This breath flow is great to do before bed,
When you're not yet feeling as sleepy as you would like.
And so make yourself comfortable in bed,
Lying on your back,
Gently closing your eyes,
And we'll begin by expelling any excess energy with a double sniff in,
And then a gentle sigh out.
So begin when you're ready,
Sniffing in for one,
Two,
And then sighing out,
And sniff,
Sniff,
Sigh.
And now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm,
And in a moment,
Not yet,
But in a moment,
We'll breathe in for five,
Out for five,
And then hold for two.
So take a full breath in,
Sighing out to begin,
Inhale for two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Hold,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Hold,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Hold,
Inhale,
Exhale,
And now continue breathing in and out through your nose,
And gently placing your hands on your ribs,
And as you inhale through your nose,
Expand your ribs,
And as you exhale through your nose,
Allow your ribs to contract.
Just experiment with expanding your ribs in all directions,
Expanding them sideways to really stretch out the spaces between your ribs,
To circulate any stagnant air at the bottom of your lungs.
The aim here is not to breathe into the belly,
But into the lungs,
To create a spaciousness and a stillness.
Experiment now with breathing into the back of your ribs,
Breathing into the back of your ribs,
Breathing into the bed beneath you,
Feeling your spine lengthen as you do,
Feeling your spine lengthen as you do,
Dropping your shoulders,
And maybe now breathing into the front of your ribs,
Expanding your heart space,
Creating space between your collarbones,
Between your shoulders.
Use the air to really stretch and create space within your body,
Releasing and loosening any tension that was previously there,
And now bring your focus to the air in your nostrils.
You might be able to hear or feel the air in your nostrils,
Just notice that,
And gradually make the breath slower and deeper,
Really slowing down the inhale,
And slowing down the exhale,
And start making the breath so light and so slow that you can hardly hear or feel the air in your nostrils.
Continue breathing,
But focus on making the air so light and so slow,
That it becomes silent,
Silent,
Weightless,
Effortless.
You may need to take even slower,
Longer and deeper breaths to take a full breath.
Inhale for as long as you need,
And exhale for as long as you need.
The aim here is to make it so light and so slow,
That it requires all your focus and it begins to relax you,
And it begins to relax the space between your eyebrows,
Your eyelids,
Your face,
Becoming increasingly sleepier,
Settling deeper and deeper and deeper into the bed,
Allowing the softness of the breath to softly prepare you to sleep,
And as you continue focusing on the air in your nostrils,
Of the silent flow in as it expands your lungs,
And the gentle flow out,
You feel any tension melt and relax away,
And now allowing your breath to return to its relaxed rhythm as you drift off into a deep,
Peaceful sleep.
