Hi,
My name is Toby Sola.
In this meditation,
We'll explore how slowing the out-breath allows us to concentrate more deeply.
Take a moment to stretch up and settle in.
Let's begin by simply bringing our attention to the breath.
Breathe at a natural rhythm and focus on the physical body sensations associated with the breath.
You may feel air coming in your nose.
You may feel your chest and belly expanding and contracting.
Focus on any and all physical sensations associated with breathing.
Most people breathe into their chest.
So when you breathe in,
Your chest is probably expanding.
And when you breathe out,
Your chest is probably contracting.
Let's switch this up a bit.
Begin breathing more into your belly.
The way to do this is to intentionally expand your belly when you breathe in.
And then let your belly contract when you breathe out.
So let your breath fill your belly and try not to move your upper chest as much.
While continuing to breathe into the belly,
Let's play around with intentionally extending the out-breath.
To make the out-breath last longer,
We have to slow the out-breath.
One way to slow the out-breath is to breathe out of your mouth,
But only open your mouth a teeny tiny bit.
So the air coming out of your mouth has to fit through a small hole.
Let's try.
Take a deep breath in.
Make a tiny hole with your mouth.
And now breathe out through this tiny hole.
Then let yourself breathe in naturally.
Keep doing that.
If you get lightheaded or uncomfortable,
Just take a few normal breaths.
And then go back to extending the out-breath.
Making a small hole with your mouth to breathe out of is one way to slow the out-breath.
Another way is to aspirate.
Aspirating is a little hard to explain,
But I'll do my best.
As you breathe out,
Pronounce the letter H.
Like this.
Aspirating as you breathe out allows you to control the amount of air you're exhaling.
Experiment with that.
Alright,
From now on,
It's up to you how you want to slow the out-breath.
You can create a small hole with your mouth to breathe out of or aspirate.
Continue to breathe into your belly.
As you breathe into your belly and slow the out-breath,
Continue to focus on the physical body sensations associated with breathing.
Notice the air coming in your nose,
Your belly expanding,
Your belly contracting.
Many folks find it hard to concentrate during meditation.
Breathing into the belly and extending the out-breath,
Like we're doing right now,
Can help.
The breath is like the gears of the mind and body.
If you're driving fast in a car,
And then you slam the car into a low gear,
The car will slow down right away.
The car just can't go very fast in a low gear.
Similarly,
If your mind and body are unsettled,
And then you drastically slow the breath,
The mind and body follow suit.
Slowing the breath can lead to a calm and relaxed body,
And a quiet,
Focused mind.
