Welcome to this basic breath awareness practice.
In this guided practice,
I'll be taking you through getting to know your diaphragmatic breath more.
So this breath technique is a beautiful way of teaching you how to breathe more fully and consciously.
Our breath actually becomes a beautiful tool,
A portal,
A companion to us in the day to day,
Helping to establish a greater sense of well-being within.
Our breath has the capacity to help us stay focused and aware,
While also it has that potential to reduce stress and anxiety,
To aid more deeper restful sleep,
Whilst also feeling like we can reach states of internal calm,
Peace and equilibrium more as well.
So in this diaphragmatic breath practice,
We're just starting to get to know our breath a little bit more.
So I invite you now to either find a comfortable seat that allows you to sit up with more of an erect spine,
Or maybe you choose to lay down on the back with your knees bent and your feet flat onto the ground,
Your knees and your feet at about hip distance.
Wherever you are,
If it is comfortable for you to place a hand on the abdomen,
Then I invite you to do so.
This might just give you more of an ability to really connect with the feeling state of diaphragmatic breathing.
When you're ready,
Closing the eyes down,
Or softening the gaze if you wish to keep the eyes opened,
And just start to notice your body breathing in and out,
And feel the breath through the nostrils first of all.
As you notice the body breathing in,
You might feel the sense of coolness enter the nostrils on the inhale,
And on the exhale you might notice a little more warmth as the breath leaves the body.
Now take your awareness towards your abdomen,
And just breathe naturally so you can breathe comfortably here.
And I invite you to just notice the quality of your breath.
So does the breath feel tense for you?
Does it feel a little shallow?
Does it feel uneven?
Does it feel vibrant,
Full?
Our intention here is to heighten our awareness of our breathing by describing the breath whilst not judging how we're breathing.
So as you tune into your breathing and you're describing it for yourself,
Try not to attach any narratives onto what you find,
Or judgements onto what you notice.
And then slowly feel like you can make your breathing as relaxed and as smooth as possible.
And each time you breathe in,
It's as though you were directing your breath down towards your navel,
Or down towards the base of your spine,
Down towards the lower pockets of your lungs.
And just allow the exhales to be smooth each time.
Just a gentle reminder that all of this is a practice,
So if it feels a little tricky,
If it feels unusual or new to you,
If it feels uncomfortable today,
Then that's okay.
That's why we know it as being a practice.
It's always evolving,
It's always changing,
Just like our breath.
Continue for the next few moments just making that breath as relaxed and as smooth as possible,
Directing each inhale down towards the navel.
And once you start to feel like the breath is more relaxed,
Start to slowly notice the movement of the body as you're breathing.
As you inhale,
The abdomen just naturally expands.
And as you exhale,
The abdomen descends back down towards the spine.
So you're gently placing that focus now on the movement that you're feeling from your breath.
And if you don't feel a lot of movement in the abdomen just yet,
That's totally okay.
If that is the case,
Then I invite you to visualize your abdomen expanding on the inhale,
Softly contracting on your exhale as you continue to deepen the breath down towards the navel,
The lower pockets of your lungs.
And just stay with this practice of abdomen expanding on the inhale and abdomen slowly contracting,
Descending back to the spine on the exhale.
Making the breath smooth,
Flowing and relaxed.
Another three more breaths here.
And then when you're ready,
Just allowing your breath to return to what feels natural for you.
So you've just helped to quieten and calm your entire nervous system.
This is a great breathing tool to help reduce stress and anxiety and even improve self-awareness to really understand and build that relationship with our breathing a little more.
So know that you can come back to this breath practice of diaphragmatic breathing as many times as you need to in the day.
Sometimes taking that time to pause in our day and practice anywhere between five to ten diaphragmatic breaths is all we need to really feel centered and in that state of a healthy equilibrium within.
So just starting to guide subtle movement back into the body,
Into the fingers and the toes.
Maybe giving the shoulders a gentle roll or turning the head from side to side.
And when you're ready,
Opening the eyes slowly.
Thank you for joining me in this simple breath awareness.
I hope it was of benefit for you and I look forward to connecting with you again soon.
Namaste.
