Welcome to this detox breath.
This is a 4-7-8 pattern,
And you don't need to know what that means.
I will guide you through it.
And it's intended to either as a practice or when you really are in need of a tool,
If you're anxious,
Stressed,
Overwhelmed,
Or you need to learn to slow down fast.
This is a tool that activates your parasympathetic nervous system,
And we'll get into what exactly that means in just a moment.
So find a comfortable position.
You can do this sitting upright or lying down.
Allow your hands to rest in your lap or by your sides.
And if it feels safe to you,
Close your eyes or just soften your gaze gently.
Take one natural breath in and out,
Just to settle and arrive here.
So the 4-7-8 breath is one of the most direct tools you have for calming your nervous system quickly.
Essentially,
The four is the inhale,
The seven is the hold,
And the eight is the exhale.
And this extended hold and long exhale activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
That is the part of your autonomous nervous system designed for rest and digest.
It also restores you and replenishes you.
It's also where a lot of the healing and the cell repair and things like that happen in your body.
Now,
When you're stressed,
Your body forgets it's safe.
Essentially are stuck in a sympathetic nervous system activation.
That is that fight,
Flight,
Freeze,
Or fawn mode,
Which can be very helpful to get things done or obviously move out of a stressor or a danger situation.
But most of the time,
What happens is that we get stuck there and we can't easily switch back out of it and into the parasympathetic nervous,
That rest or digest state.
And so with this practice,
We are telling our body that we are safe,
Free of our mind,
Our mind and body that in this moment we are actually okay.
So we'll do four rounds together,
And if you ever feel lightheaded,
Please return to a regular breath.
Sometimes when we first start doing breathwork,
It can be a bit much for our brains,
But with practice,
This becomes an invaluable tool to reset your nervous system when you need it.
So we'll do a couple of rounds,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth,
And I'll guide you through it.
So breathe into the nose for a count of four.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
And now hold.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
Now exhale completely through your mouth.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Again,
Inhale through the nose.
Nose,
2,
3,
4,
And hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Exhale to the mouth,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Again,
Inhale through nose,
2,
3,
4,
And hold,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
Exhale fully,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
Do one more round at your own pace,
Keeping that ratio.
So inhale for 4,
And then counting to seven as you hold.
And then exhaling through the mouth for a count of eight.
And let your breath return to its natural rhythm after that.
And have a little check-in.
Notice how you feel.
Notice your shoulders,
Your chest.
Notice your thoughts returning.
See if you might even be able to feel your heart rate.
Maybe you noticed that it slowed down if you were in a bit of a panic mode before.
Just see if you created a shift within you.
Now,
This is a purposely very short practice so that you can do this and practice it or return to the recording at any time,
Anywhere.
Four breaths is enough to shift your state.
And that is such a powerful tool because it gives you so much more control than you thought you had.
It gives you the autonomy to shift yourself back out of a nervous system activation when it's not serving you.
Let's take one slow final breath together in.
And out.
Beautiful.
You have now effectively reset your nervous system and you are ready to tackle whatever comes next.
I hope you will return to this whenever you need it and it will become a tool in your toolbox to draw from at any time.
Bye for now.
