This is Susan Ginsburg with Stop and Breathe with your 5-minute breath guidance.
Please sit or lie down in a comfortable,
Quiet place and gently close your eyes if it's safe for you to do so.
If you're already doing so from a previous exercise,
Now is a good time to make any necessary movements or bodily adjustments to get as comfortable as you possibly can be.
Let's begin by softening your entire face.
Gently roll your shoulders down and away from your ears.
Connect with your breath as you begin to follow your inhalations and your exhalations.
I'd like you to begin first by observing your breath,
Not trying to control it,
But just watching your breath,
Noticing the way it feels when you inhale and when you exhale.
Begin to guide your breath so that it comes in and out of your nostrils and not the mouth.
How long as the nose is accessible,
It filters the air in the most efficient way.
Feel the difference between your inhalations and your exhalations,
Noticing possibly that it feels slightly thinner or cooler when the breath travels in through your nostrils.
Maybe possibly it feels slightly warmer or thicker when the breath exits through the nostrils.
With your next inhalation,
I'd like you to feel your belly gently rising.
You might even feel your floating ribs,
Which is the space underneath your actual ribs receiving the breath.
Either way,
Try to keep the upper chest and shoulders from rising.
As you inhale,
Fill your entire body with the purest of new,
Fresh,
Healthy air.
Feel the belly rise as if you're inflating a balloon into your belly very slowly.
As you exhale,
Feel the belly,
The balloon,
Coming in towards your spine.
Imagine that you're slowly deflating the balloon as you exhale.
Instead of popping the balloon quickly as if you were to step on it,
Imagine taking a pin and making a tiny pinhole into the balloon,
Allowing the air to gradually seep out ever so slowly.
The exhalation is the part of the breath that relaxes us and cleanses our body of stale air,
So allow yourself to fully experience the benefits of a full and deep exhalation.
Guide your breath gently to be more smooth,
More deep,
And more even.
Keep this rhythm up and let no other thoughts matter but just the breath,
Inhaling and exhaling,
Continuing to focus on your breath.
If thoughts or noises come up and attempt to distract you,
Observe them and just imagine them floating on by,
Like a cloud passing by in the sky or a leaf blowing past you on the ground,
Knowing that you can deal with them later on if you choose to,
But immersing yourself fully in this moment,
Coming right back to your breath.
Try to eliminate any pauses that might come in between the inhalations and the exhalations.
These pauses can create opportunities for our minds to wander,
So see your breath smooth and continuous like a wheel.
Ride the wheel of your breath without fighting it or forcing it,
Inhaling along the upper part of the wheel,
Exhaling along the lower part of the wheel.
Bringing yourself back to your breath at any time you sense a thought or an idea arising,
Riding the tide of your breath,
Feeling the connectedness of the wheel of your breath.
Continue to breathe in this matter and notice the effects.
The mind and the body is calmer,
More relaxed,
And more at peace.
Any time that you're in a tense or a stressful situation,
Bring yourself right back here to this slow,
Deep belly breathing.
Feel the way the body and the mind feel right at this very moment and know that you can revisit this state at any time you choose to.
