Breathe Here Now 3

By combining yogic three-part breathing with a mindfulness meditation, we will be using the breath to bring us into the body and into the present moment so we can easily experience and explore the energy and presence of the body and the benefits to the mind and body of conscious breathing. A four -minute introduction and an ending bell.

Transcript

So normally with mindfulness,

We would become aware of the breath,

But we wouldn't try and change it in any way.

I'm just experimenting with actually consciously breathing in a particular way,

And then incorporating that with mindfulness in the sense of being aware of how that affects the body.

And what I've been doing is the three-part breath.

If you're not familiar with that,

It's where you're breathing into three parts of the lungs,

The base,

The middle and the top,

Doing that by breathing with a diaphragm at first,

So the stomach rises.

Initially,

Bring the breath right down as far as you can into the base of the lungs,

Then breathing into the centre of the chest,

So using the ribs,

Breathing into the middle,

And then to breathe as much as you can right up to the top of your lungs,

Then to have that feeling of breathing right up to the top of your head,

So stomach,

Chest and head.

It's not always comfortable or appropriate to do a really big breath and breathe in that way,

So if you're wanting a more relaxing breath,

Then you can just do the first part,

So breathing with a diaphragm and just watching the stomach rise and fall with the breath.

That would be a more relaxing breath.

But if you want a real sort of energising,

Kick-starting breath,

You want to really explore the physical and mental sensations that arise from that.

The breath affects the body and the mind,

Then you can try this full breath.

It's best to start gradually,

Not necessarily try and fill the lungs straight away.

The best way to make it easier to take in more air,

To take in more oxygen with the in-breath,

Is to breathe out a bit longer with the out-breath,

And then the body will naturally want to take in more breath on the in-breath,

And just be aware of the breath and the sensations of the breath that arise just naturally.

If you start off doing the three-part breath and at any point feel a bit lightheaded or dizzy,

Then just return to a natural breath and you can,

If you're sitting,

You can lie down.

Just do whatever works best for you.

The main thing to remember if you are doing a deliberate breath,

Rather than just being aware of your breath as it is,

Is to just let go and relax the out-breath.

Then it doesn't really matter too much how you breathe in,

By not forcing out or pushing out the out-breath and not holding on to the breath,

But just letting your breath,

The exhale,

Come when it's ready and just letting it come in a natural way,

Then that will regulate your breath,

So you shouldn't feel any hyperventilation or dizziness.

The other thing just to mention is if you are breathing in a deep,

Full breath,

Is that can bring more things to your awareness,

Which is kind of the point of doing it,

But sometimes if what comes up for you isn't comfortable,

You don't feel ready for,

Then again just return to an easy,

Natural breath and just stay nice and grounded with the body.

So it could be physical sensations,

You could become aware of discomfort or blockages in the body,

Or it could bring up some emotions,

Feelings.

And it might also lead to more thoughts,

So you might get a rush of thoughts,

That's fine.

It can be a way to generate positive thoughts and inspirational thoughts,

So don't think,

Oh,

I'm thinking more on meditations about thinking less,

So it's not working.

So the idea with the mindfulness aspect of this practice is to just accept what happens,

Allow it to be as it is,

And to just explore how it feels.

And then we're using the breath just to move that along a bit,

Really.

So before I really go into the breath,

I think it's worth just connecting generally with the present moment.

The main point of the breath is to help us be more present,

More aware,

And not just of the breath but of everything that's happening in this moment,

Internally and externally.

So just check how you're feeling to begin with,

How the body is feeling,

Being aware of your inner environment,

What's happening in the mind,

Thoughts,

Feelings,

Emotions,

And just checking in with the environment around you,

So being aware of the space around the body,

And listening to the sounds you can hear in the wider environment.

That feeling of fully arriving here and there,

With yourself,

With your mind,

With your body,

And setting that intention to really allow whatever happens in this ongoing,

Ever-changing present moment,

To just allow it to be as it is,

And just to keep the breath going.

If you want to decide which in-breath you want to start with,

Whatever in-breath we're doing,

I would always recommend just relaxing,

Letting go of the out-breath,

So not pushing out the breath or holding on to the breath in any way,

Always just letting go of the out-breath in a relaxed way.

We can choose the in-breath,

So you can allow it just to continue as it is.

You could choose maybe to do an in-breath with a diaphragm,

For a more relaxing breath.

I'm going to do the three-part breath,

So stomach,

Chest,

And head.

You can breathe through the nose or mouth on the in-breath and the out-breath,

Just do what feels right,

Feels natural.

That may change at some point.

You don't have to stay with what you start with.

That's the same with the in-breath as well.

You can change that.

If you feel you want to try a deeper breath after a while or if you want to do a more gentle breath.

As you begin to consciously breathe in,

Really notice how the breath feels as it enters the body.

Begin to explore all the sensations you can feel within the body each time you breathe in.

Just relaxing the out-breath.

Initially,

See if you can keep the breath nice and continuous and flowing,

So not pausing at the end of the in-breath or out-breath.

Later,

We may introduce a short pause to explore the body sensations more.

But for now,

While we get the breath going,

Let's see if we can keep it nice and flowing and continuous.

The other variable,

As well as depth,

Is speed.

So again,

Just choosing a speed of in-breath that feels comfortable for you.

If you're doing the diaphragm breath,

Then a nice,

Slow in-breath works quite well.

If you're looking to really fill the lungs with the three-part breath,

A slightly more dynamic in-breath probably works best,

At least to begin with.

And for the three-part breath,

Remember for the final bit to really feel as if the breath's going right to the top of your head.

So it's stomach,

Chest and then head.

Feel the breath rise up the body.

The in-breath's a good time to check the posture as well.

As I breathe in,

Breathe up the body,

I can check that the spine is nice and long and straight.

So with each in-breath,

Really bringing the awareness fully into the body and exploring how the body feels.

Breathing in to the present moment,

Into the body.

Keeping your awareness nice and open so you can still be aware of everything else that's happening around the breath.

Sounds,

Thoughts,

Sensations.

Welcoming everything to be just as it is and inviting the breath to be in the centre,

The foreground of your open awareness.

If you have started to notice any sensations that seem to be arising from the breath,

You can begin to really breathe into those sensations and invite them to become more apparent.

More fully expressed.

And just checking you're releasing,

Letting go of the out-breath.

And as we breathe out,

You can also have that thought of releasing and relaxing the body,

Allowing the body to settle into the present moment as you release the out-breath.

Bringing awareness into the present moment as you bring breath into the body.

Fully arriving into the present and releasing the body,

Allowing it to rest here and now as you breathe out.

And stomach,

Chest and head for the three part in-breath.

Really feeling like you're filling each part of the lungs.

Perhaps beginning to realise just how large the lung capacity can be as we gradually breathe in more.

And realising how little we normally breathe.

So give yourself permission to really become absorbed by the breath and the sensations in the body related to the breath.

Really feel that unlimited space around you for the breath and all the sensations arising from the breath to be just as they are.

Allowing the body to move as and when it wants to with the breath.

Allow yourself to make noise with the breath.

Don't inhibit your breath.

The sound of your own breathing can in itself be very calming and relaxing.

Like the sound of the waves of the ocean.

With every in-breath we're taking in invaluable oxygen into the body.

And with every out-breath releasing carbon dioxide and toxins from the body.

Energising,

Purifying,

Relaxing.

Awareness,

Presence and being.

If you've been doing this practice for a few days now you may notice some familiar sensations that may arise as you start breathing more fully.

This can be a mixture of positive,

Negative and neutral sensations.

If you're doing the three part breath,

For the next three breaths really pay attention to really feeling the breath.

Rise right at the body,

Right at the top of the head.

Allow the breath right up to the top.

Really feeling parts of the lungs we don't normally reach in our day to day breathing.

And bring just to allow your thoughts to flow freely,

Even if they're coming thick and fast.

No matter how many thoughts and emotions arise,

Maintaining that awareness of the breath in the body.

And releasing the breath with each out-breath.

Whatever is happening can only be happening right here and now.

By now you may find your breath and just keep going without any particular efforts to maintain it.

You can perhaps let go of the idea of having to make effort to breathe in any particular way.

And really explore the sensations in the body arising from the breath in more detail.

If you want to add maybe a slight pause between the in-breaths and the out-breaths.

And in that pause really go into the body and notice exactly how it's feeling.

And just if that feels comfortable and doesn't disturb the flow of the breath.

Just a slight pause to really feel the body.

No sound.

As we're moving towards the end of the conscious breathing exercise.

For those doing the three-part breath,

A real opportunity to explore any hidden corners of the lungs that maybe we haven't reached yet.

And for those doing the relaxing diaphragm breath,

An opportunity to really let go and allow the body to release and relax even more deeply into the present moment.

No sound.

If we begin to allow the breath to gradually return to a normal breathing pattern.

Not making any particular effort to change the breath,

Change how it's become.

Just that intention of allowing it to return to whatever natural breath it would prefer at this time.

Knowing that you've created a nice rhythm,

It'll probably stay pretty much as it is for a while and that's absolutely fine.

And just having that thought of ending the conscious breathing exercise and shifting the focus of our attention a little more now on just how the body's feeling.

And just being present with the body however the breath happens to be.

Giving ourselves plenty of time to just appreciate how the body feels now.

And how the mind feels now too.

Allowing that awareness to be nice and open,

Allowing everything in this present moment to just be as it is within your open awareness.

And just being aware of the wholeness of this one moment.

The breath,

Thoughts,

Feelings,

Sounds,

Everything all just happening together within this one moment within your open awareness.

Allowing yourself just to simply be.

Giving yourself plenty of time for all sensations and emotions to gradually settle down.

And just being aware of the awareness of this one moment within your open awareness.