Hi it's Sophia again.
Thanks for choosing to listen to this meditation.
Today we're going to be focusing on the breathing.
Breathing exercises help to calm the nervous system.
When the nervous system is on overdrive some pretty serious things happen.
Functions that are not considered necessary in the body begin to shut down.
For example digestion and absorption of nutrients.
That's right when we're stressed we're much less healthy.
Breathing exercises help to switch our flight responses off so we can digest fully and well,
Feel calmer,
Feel less anxious and stressed.
And today we're going to be doing a really simple breathing meditation.
Me and my yoga teacher friends we love to do this at the end of class but it will also be really useful to do when you feel like you're in the throes of a chaotic situation when mentally you might feel overwhelmed.
The breathing exercise can be done seated or laying down but just make sure if you're seated the feet make contact with the ground and that your arms are supported either by the armrest or perhaps on a cushion on your lap and if you're ready and it feels nice to do so close the eyes down.
Take a few moments to settle into this practice.
Show yourself some appreciation for showing up and attempting to find a calmer,
Happier you.
Make sure the belly is relaxed,
The jaw isn't tight,
Maybe the lips are slightly open,
The space between the eyebrows is relaxed.
The breathing for this exercise should be done through the nose,
Inhaling and exhaling through the nose.
And if you're ready let's begin.
We'll start by inhaling through the nose for four counts.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhaling through the nose.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Then holding the out breath.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhaling.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Hold the breath.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhaling through the nose.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Holding the out breath.
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhaling through the nose for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hold the breath.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhaling through the nose.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Holding the out breath.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhaling.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold the breath.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Exhaling.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Hold the out breath.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Inhale through the nose.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Hold.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Exhaling.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Hold the out breath.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Once more.
Inhale.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Hold.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Exhale.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Hold the out breath.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
And just letting go of any control of the breath.
Let it return to its natural rhythm.
Notice how you feel if you feel calmer,
If your shoulders feel more relaxed,
The mind feels more relaxed.
Holding the out breath can be quite anxiety inducing.
It's not something we usually do when we're swimming or in the bath.
But it's a very good skill to be able to master.
It helps awaken all the cells in the body,
Those ones that don't usually get worked.
And with practice,
You won't find it so anxiety inducing.
I promise.
Thanks for listening to this quick breathing meditation today.
Please let me know what you think.
I hope this helped.
I'm sure there'll be more.
My name's Sophia.
May we all be at peace.
Thank you.
.
