Hey,
It's Rebecca.
Today we're going to do some mindful breathing,
Where we start to really get to know the breath and understand it for all its wonderful qualities.
Nourishing,
Accessible and ever-changing.
It can be a truly beautiful place to base skin.
So wriggle yourself back into your preferred resting position,
Where the breath can flow with ease.
You might like to check in with your posture and straighten it up just a tad.
Balance your head evenly on your shoulders.
And let your belly hang out.
We'll start with some deep,
Directed breathing before letting the breath settle into its own organic tempo.
Let's begin.
So breathing in,
Just allow the air to puff out the lungs nice and full.
And then follow the breath back out until there's no breath at all.
Take another big in breath,
Push the tummy right out.
And on the out breath,
Let go of anything you're holding onto,
Physically or emotionally.
One final full in breath,
Deeper than the last.
And as you release all the oxygen from your body,
Wait to greet that empty space.
And pause there for a second.
And then let the deep breathing go and just notice how the breath settles down into its own natural pattern.
Well from here,
Just start to orient yourself to the little intricacies of the breath.
You don't need to force this in any way,
You're just lightly touching the breath with your awareness as it naturally occurs.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Or perhaps for you the breath is a feeling,
A palpable experience of oxygen flowing in past every checkpoint.
Nose,
Throat,
Chest and belly.
And flowing back out on its return.
Feeling the change of temperature of the air at the entry and exit points.
Cool and energising on the way in.
And warm and comforting on the way out.
And detecting all the micro movements the body makes when it's performing the gift of breathing.
Or perhaps for you the breath is a rhythm to fall in with.
Like an analogue clock ticking high up on a wall.
Just as a clock counts the time,
You might enjoy counting breaths.
1,
2,
3,
4.
1,
2,
3,
4.
A steady knowing beat that brings comfort.
Just like the heartbeat a baby hears nuzzled into its dad's chest.
Or maybe the breath for you is a vision.
Imagined waves rolling up onto powder white sand.
A gentlest ebb and flow on the stillest of days.
A calming connection to the earth.
And maybe from this vision forms a mantra.
A mental picture expressed as words.
Breath rolling in and breath rolling out.
Breath rolling in and breath rolling out.
Rolling in,
Rolling out.
Rolling in and rolling out.
So many ways we can relate to the breath.
A feeling,
A rhythm,
A vision,
A mantra.
Do you gravitate towards any of these?
Experiment with whichever approach fits you best.
Like that holy pair of jeans you just can't part with.
And as you embark on this breath exploration,
Do it with a light touch.
Don't make it a brow furrowing test of endurance.
Pop your head in and out of this breath exhibit.
Let the mind drift off when it needs to.
For the breath is always here when you return.
Enjoy.
