As we begin,
Find a comfortable seated position.
Gently close your eyes and allow yourself to settle into the space that surrounds you.
Take a deep slow breath.
Feeling the air enter into your lungs and expand your belly and chest and then release it gradually,
Noticing a wave of relaxation.
It spreads throughout your entire body.
Today,
We focus on the foundational breathwork techniques that are powerful yet simple to use for managing stress in our daily lives.
We start by observing your natural breath.
Notice its rhythm,
Depth,
And pace without altering it.
Just observing.
Next,
We'll explore the full breath technique,
Which involves inhaling deeply to fill up the lungs completely,
Like pouring water into a glass from the bottom up.
Begin by placing your right hand on your lower belly and your left hand on your heart.
Take a slow,
Steady inhale through your nose and feel your right hand move first as you fill up your belly,
Imagining a cup being filled from the bottom up with water.
Your inhale gradually rises up to your chest and then even into your shoulders,
And then you let it go with a sigh of relief out your mouth.
Take a few breaths here like this and get to know your body and your breath.
The invitation here is to exaggerate the breath.
Fill up completely.
Feel your hands move as you breathe in.
Feel your hands return back to your starting position as you exhale.
As you continue to breathe like this,
Find where it's most natural for you.
This may not be a fully exaggerated breath,
But just a subtle motion of your hands,
Getting comfortable with this as your rhythm.
Continue this pattern here for a few minutes.
The invitation here is to let each breath be deepening your sense of relaxation and grounding.
As you continue this breath,
You'll notice a clear rhythm where your belly goes out first,
Then your abdomen,
Then your chest,
And then your shoulders.
And as you exhale,
There's no right or wrong on how the exhalation takes place.
I'd invite you to experiment with it.
On your exhale,
Let your belly come in first before your shoulders drop back down.
And now on your next exhale,
First drop your shoulders and relax your chest,
And then let the last part be your lower belly returning back to its starting position.
And then for a third variation,
Once you inhale completely,
Let everything come in all together at once.
Even,
Thorough exhale,
With no part of your body taking the lead.
Good.
And to conclude our session,
Slowly bring your attention back to your surroundings.
Acknowledge the calm and the grounded feeling that you've cultivated.
It's amazing what breath can do in such a short amount of time.
So now I invite you to open your eyes.
As you move forward in your day today,
Carry this technique with you,
And you'll be one step closer to managing your stress wherever you are.
