Live Session: Breathwork To Connect With The Authentic Self

Recorded on May 28th on Insight Timer, this breathwork practice guides you through an experience of relaxation, expansion, and connection with your authentic self. The practice is a simple three part breath that you'll do lying down with your eyes closed, breathing into the belly, then into the chest, then exhaling. The invitation with these sessions is always to be gentle with yourself, take breaks whenever that feels right, and allow yourself to accept each aspect of the experience as it arises. Folks in the live session had a beautiful experience with this one; hope you enjoy!

Transcript

Hi there and welcome to this breathwork meditation that was recorded live on Inside Timer on May 28th. And the theme of this one is really about working with the breath to help us expand in our bodies and in our hearts so that we can connect with our deeper selves. The invitation in this space is always to center connection with the breath and the technique itself is really simple. I'll invite you to lie down and close your eyes and the breathing pattern will be all through the mouth, Both the inhales and the exhales. And you'll simply breathe into the belly, Into the chest, And then release it. And I'll be coaching you all the way through it. As you go through the guidance, You'll hear invitations to connect with the other people doing this practice alongside you. When we were live, We were all doing it at the same time, But it also works asynchronously. So anytime you work with this guided experience, You're also connecting with everyone who's ever breathed through it, Both during the live session and also the recording. And so with that, I'll invite you to lie down, Close your eyes, And send you off to the session. Hope you enjoy. All right, Sutra number 36. Space is worthy of worship and wonder. It is the field within which everything exists. Rest your eyes in emptiness, Inside a room, A temple, Even a little jar, Any contained space. Throw the one who is seeing into the center. Entrust your mind to the embrace of space. In a flash, All boundaries dissolve. Entrust your mind to the embrace of space. In a flash, All boundaries dissolve. Beautiful invitation in there for us, Really to be aware, Not just of the breath in our body, But maybe also of the space that we're in, The space that we take up, That our bodies take up in our rooms, In our homes, In our communities. And the more that we entrust that we are held in a really beautiful way by that space, Then the more those boundaries that seem to keep us separate from each other, From ourselves, Can begin to let go, To dissolve. So just take a nice slow breath in and release it. And it's always nice to begin with a gentle reminder, It's safe for me to be in my body. It's safe for me to take up space. And sometimes I can take the world a little too seriously. That one might have just been for me. All right, Take a nice slow breath in and release it. Go ahead and start the breathing really gently all through the mouth, Into the belly, Into the chest, And release. And so as we start, There's just a really gentle invitation to let go of any agenda, Any expectations for this practice. What if just for the next 25 minutes or so, We all allow ourselves to be curious and carried along by the current of breath and energy that we are generating together. If you are someone who, Like me, Tends to have a busy mind, Sometimes it's nice, Especially at the beginning, Just to think the word, Inhale, Inhale, Release. Just to give the mind something to do, Inhale, Belly, Inhale, Chest. Release. That exhale can just be a letting go, A surrendering. We don't have to do anything with it. And as we breathe, Just finding our rhythms with this pattern. Want to maybe invite a layer of awareness of the space that you're in, The room, And also our shared space. So geographically, You're in a room, And energetically, You're in a space around you. And energetically, You're in a space around a campfire. Both are real. If you want to, You can take in just a little more oxygen into the belly, 3 or 4% more. Ah. See if you can get the breath a little bit behind the belly button, A little bit below. And really connect with the feeling of expansion in the belly, Or as close to the belly as you can get. Connecting with the elasticity of the skin and the diaphragm. Feeling the ribs spread apart a little bit with every breath. And allow your shoulders maybe to fall back against the bed or the ground, Whatever you're laying on, So that as we breathe a little bit more into the heart, There's a little more space there available for us. If you want to, You can even see if you can breathe a little bit into the lower back as you breathe in through the mouth. Into the belly, Into the chest, And exhaling. As much as possible, Keeping all the breath, Inhales and exhales through the mouth. You're doing great, Stay with it. So, Let's take a look at the next exercise. Great, Stay with it. So, There's an invitation, Maybe to let yourself go a little bit. And maybe that looks like allowing your jaw to release a little bit. We hold so much tension in the jaw. Maybe it means just letting the shoulders fall, The lower back can soften. So many of us hold so many priorities, Deadlines, Things we need to do for our families. But for now, Maybe just for this moment, Let's see if we can do it. And set all of that down. And just breathe. Belly, Chest, Release. Maybe we can invite a little bit of expansion into the body. So, Allowing the breath as you breathe into the belly, Into the chest, And then release it. And allow the breath to find its way in between the cells, Into the space between bones and muscles. And literally create like little pockets of cushion to allow the body to loosen and expand. With each breath. And the exhale. Again, Just a letting go, A surrendering of control of the need to achieve or do this right. If you're breathing, You're doing it great. You're doing great, Stay with the breath. You're doing great, Stay with the breath. I want to just invite in another layer of awareness around this theme of expansion that so often, We allow our bodies and our hearts and our souls and our spirits to become compressed by the structures we find ourselves in. Whether those are jobs or roles within our families or communities. All these different stories we carry and roles we play. There's a part of you, Part of all of us that is deeper and wider and more mysterious and beautiful than all of that. And so maybe we can start to breathe into that piece of ourselves that exists in that deeper space. Belly, Chest, Release, Stay with the breath. And so as you breathe, I'll invite you just to remember a moment from any time in your life, Connect with a moment where you felt most deeply, Truly alive as yourself. Maybe you were in a river or the ocean with the trees, With a loved one. Just a small moment. I know it's there. And invite that moment, That self who was present in that moment to breathe with us. I want to invite us together to create a museum of these moments where we each felt so deeply alive. So ourselves, Even if it was fleeting, Just for a moment. Stay with the breath. Just be breathing for about six more minutes. And what we can do is just to connect with that moment. And maybe we can start to connect with that moment. Six more minutes. And what we can do together is just imagine that we're weaving all of these moments where we were all so deeply ourselves, Deeply connected. Into an incredible patchwork quilt of light and soul and spirit. And this quilt kind of creates an energetic dome over and around our circle so that we're surrounded by and held in a space created by. Our deepest selves with all of their complexity and all of their dreams and beauty. And for some of us, It may be hard to connect with these moments. So just know that you're surrounded by all of these beautiful souls and moments and stories. And so they can hold you and you can hold them. Breathing into the belly. Into the chest. And releasing. And now we can add a little layer to this. And if you want to, I'll invite you to connect as you breathe with a space, A physical space that is sacred to you. Where you feel held. And alive and connected. Maybe it's a treehouse or your kitchen. Maybe your car or a place in nature. And give yourself the gift of being in that place. And see if you can bring the energy of that space into your body. And with the exhale, If it feels right to you, Share it with the group. Share it with the 50 or so people that you're connecting with. And if you can, I invite you to connect with that space. And if you can, I invite you to connect with that space. And if you can, I invite you to connect with that space. Share it with the group. Share it with the 50 or so people all over the world. Who are breathing together right now. So that we can all share not just our souls, But our special places. Our spaces that hold us. Remind us who we are. So stay with the breath. And I'll invite you to breathe a little bit more into your heart. Allowing the heart to just start to open and release. Allowing all of the energy of these places, Whether it's. . . A stage. A movie theater. Even a graveyard. Whatever it is, Allowing all of our spaces and souls and shared spirit just to allow the heart to open. Recognizing. . . As maybe the heart starts to open and unfurl. That the heart isn't just a muscle or tissue. The heart is an A space. So if you want to, You can imagine standing at the doorway to your own heart. With all of its mystery and vastness. And maybe this heart. . . Glows with an energy and an utterly unique light. And I'll invite you maybe to step into the magnificence of your own heart. And you may find that there's a version of you there or a guide. A loved one. Maybe just an energy or a light. Noticing that the more we breathe into the heart, Maybe the larger and the more expansive this space becomes. So that you can lay in the center of your heart space and breathe into the heart. And stay with the breath just a little longer. And as we do, I'll maybe invite us, If it feels right, To notice that all of our heart spaces are connected. And that we're all connected. And I'll maybe invite us, If it feels right, To notice that all of our heart spaces are connected. Creating an incredibly vast cavern of breath and energy. That stretches across the world. That breathes with us. And so, If there's anything that you'd like to let go of, You can release it into our joint heart. And if you need a little bit of extra support or love, Just let that request or need be in your breath and it will come to you. In the space between breaths. And if you have gratitude, Love, Compassion to share, You can just allow that to be with the breath as well. And when you're ready, I'll invite you to shift to a resting breath. Shift to a resting breath. So laying down, Just a single breath into the belly. And the release. All the work is over. You can allow the body to relax even more, Getting heavier against the earth. And your eyeballs can just release. Fall back into your head. The tongue can release into the mouth. The jaw releases. The shoulders become heavy. Each vertebra moving down your spine connects with the earth. The lower back releases and opens to the energy of the earth. Of the rivers and the oceans. The hips release. The knees, The feet. If you want to, You can even imagine that you're laying on a beautiful field, Feeling the grass, The soil vibrating with energy under your body. The light of the nearest summer sun warming your skin. The gentle hum of life all around you burns. The light of the sun is a gentle breeze. The light of the sun is a gentle breeze. The gentle hum of life all around you burns. Gentle breeze. And in this space as you lay on the ground. If you want to, You can allow boundaries to begin to fall away and you are the grass. You are the birds. You are the sunshine. You are the soil and the trees and the oceans. You are the fire. You are the water. You are the space between the stars. And now if you want to still holding the awareness. Of this infinite connection. You can also connect with your own cells. Billions and billions and billions of cells inside your body dancing and vibrating, Transforming in each moment. You are also your cells and your breath. Your heart. Just a couple more breaths. And you can bring the breathing to a more natural place. Before you open your eyes, If they're still closed, You can. Just feel the room around you, The space that you inhabit. Feel the floor. The bed, Whatever you're laying on beneath your body. And take a couple slow breaths. And bring yourself back. You might want to have a sip of water or an entire glass of water after that. Maybe journal a little bit. Thank you so much for breathing with us and hope to see you again soon.

Reviews

My cat was leading as usual, sitting by my head, having zoomies and all.
It was really helpful to to hear about us playing roles and telling stories, I can't seem to turn it off and even narrate my experience during the session for future sharing!
Being a newly minted breathwork facilitator, I couldn't turn off my constant analysis of the words, as I am working on my own script so to say.
I hope one day I learn to just be be during the session instead of all the chatter.
During visualization of laying in the field I had a great aha moment that is turning into an actual plan!
Reading about space was a serendipitous moment as today exactly I went to a space experience exhibit!

That was incredible but tough today. Thank you for sharing these live recordings Michael. I hope I can make a live one soon.