Grounding Breath Practise

This practise is designed for anyone in an internal ambassador role to hold space for their colleague or even perhaps a friend or family member. To be able to effectively hold space we ourselves must be regulated, our rested and grounded calm with affect the other due to co-regulation.

Transcript

G'day dear friends, Welcome to your practice. This practice can be done for yourself or for somebody else especially in a time of difficulty. The approach and order matters enormously because with stress and overwhelm we can move really quickly into a breath practice which is what we're about to do but if someone is experiencing grief or yourself then we must earn the right to offer this tool by simply being present first by listening. With panic the tool comes last presence and physical grounding comes first. The language we use shapes the outcome. If we say try this breathing exercise well that can feel clinical and pressure-filled but saying let's just slow things down together for a minute it feels collaborative like you're in it with them. Framing matters especially when someone is dysregulated and as we know we should not offer advice or any counsel. We are just holding space. Your calm body is the first intervention and before any technique your slow speech, Unhurried presence and relaxed posture signal safety to their nervous system and this is sometimes called co-regulation. Their nervous system literally synchronizes with yours. It means you need to settle yourself first and even briefly before approaching someone in distress and this is probably the most important skill in the whole internal ambassador role. The conversation before the tools and if we get this wrong even the best breathing technique will feel unwelcome. So let's get into the practice. We start with the posture. If they are seated and yourself placing two feet firmly on the ground and this helps us to feel grounded. Encourage a straight back but not too straight. Drop the shoulders if slightly. Soften. The hands can be in the lap or on the knees or just resting at the sides and it's also possible to encourage yourself or them to lie down. Find a comfortable position. Tucking in the chin. Lowering the gaze or an option to close the eyes. Do not force them to close their eyes. Take a moment to just arrive. We start with a breath in through the nostrils. Breathing in and sigh the breath out and another big breath in and sigh the breath out. A little sigh encourages dopamine. Another big breath in through the nose and sigh it out the mouth and let go of anything you're carrying. Let's do it once more. Breathing in deeply and sigh it all out. Let's just slow the breath down just for a few minutes. Bring yourself into this moment and just let go of what's happened just for a bit and perhaps just give up worrying about what's next. I know it's tough. I know it's hard. We may be in a fight-flight-free stress mode and using our breath we can transform that to feel more relaxed, More comfortable. Our body listens to our breath and deep breaths are like love notes to the nervous system. We're going to take a nice slow inhalation for three counts in the nose, Through the nose. Breathing in, Hold for four and exhale for five. Inhaling for three, Through the nose, Holding for four and exhale for five. Inhaling for three, Holding for four and exhaling for five. Now we're going to move to four, Seven, Eight only if you feel comfortable to do so and if you don't we can go back to three, Four, Five. Okay, Breathing in for four through the nose, Holding for seven and exhaling out the mouth for eight. Inhaling for four, Holding for seven, Exhaling for eight out the mouth. Inhaling through the nose for four, Holding for seven, Exhaling out the mouth for eight. I'm going to drop the counting but we're going to carry on. Inhaling, Holding, Exhaling. Inhaling for four, Holding for seven, Exhaling for eight. Inhaling, Holding, Everything's going to be okay, Everything's going to be okay. Exhaling, Inhaling, Breathing in, I know I'm breathing in. Holding and exhaling, Breathing out, I know that I'm breathing out, Mindfully. Inhaling, Everything's going to be okay. Holding, Exhaling, Inhaling calm, Holding that calm to your heart and now exhaling what doesn't serve you. Inhaling clarity, Hold, Let it absorb into you and exhale what doesn't serve you. Good, You're doing great, Friend. Inhale, Hold, Exhale, Everything's going to be okay. Let us drop the counting and extended breaths, Just breathing deeply but not too deeply, Rest comfortably. Let go of even trying to reach a place of calm, Let it happen naturally, Unforced. Feeling the breath in your body and as you breathe, You can feel your body moving, Perhaps you can feel the air coming into the nostrils, Nice and cool and warmer air as it comes out of you. Let's now rest just on nostril breathing, Breathing in through the nose and out at your own pace. Soften and release, Soften, Release. With every breath, Feel you taking in calm as if it's in the air, Just breathing it in. Every exhalation we are releasing tension, Feeling the breath in the body, The chest rising and falling with every breath. Perhaps you can feel your tummy expanding and contracting, Very subtle, Just feeling the breath in the body. Notice your shoulders, Let them drop a little, Unclench the jaw and just let the forehead soften and continue to breathe gently and with every exhale, Feel your body getting a little heavier and a little more relaxed. Soften and release. Every time you bring your mind back to your breath in the body, You are increasing your capacity to let go of being a slave to worry. Yes, The mind will wander and then go back to the drama but gently encourage it to return, Return home to a safer place and in this way we build our resilience and our capacity to be present and to focus on what we want to focus. Your focus determines your reality. Relax dear friend, You have nowhere to go and nothing else to do but be here right now. Okay, We can carry on if you like but right now if it's okay we're gonna take one more slow deep breath in and let it go and begin to bring gentle awareness back to the room and when you're ready, Slowly open your eyes, Flutter them open and take your time, Take your time. Perhaps it's now time dear friend to go for a little walk, A mindful walk wherever you are as long as it's safe and as we do so every step that we take with the left foot we will breathe in and every step we take with the right foot we will exhale. We don't have to walk too slowly, We'll walk at a steady pace but movement will be good right now in this moment. Does that sound like okay for you? Alright, Let's give it a try. Thank you so much, We'll see you later. Appreciate you joining, Thank you dear friends.

Reviews

Love these sessions, Mark is just amazing