Hello and thank you for joining me for this meditation practice today.
Today we're going to use some breathing techniques for reducing feelings of anxiety.
So,
Wherever you are right now is the perfect place for this practice.
Starting to settle yourself into your position,
Starting to draw the mind into the body.
Down through the body,
Feeling the fingers and the toes,
The extremities of the body.
Taking a nice deep breath and then sighing it out.
Doing this two more times at your own pace.
Beautiful.
Now we're going to draw our attention to the outside world and trying to see if you can pick out some things that you can hear.
So trying to think of at least three things that you can hear right now.
Could be the sound of the dishwasher,
Could be some birds,
Some cars.
So seeing if you can use your ears to go beyond the walls or the space that you're in and hear those sounds around you.
Now bringing your attention back into your body and starting to see things that you can feel.
So the tactile sensations in your body.
So that might be the feel of the clothes against your skin.
It might be the feeling of your body against the ground or the chair that you're sitting on.
It might be the sensation of the air or the wind on your skin.
So taking some moments here to really hone in on what you can feel.
Beautiful.
Now we're going to start to focus on our breath.
A beautiful breath.
The most powerful thing that you can think of.
It can change our mental state.
Can change how we're feeling.
So you may choose to bring this focus on the sensation of the air against the nostrils.
Or maybe you bring your hands onto your belly and see if you can really feel the belly expanding with each breath in and contracting with each breath out.
Whatever you choose to focus on right now.
I'm going to take at least 10 breaths here.
You may like to count them to help keep your focus.
Breathing in sensation.
Breathing out sensation.
Maybe the breath continues to get softer,
Slower,
Longer.
Keeping the attention focused and centred on the breath.
Lovely.
So now we're going to do a little breath ratio.
So we're going to breathe in for four counts and we're going to exhale for six counts.
So this ratio might be a little bit too long for you.
So maybe you do three breaths in and five breaths out.
Or maybe you feel like you've got a little bit more space in the lungs.
So maybe you breathe in for five and out for seven.
Whatever you decide,
The most important thing is we're extending our exhalation.
So this creates the relaxation response in the body and we start to move into our parasympathetic nervous system.
So when you're ready,
Nice exhalation out,
Releasing all that air,
Squeezing it out of the lungs.
And then we're going to inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Starting to count in your own mind.
I'm going to do two more rounds with this particular count.
Now,
Continuing the same ratio that you're doing right now,
But this time you may like to add a pause at the top of the inhalation and a little pause at the bottom of the exhalation.
Again,
Listening to your body,
Seeing if this feels right for you today.
You don't need to pause for an extremely long time.
Just finding that little space in between the inhalation and the exhalation,
Even if it's just for a moment.
And the pauses can be almost more powerful than the breath itself.
We're finding a little bit of space in our life,
No matter how brief.
Another way the breath is so powerful is it really brings us to this present moment.
The thing with anxiety is often we find ourselves worried about the future,
Worried about the unknown future.
And in the breath we can find this moment here and now.
The only moment we have any control over is now.
How we choose to act,
How we choose to feel.
Using the breath to ground us.
We are solid,
We are here,
Connected to the earth,
Connected to the world around us.
And we're still breathing two more times.
Keep adding those pauses if this feels right for you.
Just letting that counting of the breath go for a moment,
Just taking a few normal breaths in and out through the nose.
So the final technique I'm going to share with you today is Nadi Sharana,
Also known as alternate nostril breathing.
Now I love this breathing technique so much.
It can calm the central nervous system,
Balancing the energies.
And it's a really great tactile way of focusing on the breath.
So to begin Nadi Sharana or alternate nostril breathing,
You'll need to use your fingers.
So you can use either hand here,
Bringing the pointer in the middle finger in between the eyebrows and then bringing the thumb just above that little ridge of the nostrils on one side.
And then using the ring finger,
You're going to bring the finger on the other side.
So we're going to alternate between the nostrils.
So using the fingers,
We're just blocking the nostril,
Not pushing super hard,
Just enough so the breath stops entering through.
So just taking a few breaths here,
Just pressing the pointer in the middle finger against the forehead.
Taking a nice big inhale in,
Then blocking the right nostril and breathing out through the left.
Breathing in through the left nostril,
Switching fingers as you breathe out through the right.
Inhale right,
Switching fingers,
Exhale left.
Inhale left,
Switching fingers,
Exhale right.
Inhale right,
Exhale left.
Inhale left,
Exhale right.
Inhale right,
Exhale left.
Inhale left and continuing on here and you can extend the breath as much as you like,
Just making it nice and comfortable.
Alternating between the nostrils.
And if your arm starts to get tired,
Feel free to use the opposite hand to hold the elbow in place,
Just to give that arm a little bit of support.
Seeing if you can make your spine nice and long,
Allowing that breath to go into the belly.
Completing two more full rounds here.
And without rushing,
Allow both hands to come into your lap or on your knees,
Taking some nice soft breaths through both nostrils,
Feeling that beautiful fresh air flowing in,
Feeling up the lungs and the belly as you exhale,
Releasing completely.
Soft,
Gentle breath.
We're just going to take about another 30 or 40 seconds here.
So you can just sit continuing to have these gentle breaths or maybe you want to bring your attention back to that tactile sensation of the breath in the belly or the nose.
Or maybe you start to bring the mind back out again,
Seeing what you can hear or what you can feel.
Starting to take a few deeper breaths now.
Exhaling air in the body.
And then in your own time,
You may like to stretch,
Maybe rub the hands together and bring those warm hands over the eyes,
Creating a little bit of heat and warmth and relaxation.
And then when you feel ready,
Opening the eyes as you get on with your day.
Thank you so much for joining me once again.
