Welcome to today's journey the breath session where we'll be going on a 30 minute conscious connected breath work journey.
For today's journey I'm going to encourage you to be in a place where you can lie down comfortably and undisturbed for the duration of the session.
There are some contraindications for this type of breath work so please have a read through the description of this journey before engaging with the practice.
To briefly outline what to expect we'll be breathing in a conscious connected way meaning we're active with our inhale filling up the lungs pulling breath into the body.
We're passive and relaxed with the exhale just letting the exhale fall away and we connect the breath so there's no long gaps or pauses between the breath.
One breath almost becomes the next so as soon as we fill with the inhale we let go as soon as we empty we fill again.
Now we can breathe either in and out through the mouth or in and out through the nose.
If you breathe in and out through the mouth you might notice a little more intensity a little more activation but breathing through the nose we can also travel deeply.
As we get into the breath work you may notice tingles and changes and physical sensations.
If it ever becomes a little too much you can just gently close the mouth and come back to breathing slowly in and out through the nose.
If at any point your body feels an urge to move I really encourage you to let your body move and to express any energy that you feel in the body.
So often we don't allow ourselves to authentically express that energy and so this is a place where you can be free.
So let's get comfortable lying down in your space having a blanket close to hand.
Sometimes we can experience some temperature changes with the breath work and if you're using a cushion or a pillow behind your head just make sure the cushion or pillow is not so high that it will intrude with your breathing and as you start to settle in and get comfortable if it feels good for you I'm going to invite you to gently close the eyes and to bring the attention inward to move your awareness from the outer world to your inner world and to scan your body noticing any areas that are tense or constricted or any areas that maybe feel open and pleasurable.
If it feels good for you I'm going to invite you to place one hand around your belly the other hand around your heart space and I'm going to invite you to begin to breathe deeply in through the mouth or the nose feeling the breath coming deep into the belly up into the heart space and as soon as the breath is full just gently letting go the inhale is full energizing activating the exhale is easy almost like a sigh falling out of the body with each inward breath notice the rise of the belly the expansion of the ribs and the breath coming all the way up into the chest before falling away effortlessly noticing with each breath the breath becoming a little more spacious the body becoming a little more open to receiving more breath and we're consciously connecting the breath no gaps or pauses the inhale merging with the exhale the exhale merging into the next inhale you might picture drawing a circle the inhale the first half of that circle the exhale completing the circle and then coming straight to the next breath and this breath doesn't need to be fast we just want this depth and connection belly ribs heart space breath falling away belly ribs heart space breath falling away you may notice some subtle or not so subtle changes to physical sensation in the body maybe some tingles maybe a temperature change or some other movement of energy really bring in a curiosity to what's happening on a physical level within the body as you stay with this connected breath belly ribs heart space gently falling away and for these next few breaths I invite you to bring a little more breath in to find 10% more space in the body to breathe into to be open to receiving a little more breath and nourishing every cell in your body breathing right down to the hips all the way up to the shoulder blades the collarbones if the mind is busy or easily distracted that's okay that's normal bringing your attention back to this breath this moment perhaps dropping your awareness down into the belly feeling the breath coming deep into the belly ribs heart space gently letting go when again scanning the body I encourage you to notice any pockets of tension any areas where you feel like you're holding look to breathe life into these areas and to gently soften let the tension dissolve with the exhale noticing any tension any holding in the body with every exhale softening a little more you can think about the inward breath as being the newness that you're inviting and welcoming into your life how willing are you to receive and be open to possibility how fully can you breathe how fully can you welcome the new the fresh the unknown and thinking about every exhale as a chance to let go to lighten the load to leave behind that which no longer serves you allowing the breath to open the body even more finding space with every inhale dissolving tension with every exhale and often in life we judge or label our experiences when something isn't the way we'd like it to be we maybe try to change what's in front of us but we can also change how we relate to what's in front of us and so as you continue to breathe deeply belly ribs heart space really encouraging you to welcome everything with an open heart with curiosity without judgment how much pleasure can you experience with the sensations that are here now can you breathe pleasure into whatever sensations are here now relaxing the face relaxing the jaw softening the muscles behind the eyes noticing what's happening in your body aware of energy within the body and maybe that energy wants to be expressed through some movement and so if your body wants to move allowing your body to move in whatever way makes sense to your body through this practice we move energy we can do that of course with our breath and with movements of the body can also move energy through sounds and so if there's any sounds that you feel like making allowing yourself to express through your voice and then coming straight back to this deep connected nourishing breath deep into the belly expanding through the ribs the heart space feeling the breath in your back again that exhale is like a sigh easy effortless softening again like an explorer with curiosity scanning through the body noticing any areas where there's a sense of holding or a sense of tension breathing into those spaces letting that tension dissolve fall away soften allowing each and every breath to bring you closer to yourself to your truth no gaps no pauses one breath becomes the next perhaps feeling this connection this flow of energy moving through the throat down that through the heart space down into the tummy even lower towards your roots and this flow coming back up the body again if your body wants to move allow yourself to move allow yourself to express through movement through sound and allow your breath to drop deeper still into the body breath coming to your fingertips to your toes to the top of your head breath in every cell breath scanning pretension dissolving that tension bringing more and more freedom into your system placing a little extra awareness around the heart space now feeling that breath a little fuller still deep we're coming all the way up filling and expanding the chest nourishing this heart space softening the jaw softening the face softening the front of the body the ribs the chest clearing out any blockages any stagnation or stuckness allowing the inward breath to energize to awaken to aliven allowing the exhale to dissolve to let go to remove where are you letting go what do you no longer wish to carry breathe into these parts and leave them behind feeling the body freer and more open with every passing breath and now with the sense of spaciousness staying with the breath staying open with the breath with an open breath and an open heart what are you breathing into what are you welcoming in what are you inviting into your life breathing into a new vision for yourself a full breath breathing in newness freshness intentionality every breath breathing more life more possibility into your vision staying with the breath these last few moments belly ribs heart space softening into your exhale belly ribs heart space gently letting go and now gradually slowing the breath down a little staying with sensations in the body noticing how you feel in your body allowing space for whatever is here safe to feel safe to express safe to rest deeply and as we come toward the end of today's practice I thank you for being here with me this can be a nice time to meditate or to journal to relax in your space when you feel ready be sure to transition slowly away from the practice bringing this open breath and open heart into life
