Okay then,
A warm welcome to this guided,
Coherent breathing exercise.
It's been optimised to help you improve your heart rate variability
and used regularly,
It can help you to access calm on demand,
Improve your resilience to stress
and even enhance your cognitive function and sleep.
In this version we'll be breathing at a rate of 5.
5 breaths per minute,
Breathing in for 5.
5 seconds and breathing out for 5.
5 seconds.
It's really important that you breathe gently and quietly,
So please avoid taking any big or loud breaths as this will cause you to over-breathe
and that can actually negatively impact your HRV in the long term.
Okay then,
Let's get to the breathing exercise.
So choosing to either sit in a comfortable upright posture
or lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees rising up towards the ceiling.
We'll use breathing bells to help you keep time.
So let's start those now.
And then when you're ready,
Gently breathing in and gently breathing out.
Breathing in through the nose.
Breathing out through the nose.
Breathing softly and quietly.
Breathing gently and smoothly.
Avoiding any big loud breaths.
Breathing light as a feather.
So gently breathing in and gently breathing out.
Feeling the calming rhythm of your breathing.
Feeling the breath in the belly
and down in the lower ribs.
So it's as if there was a balloon in the centre of the body
which is gently inflating on the in-breath
and slowly deflating on the out-breath.
Gently breathing in
and gently breathing out.
Just breathing softly,
Gently and quietly with the bells.
Gently breathing in
and gently breathing out.
There's no need to push or pull the breath.
It's enough just to bring your awareness here.
And the movement of the breath will be quite subtle and gentle.
Taking a break at any time if you need to.
You can pause the recording at any time and then come back to it.
Gently breathing in
and gently breathing out.
Noticing the subtle movement of the breath around the region of the diaphragm.
As we breathe let's just begin to bring some relaxation into the body.
Allowing the mouth and the jaw to relax.
Letting the shoulders soften down away from your ears.
Releasing any gripping in the hands.
Allowing your belly to relax.
Letting your pelvis soften down into the surface beneath you.
Unclenching the buttocks and the pelvic floor.
And allowing the legs to soften.
And then coming back to the breath.
Gently breathing in
and gently breathing out.
And letting your breathing be really light and gentle.
Breathing so that you have just enough air.
And noticing if there's any positive feedback from your body.
Perhaps noticing if you feel calmer or warmer.
Or if there's saliva in your mouth.
Perhaps your mind has slowed down or you feel more clarity.
These can all be signs that this breathing exercise is bringing you both short and long term benefits.
Gently breathing in
and gently breathing out.
Breathing in through the nose.
Breathing out through the nose.
Breathing softly and quietly.
Breathing gently and smoothly.
So gently breathing in
and gently breathing out.
Feeling the breath in the belly
and down in the lower ribs.
Feeling the calming rhythm of your breathing.
And this recording now continues for the next 10 minutes just with the bells.
Enjoy.
