Welcome to this conscious breathing practice where we'll be doing extended exhales.
The exhale stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system in your body to signal it to rest,
Repair,
Digest and restore.
So this is a nice relaxing practice,
Just getting nice and comfortable wherever you are.
I would suggest lying down on your back,
Perhaps putting a small pillow in the small of your back to support your lumbar spine.
Or sitting upright,
Leaning against a chair or the wall.
We're going to be extending the exhales,
Breathing in and out through the nose.
So begin to close down your eyes.
We're just going to start with observing your natural breath.
Settling into your position,
Feeling your shoulders melting away from your ears.
Feeling your jaw unclenching.
Your face muscles relaxing.
There's no facial expression that you have to make,
Just let your face relax.
Relaxing your arms all the way down to your fingertips.
Allowing your belly and all of your abdominal muscles to let go and just relax.
Relaxing your glutes and your leg muscles all the way down to your toes.
Just feeling the gravity underneath of you holding you.
Begin to tune into your breath,
Just become the observer.
Notice the pace of your breath.
Noticing if your breath is fast or slow.
If the inhale is faster or slower than the exhale.
And no judgment,
Nothing's wrong,
We're just watching right now.
Begin to notice where in your body your breath goes.
Where do you feel the movement in your body as you inhale and exhale.
Noticing the sound of your breath,
Can you hear the air flowing in and out through your nose?
Noticing if there's a temperature,
Does your breath feel warm or cool?
We're going to begin to draw the breath low and slow.
So draw that breath all the way down into the belly and allow the belly to expand on the inhale and just fall on the exhale.
Everything's with ease,
You don't want to force anything.
So allow your belly to expand as you fill your lungs with air,
Which descends the diaphragm,
The belly goes out.
And then on the exhale the belly falls as the air comes out.
So drawing that breath low and slowing it down.
Taking your time on both the inhale and the exhale.
If it helps,
You can bring one or both hands onto your belly to feel the rise and fall and the movement of this breath chamber through the belly.
There's no forcing so don't worry about pushing your belly out.
It'll just happen naturally as you breathe deep into that space.
I'd like you to begin to now breathe out longer than you're breathing in.
So you're going to extend the exhale.
I'm going to add counts in a minute,
But I just want you to start to feel the extended exhale.
So breathe in through the nose and out through the nose longer than the inhale,
Breathing all the air out,
Emptying the tank.
Before you inhale again and repeat.
We're going to go through inhaling for three counts and exhaling for five counts.
So when you're ready you can join my count.
We're going to inhale two three and exhale two three four five.
Inhale two three and exhale two three four five.
Inhale two three,
Exhale two three four five.
Inhale two three and exhale two three four five.
In two three and out two three four five.
In two three,
Out two three four five.
In two three,
Out two three four five.
In two three and out two three four five.
Inhale two three,
Exhale two three four five.
In two three,
Out two three four five.
In two three,
Out two three four five.
Continuing to breathe,
Counting in your mind now,
Inhaling for three counts,
Exhaling for five and slightly adjusting those numbers to make it so that it is comfortable for you if you want to extend the inhale or exhale by one count.
Feeling the movement through the belly as you inhale and expand and exhale and naturally contract.
You can visualize a flower opening as you inhale in the diaphragm descends,
And then the flower closing as you exhale.
You can visualize the ocean tide washing over your body as you inhale,
And then the tide washes out on the exhale.
So adding some visuals if that feels good for you.
Otherwise,
Just stay tuned into your breath,
Noticing how it feels,
Extending the exhale.
Exhaling out all of the air,
Empty tank before inhaling your next breath,
Keeping your shoulders nice and relaxed away from your ears,
Keeping your jaw nice and relaxed and unclenched.
Feeling your body surrender even further with each breath,
Relaxing,
Releasing any tensions,
Releasing any lingering thoughts,
Just coming into presence with your breath.
And finish out this last breath before returning just to your natural breathing pattern without changing it.
Breathing however it happens naturally,
Wherever it goes in your body at whatever tempo.
Just noticing how you feel in your body after a few minutes of this conscious breathing practice with extended exhales.
Noticing any sensations,
Relaxation through your body or your mind,
And becoming the observer.
I hope you enjoyed this practice and I wish you a beautiful day.
