Welcome,
Going back to school or preparing for an exam can sometimes feel like an overwhelming and stressful situation.
Today we're going to go through some breathing exercises and a short meditation which will help prepare you for the day ahead and also give you a couple of tips to be able to help when you really feel overwhelmed and stressed around some of the situations that may present themselves.
So with that in mind,
Let's get ourselves comfortable and then we'll start.
Let's make sure that we're either sat in a comfortable position,
Our arms unfolded and our legs uncrossed,
You're back upright but not forced or if you're laying down,
Put your hands by your side and your legs flat so that you feel comfortable but not forced.
Good,
And now that we're comfortable,
As always,
Let's bring our attention to our breathing.
The feeling of our breath entering our lungs,
The feeling of our chest expanding,
Our stomach expanding with that deep breath and then slowly retracting.
Let's do that again,
A deep breath in,
Really extending your chest and your stomach,
Hold just for a moment and then a long breath out.
Good.
Now one more time,
Deep breath in,
Really expanding your chest and your stomach,
Holding just for a moment then that long breath out.
Good.
OK,
We're going to keep our attention on our breathing and I want us to create a circular rhythm of our breathing.
On each of our in-breaths,
I want you to count to five.
When you reach five,
Pause just for one moment and then exhale all the way out to the count of eight.
Let's try that now.
Deep breath in,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Pause,
Long breath out,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight and let's go again.
Deep breath in to the count of five,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Hold for a moment,
Long breath out,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Now let's keep that rhythmic breathing going,
Keeping your attention on the counting of the in-breaths,
The important pause and then the out-breaths.
Good.
Now if your mind starts to wander,
Don't worry,
No need to force or control those thoughts,
Just bring your attention back to the counting of your breaths.
Let's carry on a little longer with the counting of our breaths.
In count five,
Pause,
Out count to eight.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Good.
Good,
And now with that slow rhythmic breathing I want you to repeat in your minds eye on each one of the in breaths,
I breathe in positivity,
Then the pause and then on the out breath again in your minds eye I breathe out happiness.
Lets try that,
I breathe in positivity,
I breathe out happiness.
Lets continue those affirmations in your minds eye just for a moment,
Again if your mind starts to wander no need to force or control those thoughts just allow them to come and go and keep your attention on the affirmations.
Good,
Now lets bring our attention back to our breathing.
Lets take a couple of deep breaths in,
Hold for a moment,
Long breath out.
Now lets end this meditation on one deep breath in,
Really expand your chest,
Hold and that long deep breath out.
Good,
So as you go through your day to day at any point if you do feel those feelings of stress or anxiety remember just to take a moment to yourself,
Bring your attention back to your breathing,
Back to this present moment.
Use the 5 and 8 breathing technique at the beginning of the meditation only for 2 or 3 breaths that will bring you back to this moment,
Allow the stress and anxiety to start to fade away.
Have an amazing day,
Many blessings to you.
