Meditation: Awakening the Breath
This is a wonderful breath exercise to bring you back into balance. The lung exhalations calm the parasympathetic nervous system, regulating us back into homeostasis. Bringing us out of the fight, flight freeze and fun – knowing we have this tool to bring us back to the present moment, to regulate our nervous system.
Find a comfortable seat. Close your eyes.
Gently. Move. Front to back. Side to side.
Then find your center point.
Pull your head over your hips. Stretch up through the crown of the head. Pulling the chin slightly in. Feeling a nice long spine. A firm back, A soft front. And start to feel the natural rhythm of your breath move through you.
The legs are heavy, torso long.
Noticing the inhalation, Noticing the exhalation.
Release the shoulders down.
Notice the movement of the breath through your nostrils. And follow that movement into your body as you feel the rise and fall of your chest. The expansion and softening in your belly. Maybe you feel the breath in the back of your body, the sides of your rib cage expanding.
Notice where you feel your breath most clearly.
Where do you feel this spaciousness? And where do you feel a tightness or constriction? Without attaching, just notice what you notice. Being curious and how the breath moves through you. Now we're going to move into a little summer variety. Keeping the breath the same on each count with the inhalation and exhalation.
We're going to work up to a five count.
See if you can fill your upper self up with your breath. Four…Three… Two… One…
Pulling up from the navel, through the torso, up to the heart and the base of the collarbones. Gentle pause. Exhaling. Four…Three… Two… One… Releasing. Notice how that feels.
Breathing deeply in through the nose. Pulling up. Four…Three… Two… One… Resting on two. Exhaling out on Five… Four…Three… Two… One… And then let that go.
And then we're going to move into extending the exhale. We'll start on two more filling your breath up on the inhalation, gentle pause and exhaling the breath out for Four…Three… Two… One…
Inhale for three. Pulling the breath up through your torso. Rest at the base of the collarbones. Gentle pause. Exhaling on Five… Four…Three… Two… One… Gentle hold. Exhaling. Release the breath. Five… Four…Three… Two… One…
One more here. Big inhale in. Three… Two… One… Hold. Exhale. Press the breath out completely. Five… Four…Three… Two… One… Let that go.
Come back to the natural rhythm of your breath. Notice how that feels in your body. Notice where you feel spaciousness. Maybe a little more free. Less constricted. Maybe your mind feels more calm, more quiet. Maybe you feel a little more anchored in your body.
This breath meditation is a wonderful practice for guiding us back home to ourselves and our breath. I hope this practice can support you and serve you when you need it. And just remind yourself your breath is there to take with you wherever you go. Think of your breath as your best friend. It's always there.
May you be joyful. May you be peaceful. And may you share it with the world. Namaste,
