Welcome.
So to begin,
I invite you to find a comfortable position.
You can be seated or lying down.
Whatever allows you to be relaxed,
Yet still awake.
Allow your hands to rest easily and gently close down the eyes.
We're going to use a simple breathing rhythm in this practice.
Inhaling for a count of five and exhaling for a count of five.
And this rate of around six breaths per minute is what researchers call coherence breathing.
It's where your heart rate,
Your blood pressure and nervous system all begin to synchronize.
And you don't need to count precisely,
Just find the spirit of it,
An even unhurried rhythm.
So let's begin inhaling through the nose for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And exhaling slowly,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhaling,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And exhaling slowly,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Again inhaling,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And letting go,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And just continuing now with this rhythm at your own pace,
In for five and out for five.
And even after a few breaths,
You may already notice a subtle shift.
A slight slowing of things.
And that's your physiology responding.
It isn't relaxation that you're manufacturing.
It's relaxation your body already knows how to produce.
You're just giving it the condition.
Inhaling for five.
And exhaling for five.
Notice the quality of the pause at the top of your inhale.
The natural fullness before the breath turns.
And the quality of the pause at the bottom of the exhale.
It's like a moment of emptiness before the next breath arrives.
Checking in with your hands.
Are they warmer than when you began?
Checking in with your jaw as it's softened.
And these aren't things that you're making happen.
These are signs that your nervous system is shifting state.
And exhaling.
Staying with the rhythm.
Notice how maybe the mind begins to quieten alongside the body.
Not through force,
Just through this rhythmic breathing.
This is a tool available to you at any moment.
And even two minutes is enough to begin a measurable shift.
Five minutes compounding that.
Last couple of cycles here.
Breathing in for five.
And out for five.
And taking one final breath,
A little deeper than the rest now.
And letting that go completely.
Allow your breathing to return to its natural pattern now.
Notice where you are.
Notice how you feel compared to just a few minutes ago.
And slowly and only when you feel ready.
And gently open the eyes.
