Hello and welcome to this breathing practice.
Take a moment to settle wherever you are.
Find a comfortable seat,
Or if you prefer,
You can even lie down.
Let's begin by taking three deep,
Clearing breaths.
Inhaling through the nose,
And out of the mouth.
Again,
Inhaling all the way up,
And a heavy exhale out.
And one last time,
Inhale,
A little bit more,
And let it go.
Let yourself arrive in your body,
In your mind.
Feeling the surface supporting your body,
Letting the shoulders relax a little bit,
The chest and the belly drop.
Relax the skin on your forehead,
As if someone would pass a soft,
Warm hand across it.
Soften the corners of your eyes,
Unclench the muscles around your jaw,
And let the tongue rest gently on the roof of your mouth.
Notice your breath coming in through your nostrils,
Feel your belly and your ribs expand,
Like they have just a little bit more space than usual.
And as you exhale,
Feel the back of your body soften,
As if it could melt towards the ground.
Before we begin with the practice,
I want to touch on something that many of us carry.
I'm talking about that quiet pressure that holds everything together,
The way the mind keeps running even when the body is tired.
Maybe you have noticed how your thoughts speak faster than your heart can follow,
How you keep pushing even when some parts of you are asking for a pause.
And you might have spent years listening to that inner voice,
To that part that always wants you to do more so that you can finally feel safe.
It's a part that tries to help you,
But it also leaves you tense and distant from yourself.
Right now,
You don't have to do anything,
You don't have to fix anything.
You get to be a human who is learning how to land inside of your own body.
This breathing practice is focused on lengthening the exhalation.
Every exhale is going to be double the counts of the inhale.
So just follow my prompts,
Follow my guide,
And whenever you feel like your body tensing up,
Remember to relax a little bit more.
So take a breath in,
Nice and deep,
And exhale out.
And let's begin.
In,
2,
3,
4,
And out for 8,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8.
In for 5,
2,
3,
4,
5,
And out for 10,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10.
In for 6,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Out for 12,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12.
In for 7,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
Out for 14,
13,
12,
11,
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
2,
1.
In for 8,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
And out for 16,
15,
40,
30,
2,
1.
In for 9,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
And out for 80,
70,
60,
50,
12,
11,
10,
9,
4,
3,
2,
1.
In for 10,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
Out for 20,
90,
80,
60,
50,
12,
11,
10,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
In for 12,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
Out for 24,
23,
22,
20,
60,
50,
40,
12,
11,
10,
9,
8,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
4,
3,
2,
1.
In for 15,
2,
3,
4,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
Out for 30,
29,
28,
29,
26,
23,
22,
21,
20,
18,
17,
16,
15,
4,
6,
5,
4,
3,
1.
One more time,
In for 15,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
Out for 30,
29,
28,
27,
26,
25,
24,
23,
2,
1.
20,
19,
18,
17,
16,
50,
40,
11,
10,
9,
8,
7,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Coming down,
In for 12,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
Out for 24,
23,
22,
21,
23,
22,
Again,
Easier,
In for 10,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
Out for 20,
19,
18,
17,
16,
15,
12,
11,
10,
9,
8,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
In for 9,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
Out for 18,
17,
16,
15,
14,
13,
10,
9,
8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
2,
1,
In for 8,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
Out for 16,
15,
14,
9,
8,
7,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
In for 7,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
Out for 14,
13,
12,
11,
10,
9,
8,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
In for 6,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Out for 12,
11,
10.
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
In for 5,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Out for 10,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10.
Take a breath in.
Gentle exhale out.
In for 5,
2,
3,
4,
5,
Out for 5,
2,
3,
4,
5,
In,
2,
3,
4,
5,
And out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
And in.
4,
5,
And out,
5,
And in,
5,
And out.
Slowly let go of the counting,
But allow your breath to be as soft as it wants to be.
And as the breath settles,
Notice what has shifted.
Maybe there is a little bit more space inside.
Maybe your thoughts feel a little bit softer or further away.
Maybe you just feel like a little bit closer to yourself.
Let it be,
Let it happen.
Often we move through life with a tight chest and a busy mind without even noticing.
It's moments like this that reminds us that underneath all of that,
There is a steady,
Calm presence that has been here the whole time.
It's a part of you that is tired of carrying so much.
A part that just wants to feel held from the inside.
If something in this moment resonates and you think,
Yes,
This is me,
Notice it.
This is always a part of you that you can come back to.
Not by trying or doing more,
But by gently relaxing and softening into yourself again and again.
