5 Qualities Of The Breath

Join us as we explore five natural qualities of the breath to help the body settle and the mind unwind. By gently observing rhythm, depth, temperature, movement, and pause, you allow the nervous system to shift out of stress and into restoration.

Transcript

Today, We're going to be working with the five qualities of the breath. So lying down in a comfortable spot, Whether it be on your bed, On a yoga mat, On a rug. Making sure your neck and head are comfortable, Whether that means using a light pillow or just a range in your body, Making sure your forehead is the same height or higher than your chin and your neck feels comfortable. With the legs, You could have the feet flat and the knees up. You could have the legs up on a chair or a cushion or a bolster. Checking your alignment, Just making sure you're very, Very comfortable. If you want to lie with the legs out long like Savasana, Legs down the shape of a V and the feet splayed out, Just making sure that the lower back feels good. So find yourself if you're in a very comfortable position with the spine and the body's in alignment. And even if you want to lie on your side in fetal position for this, That's okay as well. So once again, Don't rush into thinking you know exactly how the body should be in these. Make sure that everything in the body feels comfortable, Aligned, And relaxed. That you could do this whole practice without needing to change position multiple times or squirm to move. So optimize position of your head and neck, Making sure the shoulders are down and loose. Arms are comfortable on the sides of the body or on your lower belly. Making sure that you're comfortable through the lower back with the legs in a comfortable way that optimizes your alignment. Now bring in your awareness to the breath. The first quality we work with is slow, Slowing down. Always good, We start with an exhale and empty out. Empty out and exhale fully, As if you're just emptying out a glass of water to bring in fresh new cool water and begin. Instead of keeping your attention at the nose, Bring your awareness into the lower abdominal area. Feel that diaphragmatic breathing, That dome-shaped muscle just below the rib cage. As the diaphragm engages, Belly expands, The obliques in the lower sides and a little bit in the lower back. And as you exhale, Just like a balloon losing all its air. So inhale, Feel that expansion of the lower belly, Sides, Lower back, And release. Let your exhale be long, Relaxed. Get used to letting the exhale be longer than you're used to. So as you inhale, Feel the belly swell, Sides, And maybe even a bit up into the ribs. But remember with the inhales, We don't want to force using more than 70% or 75% effort. Stay relaxed on your inhales. Feel free to go pretty deep with the exhales. And just connect with this feeling of slow breath. The next quality we work with is deep. So that doesn't mean a sharp intake of breath where you feel it in the chest. What we mean by that is almost as if you're diving down into a deep pool or a lake. We want to feel the breath. Feel the breathing process happening deep in our torso. As the diaphragm engages and the lower abdominal area expands, We drop our awareness into this lower abdominal area. So deepen the body as if you're diving deep into a cool lake. The next quality we work with is the feeling of continuous. A smooth, Continuous feeling. No breath holds. At the bottom of the exhale, No breath holding at the top of the inhale. Just a flowing, Like a slow-moving river. So as you come up at the top of the inhale, It's the gentlest of pauses and the exhale happens just naturally and smoothly. As the exhale finishes, The bottom of the exhale, No breath hold. Just the slightest of pauses and you begin the inhale. Making the breath circular. We now explore the quality of quiet or light. So there's no huffing and puffing. No loud, Aggressive sounds. As if someone was lying or sitting next to you, They are not hearing your breath. Even though the breath is full, The diaphragm engages, And we're filling up the full lower part of our lungs, Our capacity with the lungs. It's not loud. It's quiet and soft and light. The breath is in and out of the nose. Quiet. Light. Now not only does someone sitting next to you not hear your breath, But it gets so quiet and subtle that you yourself don't hear any sounds with the breath. The breath is still full. But so quiet and subtle. And finally, The quality of softness. And this refers to not just the quality of the breath, But the quality of the body, Even the quality of the mind. It's almost a cotton-like quality. Any tightness or tension, We soften with every exhale. Or perhaps you're in your thinking mind. Once again, We soften through the brain. We soften through the body. Especially tying this relaxation with every exhale. Now to finish up, I want you to take one quality, One that maybe you're connecting with more than others. And focus on that for the last couple minutes. So slow, Deep, Continuous, Quiet or soft. Pick one of those qualities. Embody that quality with every inhale and every exhale. You could slowly take this deep, Relaxed feeling. Into sleep. Or if you're just using this practice as a nice break in your afternoon to relax. Continuing to take this calm, Relaxed feeling with you. To the next part of your day or night.