Take a moment to find a place where you can sit or lay comfortably,
Where you will be undisturbed for the next little while.
Place your hands on your knees,
In your lap or by your side.
We will check in on our emotional state within our body and do some simple breath work known to help calm the nervous system.
Begin by bringing your attention to your breath,
Simply noticing how you've been breathing in this moment without trying to change it.
Is your breath shallow,
Quick,
Calm,
Deep,
Controlled?
Continue breathing normally,
Noticing how you've been naturally breathing.
On the next breath,
If you haven't been already,
Begin to breathe through your nose a little more deeply,
Expanding the breath,
Inhaling first into the stomach and then up to the chest,
And on the exhale,
Feeling the chest and then the stomach deflate.
Continue to take some breaths in this way,
Staying focused on the belly rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.
If the mind begins to wander,
Perhaps to thoughts of the past or the future,
This is normal as this is what the mind has been trained to do.
But here we have the chance to practice mindfulness and choose whether the mind is caught up in thought or staying focused here in the present moment.
As you continue to breathe slowly with calm,
Controlled breath through the nose,
Begin to become aware of the emotional state of your body and feel which emotions come up for you.
Are you feeling calm,
Nervous,
Tired,
Anxious,
Rested,
Excited?
If what comes to mind for you is what you would consider a positive emotion,
Inhale fully,
Thinking of that emotion,
And then release the breath with the intention of sharing that emotion with all other beings.
If what has shown up for you is what you would consider a negative or challenging emotion,
Inhale fully,
And then with a powerful exhale,
Release that emotion from your body.
Take two more breaths like this in whichever way resonates for you.
Then come back to your natural breath,
Breathing through the nose,
Perhaps using the breath as an anchor to help keep you present in this moment.
Next,
Together we will practice the Satali breath,
Known to help calm the nervous and endocrine systems,
Cool the body,
And help against insomnia.
Do not practice this breath if you suffer from asthma or currently have a cold.
Instead,
Take some long,
Deep breaths for this part of the practice.
To begin,
See if you are able to roll your tongue and inhale through a rolled tongue as not everyone can.
If you are unable to inhale through a rolled tongue,
Close your mouth,
But open the lips and inhale through your teeth,
With the tongue laying as flat as possible behind the teeth.
Figure out which inhale is easier for you,
And as you exhale,
Exhale through the nose with a forceful exhale,
Perhaps releasing a hum.
Just take five breaths in this way,
Inhaling either through a rolled tongue or your teeth,
All the way up to the top,
Holding for a few seconds,
And then exhale through the nose and with some power,
Perhaps releasing a hum.
Take four more breaths in this way at your own pace.
Four more breaths in.
When you're finished,
Come back to your comfortable position.
Then begin to breathe in and out of the nose at a natural pace.
Now,
Place your hands palm together in front of your heart and rub them together to create some warmth.
Then,
Place the palms over your eyes and begin to apply some very gentle pressure.
Continue to massage the face over the forehead,
Along the cheekbones,
From the chin up the jawline.
Then,
Cover your ears with your palms and apply some gentle pressure and then release.
And then use the fingers to massage along the hairline,
Starting at the top and moving down slowly towards the ears.
Then behind the ears and finally massaging the back of the neck.
Relax your hands in your lap or by your sides and take one more deep inhale through the nose and then release a powerful exhale.
Come back to this practice anytime to check in and find some calm.
My name is Vili,
Thank you for sitting with me.
