Slow The Exhale To Come Down After Stress

This is a ten minute breathing practice for the end of a hard day, when the body is still running at the pace of whatever just happened. You breathe in through the nose for three seconds and out through the nose for six, so the exhale is twice as long as the inhale.
That ratio is doing the work. Your heart rate rises slightly on every inhale and falls on every exhale, so lengthening the exhale means spending more of each cycle in the part where things are slowing down. You are not forcing yourself to be calm. You are giving the braking side of the nervous system more room to work.
The count is spoken clearly at the start and then gradually spaced out, leaving longer stretches of quiet for you to hold the rhythm yourself. No experience is needed. This is the gentlest pattern in the series and a good place to begin.

Transcript

So to begin, Just find a position where you can hold for 10 minutes without needing to move halfway through. You can be seated or lying down. If you are seated, Just let your back be long and your shoulders be heavy, Falling away from the ears. If it's comfortable you can close down the eyes. If it isn't, You can soften the gaze downward toward the floor. And just let the mouth close. Everything from here is going to happen through the nose, In and out. If the nose feels blocked, Just give it a few breaths, It will usually open. And before we put any shape on the breath, Just notice what's already happening. Nothing to change, Just notice if it's fast or slow. High in the chest or low in the belly. Rough or smooth. And you're not looking for a good answer here, You're just checking in. Now let the hands rest somewhere you can feel them, Maybe one hand on the belly if you want the feedback. And we're going to find the count first, So four breaths even, Three seconds in and three out. Nice and easy. Let's inhale two three, Out two three, In two three, Out two three, In two three, Out two three, In two three, Out two three. Good, Just staying with that for a few moments. And we're going to then start to extend the exhale, Breathing in for three and out for six. So we're going to be breathing twice as long on the exhale. So we're not forcing Cam here, We're. . . Allowing your body to slow down. That's going to be our whole session. So let's begin with that. In, Two, Three, Out, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. In, Two, Three, Out, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. In, Two, Three, Out, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six. In, In 2, 3, Out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In 2, 3, Out 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And long out. As you continue here, In for three and out for six. Keep it soft. If you find yourself pushing the air out, You've gone too hard. So think about the air leaving rather than you sending it away. Nothing to achieve here, You're just staying with the count in for 3, Out for 6. And if the mind goes anywhere, That's fine. Just come back on the next exhale. Again, Keeping it soft, Not pushing the air out, Just letting it leave rather than sending it. Not as if anything's changed since we started. The pace of the heart the weight of the body. Don't go looking for anything, Just know this. If anything here has changed. Staying with your count in for three, Out for six. And again, If the mind wanders, That's fine, That's normal. Just bring yourself to the next exhale. Keeping it soft, Not pushing the air out on your exhale, Just letting it leave. Nothing to achieve, Just staying with the count. Again, Noticing if anything's changed since we started, The pace of the heart. Weight of the body. Don't go looking for it, Just know this. Coming into your last couple of breaths, In for three, Out for six. And this will be the last count. Then just letting your breath go back to whatever it wants to do. No shape on it. Maybe notice what it naturally chooses. It's useful information. Let the hands come away, Start to bring some small movements back into the fingers and the feet. And whatever state you're in now, You got yourself there. And that's the point of this. Nobody did it to you or for you. And whenever you're ready. Jelly opening the eyes.