So just be aware of your surroundings Notice what you can see around you If you're by a window you can have a look outside get a sense of the space around you as well Listening to all the sounds you can hear and the environment around you And then checking what's happening on the inside as well as the outside So noticing how you're feeling right now,
Emotionally and physically Aware of sensations and emotions Accepting exactly how you're feeling right now And just allow your thoughts to be as they are or so Just allow them to come and go through your mind just as the sounds are coming and going in the environment around you And be aware of the body,
Perhaps feel the weight of the body and any sensation of contact and connection with the body,
With the floor,
The chair,
Clothing A feeling of allowing the body to be fully present and be fully present with the body in this moment And aware of the breath in the body So just notice how you're breathing now,
The natural regular breath Feel the rise and fall of the breath So now let's take the conscious decision to start to breathe in more deeply Just as deeply as feels comfortable we can gradually increase the in-breath as our lung capacity naturally expands So it can just be a little deeper to begin with and gradually increase within your comfort range And really feel the breath as you take that deeper in-breath,
Really feel the effect on the body of each in-breath And for the out-breath we're just releasing,
Letting go,
So a natural release of the out-breath,
The exhale,
A bit like a sigh Through the nose or mouth,
Whichever feels most natural for you And each in-breath is a little reminder of our intention to be more present with the body So as we feel the breath enter the body we can feel our awareness also entering the body Really allow that breath fully and freely into the body with each inhale So let's just explore that in-breath in a little more detail and just see if at the beginning of that deep in-breath you can be breathing in with the diaphragm So the belly breath with the stomach rising and the air first going right to the bottom of your lungs You might want to do a few breaths where you're just breathing with the diaphragm just to really establish that first If it helps you can lay a hand on the stomach so you can feel more of the stomach rise with the breath Always just letting go,
Releasing,
Relaxing the out-breath This is a nice relaxing breath technique just using the diaphragm so that's one you can use to help you relax to fall asleep for example Let's see if we can build on that and after breathing into the diaphragm feeling the stomach rise continuing the in-breath using the ribs and breathing right into the centre of the chest and the lungs as well So two parts in-breath for now The out-breath just a complete release of the whole exhale So stomach and then chest on the inhale seeing if you can give equal time,
Breath and attention to each of these two parts If you feel at all dizzy or light headed at any point during this exercise just allow the head to drop,
Chin to chest and return to normal breath Breathing at whatever speed you feel is most comfortable you can experiment with breathing more quickly and more slowly to find what works best With the out-breath not holding on to the breath or pushing it out just a natural release of the breath whatever speed that happens to be So when you're ready let's try adding the third part to this in-breath Firstly feeling the stomach rise with the diaphragm breath and the chest expand with the breathing with the ribs to the centre of the lungs And just imagine or feel as if you're continuing the breath right up to the top of your head and then feeling the very top of the lungs getting some oxygen as well And as always just releasing the whole out-breath So this will take a bit of effort and attention to get the full three part in-breath going After a few minutes it should start to feel fairly natural and automatic and your lung capacity will gradually increase as you continue with the breath Just a bit of effort to begin with but it should feel easier as you continue So again see if you can give equal time,
Breath and attention to all three parts now stomach,
Chest and head It can be quite a smooth continuous in-breath gradually going up the body or it can be like three almost separate but sequential in-breaths into the stomach and into the chest and into the head And bringing awareness into the body,
Into all three parts of the body with this three part in-breath So filling the body with awareness as well as breath Using this conscious in-breath to really bring our attention and awareness into the body and into the present moment There's one more aspect we can look at to see if we can get a really full in-breath That's to see and feel if you're breathing as much into the back of the lungs as the front of the lungs Particularly I find that with the very top of the chest that I can be neglecting the back of the lungs right at the top there Perhaps engaging a few more muscles around the top of the back and the shoulders just to really feel the top of the lungs front and back Notice any tightness and stiffness that may become more apparent with this full in-breath So this deep,
Full in-breath can bring more energy into the body,
More sensation of all kinds throughout the body It can also heighten feelings and emotions as well,
So just be aware of that And also you may find you have more thoughts The mind might also become energised or in some senses agitated in some ways The invitation is to,
If you feel comfortable,
Just allow all these new and maybe heightened sensations,
Emotions and thoughts to just be as they are and flow through your awareness And keeping that awareness nice and present,
Connected,
Open,
Wide and broad Still aware of that space,
That environment around the body Still aware of the sounds you can hear Staying grounded with the body,
Aware of that space around the body And taking in that deep,
Full in-breath from that space around your body The in-breath,
A reminder and an expression of our intention to be fully present with the body And that release and letting go of the out-breath It's that reminder just to allow and release everything that we're experiencing,
Just letting everything go,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sounds So we've been breathing quite fully for a while now,
So maybe you just check if it feels comfortable Maybe the capacity has increased,
Then you can take in more breath,
Fill in all the corners Big breath into the stomach and the chest and the head and the front and the back of the lungs There's only discomfort or pain,
You can ease off the breath or you can breathe into those areas and breathe into those sensations and really explore them Maybe on your next in-breath you can just check your posture and as the breath goes up the body just checks if your spine is nice and tall and straight and long,
Your chest and shoulders open Notice any resistance,
Any reluctance to really taking in a full deep in-breath,
Just notice how that feels And again you can ease off a little with the breath if it's uncomfortable or you could choose to really explore those feelings and perhaps breathe more into those feelings Just doing what feels comfortable and useful for you right now So being present with the in-breath,
Letting everything go with the out-breath Getting a sense of the aliveness in the presence of the body,
Of this increased oxygen And possibly the feeling of relaxation in the mind and body as we release,
Let go of those deep long out-breaths Just noticing what's happening for you,
Not having expectations,
Not trying to make one thing or another happen Allowing the body to move and stretch with the breath if that feels like it needs to do that So just one or two minutes to go,
So last chance to really fill those lungs as much as possible So now just allow the breath to continue on its own,
So not making any effort with the in-breath And the breath will probably continue as it is for a little while,
You can just allow it to gradually return to a normal breath You might do that quite quickly or quite slowly Being aware of the body,
Being aware of all those points of contact,
How the body is feeling Having the space around the body and the sounds you can hear Feeling grounded,
Connected,
And notice how you're feeling in mind and body after those conscious,
Deeper in-breaths After a while of breathing you often feel a combination of energy but also a stillness,
A calmness of being able to just be Maybe a tingling sensation in the body Okay so if we finish that
