Welcome to the Soft Belly Breathing Meditation.
This is perhaps one of my most favorite meditations to do to help us relax and release some of the anxiety and worry that we have in day-to-day life.
So to begin,
Start by relaxing your body,
Taking your seat on a chair,
Or even lying down if that helps.
Notice if there's any tension in the body.
See if you can soften any of that simply by bringing awareness to it.
Notice if there's tension in your shoulders,
Your neck,
And simply find a posture that feels both relaxed and alert.
If it's comfortable for you now,
You can close your eyes or simply look downwards in a restful gaze.
Just allow your eyes to be soft,
Your eyelids,
Your brow,
Your cheeks,
Your mouth,
Your face.
Allow that to just be soft and at ease.
Close your eyes if you wish.
A few more minutes to just scan through the body,
Noticing sensations in the body,
Softening if there's any tension,
Any obvious areas where there's some tightness or tension.
Just be at least that if possible.
So with this practice,
We're going to do a breathing that is in through the nose and then out through the mouth.
So this can be a very just natural and easy way to breathe in and breathe out.
So try this now.
Breathe in through your nose and then slowly out through the mouth.
Sometimes I like to think of maybe blowing out a candle as you're blowing out.
Just be slow and gentle in through the nose and then out through the mouth.
As you're doing this,
Bring awareness to your belly and allow your belly to be soft.
When the belly is soft,
There's more oxygen that can go into the bottom of the lungs and then can move more easily into the blood and go into the cells in the body,
Including the brain and supplying the brain with nourishment.
So soft belly,
Let the belly be soft and at ease.
As you breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth.
If it helps,
You might remind yourself mentally as you're breathing in and out,
You can just speak the words in your mind,
Soft belly,
Soft belly.
This is also helping to activate the vagus nerve,
Which is important for our central nervous system,
Promoting relaxation,
Helping us work through stress,
Working through that fight or flight response.
And doing this breathing helps us activate that vagus nerve,
Help us relax,
Relaxing the other muscles in the body as well.
Breathing in and out through the mouth,
The other side of the And it's okay if your mind is wandering a little bit,
Just bring it back.
You might speak the words in your mind,
Soft belly.
It might help to breathe in through the nose and say that word soft,
Soft and then the out breath,
Belly.
Just say the word in your mind,
Belly.
And of course notice the physical sensations down in the belly,
Allowing the belly to be soft and relaxed and at ease.
Remember breathing in through the nose and then out through the mouth.
Soft as you breathe in,
Belly as you breathe out.
Soft as you breathe in,
Belly as you breathe out.
Now you can stay here as long as you need.
When you are ready,
Gently,
Slowly open your eyes.
Try not to move around too much,
Just open your eyes slowly.
Bring your attention back to the room.
Notice how you feel.
Notice how your body feels in this moment,
Sitting in this space.
Just slowly look around gently with a soft gaze.
You might feel a little bit calmer now,
Your heart rate might feel a little bit more slower and steady.
You might be sensing the room around you with a little bit more clarity and calmness.
Maybe different parts of your body are a little bit more relaxed now.
So remember you can always come back to this state of awareness simply by doing the soft belly breathing practice wherever you are.
It's a very easy one to do and you don't even need to close your eyes.
You can just practice this and see how that helps you throughout the day.
Good job.
Thank you for joining me today.
