MIDL: Retrain Your Breathing Patterns: Stress & Anxiety

In this MIDL Mindfulness Training you intentionally retrain any habitual stress chest breathing patterns to lower anxiety and as a basis for the development of MIDL Mindfulness of Breathing. Sensitivity to diaphragmatic breathing is also used as a basis to reflect the mind to decondition habitual patterns. Diaphragm breathing is essential to the development of mindfulness meditation as it effects the arising of the Five Hindrances to Meditation.

Transcript

For this exercise we'll be laying down on the floor,

Either on some carpet or you can place a blanket out or a yoga mat.

It is also helpful to roll up a blanket and place it under your knees to protect your back.

To experience stillness during this meditation it is important not to be too comfortable such as in a bed.

This is why we use a hard or supportive surface like the floor.

Just pause the meditation at this point while you're setting up your place to lay down and when you're ready we can begin.

Welcome back.

Just allow your eyelids to gently close over to become heavy,

Eyelids drooping,

Becoming very heavy,

Very relaxed.

Just laying comfortably.

Start to be aware of what it feels like to just lay there.

Feeling the contact of your body with the floor,

Feeling of pressure.

Being very aware of any feeling of warmth or coolness in your body.

Very aware of the touch with the floor.

Easy.

Just knowing that laying here you don't have to do anything at all.

Just relax.

Now I'd like you to place your fingers just below your belly button.

One hand on either side of your belly,

Fingers nearly touching each other.

We're going to be doing some slow breaths with the diaphragm.

The diaphragm is a muscle that sits up underneath your ribs and is involved in breathing.

When doing this breath it is not necessary to breathe with your chest,

Actually it's preferred to keep your chest disengaged from this breathing.

Picture your breathing into your belly from the base of your ribs down below your belly button and then back out again.

The aim when you're doing this breath is to bring the breath down so your fingers slightly lift with each breath.

Now taking a slow breath in from the base of your ribs,

Bring the breath down so your fingers slightly lift.

Allow the breath out and relax.

Breathing in again from the base of your ribs down into your belly so your fingers lift up.

Allow the breath out again to relax.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Slowly breathing in from the base of the ribs,

Your fingers lift.

Bring the breath back out again to relax.

Start to normalize the breaths,

That means make the in breath and the out breath the same length.

Counting can be helpful for this.

Take a breath in so that your fingers lift and count to two.

Then count to two as the breath goes out again.

Then count to three as the breath goes out again.

Now increase your counting with the breathing to three.

Breathing in from the base of the ribs,

One,

Two,

Three.

Allow the breath out again,

One,

Two,

Three.

And in,

One,

Two,

Three and out again.

If you feel light headed at any time this is okay.

If this is so you can pause for a few breaths,

Allow the feeling to settle and then start again.

In this way you'll feel a calmness come over you.

Now if you feel you're able to you can increase the counting to four or five with each belly breath.

If you're not comfortable with this just continue to count to three.

Taking the breaths in your belly,

Gentle,

Slow and relaxed.

Now I'd like you to place both your palms on the side of your ribs on the lower part of your rib cage.

Just so your fingers are just opposite each other.

This time we're going to continue the diaphragm breathing but we're going to allow the breath to come up into the lower part of the ribs and open the base of the rib cage.

Continue breathing into your belly,

One,

Two,

Allow the breath to come up into your ribs,

Three,

Four,

Ribs open.

Allow the breath to naturally go out and relax.

Breathing down into your belly,

Slowly,

One,

Two,

Breath comes up,

Ribs open,

Three,

Four,

Allow the breath to go out and relax.

Keep using gentle breaths in this way.

When the breath comes up into the rib cage see if you can open the ribs.

You'll notice this because your fingertips will separate apart and as the breath goes out the fingers will go back towards each other again.

Low deep gentle breaths,

Opening your ribs.

Do you feel light headed in any way?

If you do just stop the breathing for a short time,

The feeling to settle,

The calmness to come and re-engage in the breathing again in a gentle way.

When doing this exercise it's important to put very little effort in,

No strain,

No force,

Just relaxed.

Now I'd like you to bring one palm to the top of your chest,

On the bottom of your collarbone,

Just below your neck.

The other hand I'd like you to bring down and place below your belly button so you can feel the belly breaths.

Now take a slow breath down into your belly,

Feeling your palm lift,

One,

Two,

Allow the breath to raise up,

Pushing your ribs out,

Breath moving through,

Opening your ribs to the top of your chest,

Allow the whole breath to deflate,

To relax your whole body.

Breathing into your belly,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Allow the whole breath to deflate,

To relax your whole body.

Breathing into your belly,

One,

Two,

Your fingers lift,

Opening your ribs,

Pushing them up,

Allow the breath to travel up to the top of your chest,

Allow the breath to go back out again in a very relaxed way.

Breathing into your belly,

One,

Two,

Your fingers lift,

Opening your ribs,

Pushing them up,

Allow the breath to travel up to the top of your chest,

Allow the breath to go back out again in a very relaxed way.

Just keep taking your gentle complete breaths in this way.

When doing these breaths,

Don't place any force in feeling your belly to move,

Allow it to open naturally,

Pushing the ribs out,

Breath goes high.

And each time the breath goes out,

Just allow your whole body to fully relax,

Your whole body to fully drop,

To sink.

And just keep taking your gentle complete breaths in this way.

And just keep taking your gentle complete breaths in this way.

Now you can place your arms by your side at a 45 degree angle with your palms facing up on the floor.

Do this so your chest and belly fully open.

Now taking the slow breaths,

Let your arms go back out,

Let your arms go back out,

Let your arms go back out,

Let your arms go back out,

Let your arms go back out,

Let breathing down into your belly,

One,

Two,

Belly raises,

Breath comes up,

Ribs open,

Chest lifts and relax,

Relax with that out breath.

Breath goes down,

Belly lifts,

Breath moving up,

Ribs open,

Chest raises and relax with the out breath,

Allow your out breath to go further out than it ever has before.

Breath comes in belly,

Raising up,

Ribs open,

Chest,

Allow your breath to go out further,

Further than ever before,

So far out,

So relaxed.

Keep taking full slow breaths in this way,

Allowing that breath to relax,

To fully deflate with each out breath.

As you do this,

Be aware of the heaviness come into your body.

You will feel the heaviness in your body and the heaviness is moving into your arms,

Your feet,

Your hands,

The heaviness moving into your breath.

Rubbing any dirt off the surface as much as you can.

You may feel it coming to you through your fingers,

Yourself.

Or,

Friction The heaviness comes into your head,

Your shoulders.

You can feel so clearly the heaviness of your hips,

The heaviness of your legs and your feet.

Whole body is becoming so heavy.

Breath moves in,

Belly moves up,

Ribs open,

Chest relax,

Sink,

So heavy,

So relaxed.

You can feel the heaviness of your hips,

Your shoulders.

Now allow your breath to happen naturally,

Not controlling it in any way,

Relaxing your belly.

And you will start to notice the movement of the diaphragm is happening naturally.

The breath is naturally moving in your belly like a little baby.

Slow gentle breath.

Just being aware of the gentleness of this natural breath.

Feeling the belly as it naturally rises,

As it naturally falls.

Allow the floor to take the full weight of your body.

Completely release and relax your body.

Allow yourself to really feel,

Deeply feel that out breath,

Deeply feel the drop of your belly.

And every time your belly drops,

Every time the breath goes out,

Allow that breath to relax you.

Allow that breath to draw you deeper.

Allow the heaviness in your body to increase with that out breath.

Gentle movement of the breath.

Breath goes out,

You sink,

Sinking,

Dropping deeper down,

So heavy.

Your body The body is becoming so relaxed,

So calm.

The breathing becoming so gentle.

Each breath in your belly is drawing you down,

Drawing you deeper down deeper.

Mentally feel the relaxation in your body,

The relaxation in the breath,

The deep relaxation in your whole body.

Allow your body to teach you how to mentally relax.

Allow the relaxation of your body to seep into your mind,

To fill your mind,

To make it so still,

So peaceful.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Everything's floating so simple,

Becoming more and more still,

Deeper into stillness.

Allow that feeling of stillness to fill,

To open,

To fill your whole body,

The whole room,

Drawing you deeper and deeper.

Each breath bringing you deeper down,

So deep,

So relaxed.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Everything's floating so simple,

Becoming more and more still,

Deeper into stillness.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Letting thoughts to drift,

To float.

Now gently feeling the movement of your belly,

Gently moving up and down,

So calming,

So relaxed.

Feeling your whole body laying on the floor so heavy,

Like you're stuck to the floor.

Now slowly start to re-engage your breathing,

Taking gentle breaths in your belly,

Breathing down so your belly lifts.

Allow the breath out slowly so your belly drops.

Slow gentle breaths in your belly,

Slowly making them deeper,

Allowing the breath to bring you back.

Now allow the breath to travel up into your ribs,

So that your ribs open and the breath moves up into your chest.

Breathing into the belly,

Down below the belly button,

One,

Two,

Breath moves up into the chest,

Three,

Four,

Relax.

Slowly increase this full breath,

Feel the oxygen move through your body,

Your whole body,

Your mind becoming more alert,

More awake.

Now gently start to wiggle your toes and your fingers,

Getting the circulation going in your body again.

Slightly wiggle your hips and your shoulders,

Allowing the breathing to happen naturally again.

Feel the breath once again move naturally into your belly and notice the feeling of peace that comes through you.

When you get up,

Get up gently,

Rolling on your side,

Knees tucked in to protect your back.

Standing up slowly as you may feel a little bit light headed.

Allow this feeling to settle,

Allow the peace to embed within you and to follow you throughout the day.

Thank you for spending this time with me.

Have a wonderful day.

Take care of yourself.

And goodbye.

Reviews

Really loved this one. Very helpful. I also love how his directions were very clear.

I am currently suffering with severe anxiety along with gallstones. Stephen has helped me tonight to calm my mind and my body which is no mean feat considering my current condition. I highly recommend him he’s great! 🙏🏻

So good. Beautifully orchestrated. Love the build up and then the tapering off to the end and the slow pace. Feel very calm and a bit emotional. Some release happened. Definitely coming back. Thank you.🙏🙏

Excellent! That was an amazing and very relaxing practice! So fantastic must repeat for sure! Thank you! 🙏💫

Belly breathing can often be quite painful for me, but after pushing through resistance I was able to find some ease while laying down.
Thank you

Love the slow pace and the feeling of peace that came over me 🙏 😊

Love this one. Total game changer. From high charge with insufferable kriyas to calm relaxed attention just from 2 times of using this practice. I'm sure more difficulties will arise, but it feels amazing to rest with the breath.

Great breathing exercise and very effective way to learn breathing techniques

Great, thank you.

The breathing instruction was a little slow at a few points but I attribute that to the height and depth of the speaker's breathing being different, wider, than mine.

Very calming, just what I needed at this time, had been feeling agitated, feel more grounded now. 🙏 Nice calm voice and pace, I like the spaces in between instructions. A good practice, one I shall return to.

Great start to MIDL. Can’t wait for the next lesson!

Simple, yet profound. Thanks for your exquisite care (yet again!) holding the perfect space for healing and relaxation. The mind clears so effortlessly when the body can rest effectively.

Stephen helps prove the important relationship between body, breath and thinking mind. He teaches empowerment and does so with kindness and compassion. Thank you Stephen. I will see you in one of your live classes soon! Peace. ~Maureen

Thank you so much, Stephen! This diaphragm breathing has brought me to a level of relaxation I’ve never experienced before — where my monkey mind takes a brief vacation and I don’t have to strive or remind myself not to engage in thoughts.

I visited your website and read your story and I am so grateful for your gift of this guidance to the world. I will revisit your site and start this training at the first lesson and make sure to read all of the background and supporting explanations you’ve so kindly written. Finding you and MIDL came at exactly the right time — after I’ve dabbled enough in meditation to realize that a committed systematic practice is what I want to do and the next right step for me. Thank you again, Stephen!

Hello Stephan meditating from very long I m having chronic anxiety n ur like medicine love you ❤️ oh stephan thanku I will try it n let uh know ❤️

Thank you, Stephen. This was the first time in a long time that I felt that deep relaxation. I feel very peaceful now. I look forward to continuing the course and learning how to really be mindful.

Very relaxing, feel wonderful 🙏

Thank you Stephen this has been very helpful with consistent practice

Very relaxing. Thank you Stephen. The part where we are instructed to put one hand on belly/ one on chest, I find this position a bit awkward. It requires keeping the hands positioned while breathing. I find my hands fall off placement each time, it is difficult keeping them placed properly while doing this 3 part breath.

loved this. my mind and body struggled to stay still and then felt feelings of frustration as I couldn't lie still, lots of little aches and pains. I felt a determination to finish and it was really interesting to watch myself struggle as it was happening! I want to practice this one several more times but think I will do some yoga stretches before and see if that helps my body to settle a bit more on the floor. Thank you as always Stephen.