Breathwork + Meditation For Burnout
This meditation addresses the feelings of burnout, whether in your job, school, a project, or any aspect of your life you feel overwhelmed or overworked in. In my own experience with burnout, feelings of burnout can come from working hard to the point of losing view of the original "why". In this meditation, you will reconnect back to the "why", the driving reason that has brought you to your life's work and purpose.
Transcript
Hello everybody and welcome back.
This breathwork and meditation session is all about addressing the effects of burnout within your job,
Profession,
Or career.
Maybe it's within school,
Whether you're in grad school or in college,
Or just anything that you're passionate about that you may be feeling overwhelmed or overworked in.
Burnout is a very real phenomenon in anything that you do and it is something that I have experienced myself.
So I just wanted to create this experience to be able to address the effects of burnout if you're feeling it and just reconnect back to your why and reconnect and rekindle the flames of whatever it is that you're passionate about.
To begin,
We will get started in a comfortable seat,
But if you are feeling particularly exhausted,
Whether physically and or emotionally,
Then you can lay down.
If you are seated,
Grab a couple of blankets,
A pillow,
Or a cushion to place underneath your hips.
If you're laying on your back,
Place something underneath your knees,
Something underneath your head,
And something over your body so that way you're comfortable.
Halfway through,
We will transition from sitting down to laying down.
So if you are seated,
Then just have extra props nearby for when we do lay down.
And then once you have found your place,
Take a moment to just take a deep inhale into your nose.
And with this next exhale,
Arrive.
Let's do two more just like that.
Inhale.
And release it out through your mouth.
One more time.
Inhale.
And let it go.
As you let your breath come to a natural rhythm,
If you are seated,
Let your hands rest on your knees with your palms facing up.
If you're laying down,
Just let your arms be down by your sides with your palms facing up.
Take a moment just to get a sense of your space using all five of your senses.
Widen your sense of sound.
See if you can hear any obvious or subtle sounds from within your space or maybe even beyond the borders of your space.
Taste any tastes within your mouth.
Feel the fabric of your clothing along your skin or maybe feel the floor beneath you,
Whether it's your hips or your entire body.
Or maybe you feel the air within your space along your bare skin.
With your eyes closed,
Notice any colors,
Shapes or images and just allow them to pass as you notice them.
And any smells that you may smell through your nose,
Get a sense of that and take note of it.
And then just knowing that these things may be there when you return,
Allow your mind to start to turn away from those external sense objects and turn much more inwards.
Just noticing your breath as your belly and your chest rise.
And just notice all the borders of your torso hugging towards your spine as if to give you a gentle warming and comforting hug.
Whether you are laying down or seated,
Place both hands over your heart,
Stacked on top of each other.
Take a moment just to feel your heart beating.
And with your eyes closed,
You're going to say within your head this affirmation,
Just repeating after me at the pauses.
May this practice be an offering to myself,
A gift to restore,
Reaffirm and rejuvenate my talents and my passions.
May this restoration of faith in myself help me to connect to my core why and continue my good deeds for humanity.
We'll repeat that again within your head.
May this practice be an offering to myself,
A gift to restore,
Reaffirm and rejuvenate my talents and my passions.
May this restoration of faith in myself help me to connect to my core why and continue my good deeds for humanity.
One more time,
This time really saying it with conviction and with belief.
May this practice be an offering to myself,
A gift to restore,
Reaffirm and rejuvenate my talents and my passions.
May this restoration of faith in myself help me to connect to my core why and continue my good deeds for humanity.
And then take a deep breath in through your nose.
And then sigh it out through your mouth.
And see if just for a moment you can feel the effects of those words,
That affirmation within your heart.
And then bring your palms together in front of your heart in Anjali Mudra.
And then in your mind's eye,
Bring to mind your original why,
Your core why,
The reason that originally brought you into where you are today.
Whether it's your job,
Profession or career,
Or maybe it's schooling,
Your studies or a project that you're addressing today.
And then once you bring that into your mind's eye,
Encapsulate that why into a single word,
One word that best represents every facet of your original why,
Your original reason.
And then take a slow breath in through your nose.
And then sigh it out through your mouth.
Again,
Place your palms over your heart.
And then just breathe here as if you were planting a seed within your heart space.
A seed that represents that one single word that represents that core why.
And then if you were seated,
Bring your hands to your knees,
Palms facing up.
If you were laying down,
Arms down by your sides,
Palms facing up.
And then take a slow breath in through your nose.
And then out through your nose.
And then inhale for the count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Pause,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1,
Pause 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Keep holding the breath out.
Soften any tension that may be building from holding the breath out.
And then take about a third of the breath in.
And then pause.
And then inhale another third.
And pause.
Inhale last third.
Pause.
And slow breath out for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
And then inhale a third.
And pause.
Inhale a second third.
And pause.
Last third.
Pause.
Exhale for 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
And then inhale a third.
Inhale a second third.
Last third.
Pause.
Now exhale for 7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
Inhale a third.
Inhale a second third.
Fill up.
Exhale for 7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
If you're seated,
Notice if your spine shrinks.
See if you can grow back tall.
Hold the breath out.
And then inhale a third.
Inhale a second third.
Inhale a second third.
Fill up to the top.
Exhale for 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
Again,
Try to remain tall through your spine.
Navel draws in lightly and belly rises up.
Relax your belly.
Take in a third of the breath.
Take in another third.
Fill up to the top.
Hold the breath there.
Exhale for 8,
7,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
And hold.
And then slow breath in all the way to the top.
Fill your front,
Side,
Back,
Up and down.
At the top,
Hold.
Soften your shoulders,
Your neck,
And your jaw.
And then let it go out through your mouth.
And then just take a moment here just to notice how you feel.
Any shifts in your energy,
Any changes in physical sensation.
Moving into alternate nostril breathing or nadi shonana.
You can do this breath exercise whether you are laying down or on your back.
But if at any point in time you find it challenging,
Maybe because you're dealing with congestion,
Or if you start to get lightheaded,
Then you can release your hand and then you can do the alternate nostril breathing more as like a mental alternate nostril breathing,
Which I'll kind of explain as we get to it.
But bring your right hand in front of your face with your palm facing you.
And then bring your peace fingers,
Your index and middle fingers to your third eye,
The space between your brow.
Your thumb will go on top of your right nostril,
Ring finger will go on top of your left nostril,
And then you'll slightly curl your fingers in.
And then take a slow breath through both nostrils.
And then release through both nostrils.
And then cover up your right nostril with your thumb,
Take a breath in through your left.
Cover up your left,
Release your right,
And breathe out.
And then breathe in through your right.
Switch nostrils and breathe out through your left.
And then inhale in through your left.
And then exhale out through your right.
And then inhale to right.
And then exhale out through left.
Just keep going,
Inhaling into one.
Exhaling through the other.
Inhale into the other.
Exhale out through the one.
So as you're doing this,
Notice if one nostril is more dominant or one nostril is more challenging to breathe in and out of,
Whichever nostril is the most challenging to breathe in and out of,
Try breathing slower at a slower pace through that one,
And then breathing freely through the other one,
The one that is a little bit more clear.
And again,
If you find this too challenging or maybe you're dealing with congestion and it is just too much to get by,
Then you can do this without your hand,
And you'll just kind of make it more of a mental alternate nostril,
Kind of guiding your awareness to one nostril as you breathe in,
And then switching the awareness to the other as you're breathing out,
And then just repeating that pattern.
Just do a couple of rounds on your own.
And then just notice any sensations that are arising as you do this.
Maybe noticing any temperature difference between the air that's going in and out and between both nostrils.
Maybe noticing any difference in sensation between the sides of your body.
And then the next time that you breathe out through your left nostril,
Whether you're using your hands or you're not,
Pause.
And then from your left nostril,
Take about a third of the breath in,
And then take another third,
Fill up to the top,
Hold at the top,
Switch nostrils,
And then slowly breathe out through the right.
And then at the bottom of the right,
Pause.
And then inhale just a third.
Inhale a second third.
Inhale up to the top.
Hold.
Switch nostrils,
And slowly at an even pace,
Breathe out through the left.
And then from the left,
Breathe in a third.
Inhale a second third.
Up to the top.
And one breath out through the right.
And then from your right,
Breathe in a third.
Second third.
Fill up to the top.
Switch nostrils and breathe out through the left.
So again,
Just doing this on your own.
So inhale a third on the left,
Second third on the left,
Last third on the left.
Switch nostrils and breathe out through the right completely.
And then just keep repeating on both sides.
If this becomes too challenging or you maybe lose your place,
Just do alternate nostril breathing just with the one breath in and one breath out between your nostrils.
And again,
You can do this without the use of your hands,
Just letting your mental awareness go to each nostril as you switch your breathing in and switching your breathing out.
The next time you take a full exhale out through your left nostril,
Pause.
And then once there,
Release both nostrils.
Take a slow breath in through both.
And sigh it out through your mouth.
If you used your hand,
Right hand comes back down by your side or to your knee.
And just let your breath be natural and just notice how you feel,
Any shift in your breath,
Any shift in your physical body or maybe your energy.
And then take a slow breath in through your nose.
And a slow breath out through your nose.
And then inhale just a third and hold.
Exhale a second third and hold.
Inhale all the way to the top.
Pause.
Now exhale just a third and hold.
Exhale a second third and hold.
Empty out and pause.
Then inhale a third.
Hold.
Second third.
Hold.
Fill up.
Pause.
Then exhale a third.
Hold.
Second third.
Pause.
Inhale all the way to the bottom.
And hold at the bottom.
Now as you hold within your heart space,
Imagine a golden cup that sits within your heart.
And then as you inhale a third,
A third of that cup gets filled.
And pause.
Inhale a second third,
A second third of that cup gets filled.
Pause.
And as you fill up,
The cup fills to the brim and hold.
Now release just a third and a third of that cup empties.
And then exhale another third.
Another third of the cup empties.
And then empty all the way out.
And at the bottom,
Hold.
See that empty cup within your vision.
Feel the empty space within you.
And then just as easily as you were able to empty it out,
Take a third of the breath in.
And a third of the cup gets filled.
Take in another third of breath in.
Another third of the cup gets filled.
Fill up to the top.
Hold.
Feel that full cup filled with energy and life.
Now exhale just a third.
And hold.
A third of the cup has emptied out,
But you still have enough within you.
Exhale another third.
Still enough within you.
Empty all the way out.
Feel the empty space.
But know that this empty space is there,
So with your next breath in of a third,
The cup gets filled another third.
And then inhale a third again.
The cup gets filled another third.
Fill up to the top.
The cup is full.
And exhale a third.
The cup is a third empty,
But you still have enough within you.
Exhale another third.
There is still enough space,
Still enough life and joy within you.
Empty all the way out.
Feel that empty space,
But know that it's only empty just for the moment.
And then taking a third of the breath in,
The cup fills up a third.
Fill up another third.
Inhale all the way to the top.
Feel that cup full.
Exhale a third.
The cup is only a third empty,
But there is still enough life,
Still enough passion within you.
Exhale another third.
Empty out completely.
And just as easy as you were able to empty,
Fill up all the way to the top.
Hold at the top.
Open your mouth and let it go with a sigh.
And then once more,
Take a moment just to notice how you feel.
Any shifts of energy,
Physical sensations,
Or mental awareness,
Just notice any of it.
And then from here,
We will make our way to our back if you are not already there.
So as a reminder,
Something underneath your knees like maybe a pillow or a rolled up blanket,
Something underneath your head,
And then something to cover your body.
And if you have something to cover your eyes,
Feel free to have that,
Maybe a towel or an eye pillow or eye mask.
If you're already laying down,
Just make any adjustments that you need to.
And once you are settled,
Take another moment just to reconnect back to your space.
Notice the touch points that you have with the floor.
And notice your breath as it passes easily in and out of your body.
Noticing the front of your body rise with the inhale.
And noticing your back body become heavy into the floor as you exhale.
And with your awareness,
As you take your next breath in,
Imagine that you can breathe all the way down into your pelvic floor,
Your pelvic bowl.
And then as you exhale,
Imagine the air could escape out through your legs and out through your feet and through your toes.
So inhaling down into your pelvic floor.
As you exhale,
Feel the energy move down your legs and out through your feet.
And just do a couple of rounds of that,
Inhaling down into your pelvis.
And then exhaling out through your legs.
And then moving your awareness to your belly space,
On your next inhale,
Fill your belly up with air and feel the linings,
The inner linings of your belly.
And then as you exhale,
Feel the air and the energy go down to a very single point just behind your navel.
Inhaling into the linings of your belly.
And then exhaling to a single point at the very center of your being.
Take a couple of breaths here.
And as you breathe here,
Within that single point at the very center of your being,
Can you imagine a single flame resting there?
So as you breathe into your belly,
The space around that flame is engulfed with energy,
With light.
As you exhale,
The energy feeds into that single flame that sits within the seat of your inner power.
And then moving your awareness as you inhale,
Imagine energy drawing up from your feet to your torso and to the very center of your throat.
And then as you exhale,
The energy flushes your head space,
Your third eye and your crown with energy,
With light.
So inhaling down from your feet all the way up to your neck.
And then exhaling from your neck to the space of your head,
The space of your intuition and your highest authentic self.
Then move your awareness to your heart center.
As you breathe in,
Breathe down into your heart center.
And then as you exhale,
Imagine the energy dispersing into your chest region,
Into your lungs and into the linings of your ribs.
So inhaling down into your heart center.
And exhale,
Feel the energy expand into your chest.
A couple of breaths here.
And then inhaling down into your heart.
And as you exhale,
The linings of your lungs get filled,
But then the energy moves out of your lungs into your legs,
Into your arms and into your head.
So just inhaling down to the very center point of your being,
Your heart.
And exhaling outwards throughout your body and maybe even letting that energy go outside of the borders of your body.
Inhaling down into your center.
And exhale,
Expanding outwards,
Even outside of your body and maybe even outside of your space.
Just feeling energy radiate throughout.
And then from here,
Bring your awareness and attention to your third eye center.
That space behind your brow.
And as you breathe in,
Feel the breath move into your nostrils and imagine energy is carried to your third eye.
And then as you exhale,
Energy is carried from your third eye to your nose.
And then inhale from your nose to your third eye down into your throat.
And then exhale from your throat to your third eye and out through your nose.
Exhale from your nose,
Energy is carried to your third eye down into your heart center.
And as you exhale,
The energy moves from your heart center through your throat and out through your third eye and your nose.
So just breathing in this direction from your third eye to your heart.
And exhale from your heart to your third eye.
And as you continue to breathe from your third eye to your heart,
Bring back to mind that original seed that you planted at the beginning of our practice.
The seed that represents the word,
That represents your core why and reason.
And then imagine that from your third eye to your heart,
Water from your own cup,
Your own cup that is enough and always full and everlasting with potential,
Is being sent to your heart to water and sow the seed of your why that is planted within you.
So with every inhale,
Water from your cup pours down into your heart space.
But even at the exhale,
When you feel empty,
On the next inhale,
Your cup fills up again.
And then at the top,
Pours down into your heart space to continue to nurture and sow the seed that is planted within you.
And as you continue to breathe with this visualization for a few more rounds of breath,
Notice any thoughts,
Sensations,
Or emotions that may arise.
And when they do,
Simply notice them,
Recognize them,
But then allow them to go and continue to come back to this visualization of water from your own cup,
Watering,
Sowing,
And nurturing the seed of your why.
After your next exhale,
Allow the visualization to go.
And then on your next inhale,
Breathe from your third eye all the way down to the very base of your spine and your pelvic floor.
And then exhale from your pelvic floor to your third eye.
And as you continue to breathe from your third eye to your pelvic floor,
Start to consider and contemplate any and all aspects that your why has brought you stability,
Groundedness,
And a sense of foundation.
Allow any thoughts,
Words,
Emotions,
Sensations,
Or images come up.
And as each one does,
Imagine that single thought as a root growing and germinating from the seed of your why.
On your next exhale,
Allow the imagery to go.
And then on your next inhale,
Breathe from your third eye down to your belly center.
And as you exhale from your belly center to your third eye.
And as you continue to breathe here,
Contemplate and consider any and all aspects that your why has brought you a strong sense of self,
A strong sense of assurance,
Confidence,
And certainty.
And just allow any images,
Thoughts,
Words,
Sensations,
Let them arise.
And with every thought that arises,
Let each one be like a single cell or an entire layer that creates a strong,
Sturdy trunk.
And with every inhale and every thoughts,
Allow that trunk to not only grow wider,
But taller as well.
On your next exhale,
Allow all the imagery and allow the thoughts to go.
And with your next inhale,
Breathe from your third eye down to the space below your navel in your lower belly region,
Just above your pelvic floor.
And then exhale from that area to your third eye.
And as you continue to breathe here,
Contemplate and consider all and any aspects that your why has brought you connection,
Connection not only internally with yourself,
But also connection externally with your environment and with the people around you.
With every thought that arises,
See each single thought as a branch growing from this single trunk that is supported and founded by the roots beneath you.
And with every thought that arises,
Let a new branch reach out.
On your next exhale,
Allow all the imagery to go.
And with your breath still,
Just take a moment to observe how you feel.
And on your next inhale,
Breathe down into your pelvic floor.
And then as you exhale,
Feel the energy move down from your pelvic floor to your legs,
To your feet.
And in the next couple of breaths,
Maybe imagine those roots starting at your pelvic floor and growing down your legs,
To your feet,
And into the earth,
Into your foundation.
And on your next inhale,
Breathe down into the linings of your belly.
The next inhale to a single point that rests behind your navel.
As you breathe here,
Feel that strong trunk of your tree.
Feel all the layers,
See all the things that make up that strong sense of self.
And then on your next inhale,
Breathe down from your feet all the way up your legs,
All the way up to your torso,
To your throat.
And then exhale from your throat into the space of your head,
To the very crown of your head.
On your next inhale,
Breathe down into your heart center.
And then exhale from your heart center,
Let the energy spread into the space of your chest,
Your lungs,
And your ribs.
And as you breathe here,
Feel all the aspects of your why.
Not only that,
But how your why fills your cup,
And how in return your cup nurtures your why.
And then on your next inhale,
Breathe down to the very center of your being.
And on your exhale,
From the center of your being,
Allow the energy to spread into your body,
Into your legs,
Your arms,
And your head.
And as you breathe here,
See all the branches of your tree spreading outwards,
Far and wide,
Into the world around you.
And with this next breath,
Allow everything to go.
And just for the next few moments of your day,
Allow yourself to be here in this present moment.
Okay.
Let a slow,
Deep breath in.
And exhale,
Let it go.
Bring some movement back into your body,
Starting at your fingers and your toes.
Eventually drawing your knees into your chest,
Rolling to one side or the other,
And pressing yourself up to find a seat.
Once you've found your seat,
Draw your hands together in prayer in front of your heart,
Anjali Mudra.
With your eyes closed,
Bring to mind one more time that core why.
And just reaffirm to yourself that this core why will always be planted within you,
Bringing you stability,
A strong sense of self,
And a strong outward connection to all that is around you.
Bow your head down towards yourself,
Acknowledging your effort and your energy,
Giving yourself gratitude for showing up for yourself today.
I thank you so much for sharing your practice.
Namaste.
