A Longer Exhale For A Steadier Nervous System

A ten minute slow breathing practice at five breaths a minute, with a five second inhale and a seven second exhale, all through the nose. That is far slower than most people ever breathe on purpose, and slow enough that the pace itself does much of the work.

Lengthening the exhale biases the nervous system towards settling. Heart rate lifts a little on each inhale and drops on each exhale, so when the exhale is the longer half of the breath you spend more of your time in the slowing phase.

The most common mistake here is taking too much air on the way in. Five seconds is a slow breath, not a big one, and overfilling is exactly what makes the seven second exhale feel like a struggle. Keep it small and quiet.

This works well as a daily practice. If counted breathing is new to you, start with a shorter pattern and build up to this one.

Transcript

So welcome, We encourage you to find a position that you can hold for the next 10 minutes without needing to move. You can be seated or lying down, Either way it works. If you are seated just make sure you've got a. . . Straight spine, Long back, Heavy shoulders. You can close your eyes if that's comfortable for you or just let the gaze drop and go soft And we're going to close them out so everything from here will be in and out through the nose. Now before we shape anything, Just notice what the breath is already doing. Where it sits in the body. How fast it's moving, And you don't need to correct it. This is just your starting point for today. So some days it's smooth, Some days it isn't, And both are fine. First couple of rounds we're going to do an even breath. Four rounds, Breathing in for five and out for five. And I'm going to count these with you. Maybe a hand on the belly if that's helpful. We're going to breathe in for one, Two, Three, Four, Five, And out two, Three, Four, Five. In two, Three, Four, Five. Out two, Three, Four, Five. In two, Three, Four, Five. Out two, Three, Four, Five. In Two, Three, Four, Five. Out, Two, Three, Four, Five. Nice staying with this. A few moments, We're going to extend the exhale a little longer than the inhale. We're going to be breathing in for five and out for seven. And that's going to be today's session. Again, I'll count the first few with you. Come into our next inhale, Breathing in two, Three, Four, Five. Out two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. In two, Three, Four, Five. Out two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. In two, Three, Four, Five. Out two, Three, Four, Five. 4, 5, 6, 7. In 2, 3, 4, 5. Out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Breathing in, Filling easily. And on the exhale breathing out longer. Continuing here at your own pace. Allowing your inhale to be quiet. If you can hear it, Allow it to be more gentle to gain less. And your exhale doesn't need to be pushed. It just needs the time. If you lose the count. . . Just starting again, In for 5, Out for 7. Easy inhale, Slow exhale. Inhale, Filling easily. Outhale, Exhale just a little bit longer. In anytime you lose the count. Just picking it up on the next inhale. Not forcing or pushing the exhale, Just allowing it to leave. Coming into our last couple of breaths. And this is the last count. Now just allowing the breath to do whatever it wants, No shape on it. And notice what it chooses, That's useful information. We'll start to bring some small movement back into the fingers and the feet. And just notice the state you're in now, What's changed physically, Mentally. You created this change of state by yourself, For yourself. You can do this anytime. Whenever you're ready. Encourage you to gently open the eyes.

Reviews

Lovely breathing practice. It really helped settle my nervous system. Thank you 🙏