Hey,
Welcome.
I'm The Downward Dog,
And this is actually my first video on the platform,
So thanks so much for joining me.
And so I thought I'd keep it nice and simple,
But effective.
Now you're doing some breathing with a little bit of touch involved too,
So before I get too far into that,
Let's get you into a comfortable seat,
Sit up nice and tall,
Roll the shoulders up,
And back,
Deep breath in through the nostrils,
And breathe out through the nostrils.
And just get settled in there,
Move whatever you need to move,
And while you do that,
I'll explain what we're going to be doing today.
So we're going to do some general box breathing,
Which,
If you don't know,
Is breathing in for four,
Holding for four,
Breathing out for four,
And holding for four.
So let's just do a round or two of that,
And then we'll add in the next layer,
Alright?
So wherever you are in your breath cycle,
Breathe out now.
Alright,
Now,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Close your eyes if you want,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Open up your eyes,
How are you feeling?
Not bad?
Okay,
Let's see if we can add on another level.
So what we're going to do here is trace a box with your breathing.
So you're breathing in for four,
So upstroke for four,
When I hold I'll go across for four,
When I exhale I'll go down for four,
And then when I hold I'll go across,
Back to my starting point.
Now if you want to do this on your palm,
That's okay too,
Feel free if that feels more comfortable.
And this is something I wanted to introduce because two things happened,
One,
My son makes me realise just how much touch is important and we play together so much and it's all physical,
And when I spoke to a friend of mine,
Who by the way is a kickboxing champion of the world,
He said the thing he misses about having his kids is the touch and the cuddles and all of that good stuff.
So I thought we'll bring our own self-touch into this,
Alright?
So wherever you want to do this box touching,
Place your finger there now,
And we'll just practice together before we get into a round.
So breathe out fully wherever you are in your breath cycle,
Keep those eyes open to watch if you need.
As you inhale,
Trace up,
1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Eyes closed now if you want,
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Inhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
2,
3,
4,
Carry on on your own now,
At your own pace,
Just tracing and breathing in that lovely box breathing fashion.
Notice first how the breathing feels even,
And just notice if you need to slow it down or speed it up depending on your breath capacity.
And now bring your attention to just how it feels,
That feeling of lovely touch,
That light touch,
Almost tickling on your skin.
Notice how your skin is able to fill with perception,
How it picks up this even light touch on your body.
Alright,
Great job.
And from here,
Just go back to normal breathing,
Rest your hand,
And just check in with how you feel right here right now.
And when you're ready,
Slowly blink those eyes open.
Like I say,
My son loves this,
We do round around the garden at the moment on his hand,
And you can just see the excitement in him.
So,
Don't be shy,
Get involved with your breath,
With your own touch practice,
And be sure to give others out there a hug too.
And don't be scared of physical contact,
Right?
We live in too much of a digital world as this is.
Go out there and make it real,
Make it IRL.
Okay,
Until next time,
Thanks so much for joining me.
If you want more stuff like this,
You know where to find me.
I've got loads of courses coming out soon too,
So make sure you follow me for more like this.
Until next time,
Namaste.
