out through your mouth for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Breathe in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Out one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Do a few rounds in your own pace,
Count under your breath for four and seven and eight.
I'll let you know when we're done.
Just take your time and start over if you lose your count.
Bring your focus to your counting into your breath.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Well done.
You can bring your breath back to normal and just relax here.
And again,
Bring your consciousness and awareness to your body.
How do you feel?
Do you feel a little calmer,
A little more relaxed?
Or do you feel stimulated,
Maybe even agitated?
Take a deep breath in and on your next exhale,
Just let it all go.
We're gonna move on to our next exercise where we're gonna calm the body down and work with the breath.
We're gonna channel our breath through the right and left nostril.
We're gonna bring our two fingers,
Our index fingers up towards our third eye from our right hand.
Our third eye is positioned just in between your two eyebrows.
We're gonna hold the rest of our fingers on our left nostril and we're gonna breathe in through our right nostril and then we're gonna hold our right nostril and breath out through our left nostril.
Then we're gonna breath in through our left nostril,
Hold our left nostril and breath out through our right nostril.
This is an alternated breathing exercise where we breathe in through the right and out through the left,
In through the left and out through the right.
Balancing out the right and left side of our bodies,
Our brains,
Trying to balance out ourselves.
Try and visualize your breath as a wave,
Channeling through one side and out the other.
And I want you to go at your own pace.
Whenever you're ready,
Bring your right hand up to your third eye.
And start breathing in through your right and out through your left.
And then in through your left and out through your right.
Let your breath calm you here.
Let your wave wash in and wash out.
Your body and soul and mind are still,
Content,
Safe,
Tranquil,
Peaceful and balanced.
If you feel your thoughts,
Coming back is okay,
No judgement here.
Just bring your consciousness back to your breath.
Let your breath guide you here.
Let your breath give you and show you the way to stillness.
Let your breath send to you.
Let your breath calm you and wash over you as a wave.
Letting go of any stress or tension,
Any negativity,
Anything that no longer serves you,
Just let it go.
And touching your third eye here,
Symbolising your connection with the divine,
With your intuition,
With your eye that sees beyond what you can see through your normal eyes.
Touching with a space that's very spiritual,
Very intuitive,
Very awakened.
Touching a space that symbolises you going inwards but also holding your gaze outwards and what's there.
Connected to yourself and connected to the space around you and connected to your breath.
When you're ready,
You can let your hand fall down to your knee or lap.
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth quietly and calmly.
And just breathe normally.
Maybe you can feel still moments release and surrender.
Maybe you can feel the air filling your body and when letting go,
Releasing and surrendering.
I want you to put one hand on your stomach and one hand on your chest or your heart space.
Breathe into these two points and feel the warmth,
Feel the love.
And thank yourself,
Thank your breath,
Thank the air around you.
Thank yourself for taking the time to be still and quiet and practising breath work,
Practising connection with breath.
Open your eyes slowly and I hope you feel ready to start your day or ready to start your evening or night.
