Welcome to today's breathwork session,
A session designed to downregulate our nervous system.
It's available for everyone.
And as we breathe today,
I'm going to share with you some insights as to what's happening in the body and why breathwork is so powerful.
But as I do that,
I invite you already to find yourself in a comfortable seated position with your legs crossed.
If you can,
Place a cushion or two underneath your sit bones and elevate your hips higher so that they are above your knees.
If that's not available for you,
That's okay.
Just find yourself in your comfortable seat wherever feels good for you.
And as you start to settle into the space around you,
Just begin to inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose,
Releasing any of the noise,
Any of the worries or the thoughts from today.
And just tuning in to your body,
Tuning into your now,
Connecting with your breath.
Let's begin with a nice and slow inhale through the nose and direct that breath all the way down into the belly,
Expanding the belly out,
The whole belly.
Good.
And softly exhale,
Allowing the belly to gently sink back inwards towards the spine.
Again,
Inhale,
Sinking your sit bones heavy and grounded and the belly goes out,
Out,
Out.
And as you exhale out,
The shoulders are softening and the body is softening.
Inhale through the nose and see if you can notice the breath as it moves through your nasal passageways.
Feel the breeze down the back of the throat and into the lungs as the diaphragm pulls in the air as the belly expands.
And as you exhale,
The diaphragm is pushing the air out as the belly sinks in towards the spine.
Continue to breathe in this gentle and soft rhythm.
And I'm going to share with you what's happening inside the body.
Something like this,
When we go deep down into the belly,
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system.
This is a down regulation of our nervous system.
It's our rest and digest.
Our body is safe.
It's known to support the body in reducing stress and bringing you back to center,
Back to your core,
To stability.
And by reducing stress in the body,
You're also supporting your immune system.
It has the opportunity to work in its fullest capacity.
Keep breathing as you are,
Nice and slow,
With awareness.
Noticing every place that each breath goes.
Noticing how your nervous system is feeling right now.
Now I want you to become aware of any tension you have in the body.
Is it in a specific location?
And see with your next breath if you can send your breath to that location.
If it helps,
You can move your body in any way that supports you to do that.
Stretching an arm,
Taking a twist,
Carefully moving the neck from left to right.
Breathe into that location where you feel tension.
And with every inhale,
You add a little more pressure.
And with every exhale,
Open your mouth to release the breath steadily and release all tension away.
Spend some time moving through your body to release any and all tension.
How do you feel?
Now listen.
We're going to inhale for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold at the top here for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Release for 4,
3,
2,
1.
And stay empty for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Again,
Inhale for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Release for 4,
3,
2,
1.
Stay empty at the bottom and soften the belly and the shoulders.
Beautiful.
Inhale.
Hold.
Release.
Stay empty.
Continue at the same pace on your own.
And in those breath retention moments,
In the hold and the emptiness,
Can you find some peace with them?
Perhaps tranquility?
Just being in those moments with nowhere to go and nowhere to be.
It's just you and your awareness of you.
Now when you're ready,
Let's extend.
We're going to inhale for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold.
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Release.
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Stay empty.
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Again,
Inhale.
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
2,
1.
Release.
2,
1.
Stay empty.
Soften the belly.
One more.
Inhale.
Hold.
Release.
2,
1.
Stay empty.
Soften the belly.
1 more.
Inhale.
Hold.
2,
1.
Stay empty.
Now inhale for 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Release 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Stay empty.
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale.
And do two rounds here in your own time,
Keeping the rhythm.
Being your own master.
Connecting to your breath and your body and what's going on.
And return to your natural rhythm of breathing.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
In through the nose and out through the nose.
And see if you can go even deeper within your body.
Feel the changes happening at a cellular level.
Your body is fully relaxed.
Your mind is fully relaxed.
This is what it feels like to be in you.
To be aligned,
Centered,
And stable.
And know that you can come back to this breath work whenever you're called to.
Create your own variation.
Choose your own music.
Your breath is always here for you.
Let's close our time together today by taking a deep inhale through the nose.
And as we do,
Let's pull our shoulders all the way up by our ears,
Pulling the whole body up.
And exhale with effort through the mouth as you expel out all of that air and drop the shoulders and the body to the ground.
One more time.
Thank you for joining today.
I wish you a beautiful day of relaxation.
A beautiful day to connect with your body.
And really tune in to you.
