Breath Awareness Part 2
You now know how to breathe more naturally and effectively, and you are gradually becoming more aware of when you don’t do so.
Like everything else, this simply takes a little practice and will deepen your self-awareness. You’ll start to realize more quickly when you’re stressed and will have some very simple and quick techniques that you can do anywhere to begin to slow down and reverse this process.
There is one more important thing to get in the practice of doing when you do your breathing exercises or meditation:
Breathe in and out of your nose ALWAYS – unless a technique indicates otherwise.
During this current time of Covid 19, I saw some studies that seemed to indicate that people who practiced breathwork seemed more resistant to contracting the virus. And that breathing in and out through the nose seemed to help.
Take this with a grain of salt if you will, but I figured all those years of meditation and yoga might have paid off for me.
Continue practicing Breath Awareness Exercises 1 and 2 in preparation for your meditation practice. But remember, these exercises in and of themselves are a practice.
You are almost ready to meditate… Well, you have been meditating, but there is more to learn. Begin your practice by settling down, centering, and letting go of cares and concerns as best as you can – remembering not to judge a particular session or practice.
Breath Awareness 3: “The Breath as Ocean Waves”
This is one of my favorite breath practices and I use it often…
Sit comfortably and close your eyes…
Bring your awareness to your breath…
Notice your inhalations and exhalations…
Notice the quality of your breaths,
and allow them to simply be as they are…
Visualize your in-breath like a wave on the ocean…
It washes over you – cleansing you, nourishing you,
and enveloping you – giving you everything that you need right now, in this moment…
Peace, stillness, comfort, presence, well-being, prosperity, health…
Whatever it is that you most need, you receive with every in-breath…
Visualize your out-breath receding – taking away whatever it is that you need to let go of – everything that does not serve you…
Anger, misperceptions, frustration, despair –
whatever you need to let go of, the wave takes away…
Whatever no longer serves, you release into the wave…
Continue visualizing in this way for a few moments…
The in-breath washes over you, and gives you everything you need…
The out-breath releases all that no longer serves…
Follow your in-breath and out-breath in and out – like the ebb flow of the ocean tides…
Stay with this as long as you need, then begin your meditation…
Use this practice whenever you need to settle your heart, your soul, and your very essence…
NEXT
You now know how to breathe more naturally and effectively, and you are gradually becoming more aware of when you don’t do so.
Like everything else, this simply takes a little practice and will deepen your self-awareness. You’ll start to realize more quickly when you’re stressed and will have some very simple and quick techniques that you can do anywhere to begin to slow down and reverse this process.
There is one more important thing to get in the practice of doing when you do your breathing exercises or meditation:
Breathe in and out of your nose ALWAYS – unless a technique indicates otherwise.
During this current time of Covid 19, I saw some studies that seemed to indicate that people who practiced breathwork seemed more resistant to contracting the virus. And that breathing in and out through the nose seemed to help.
Take this with a grain of salt if you will, but I figured all those years of meditation and yoga might have paid off for me.
Continue practicing Breath Awareness Exercises 1 and 2 in preparation for your meditation practice. But remember, these exercises in and of themselves are a practice.
You are almost ready to meditate… Well, you have been meditating, but there is more to learn. Begin your practice by settling down, centering, and letting go of cares and concerns as best as you can – remembering not to judge a particular session or practice.
Breath Awareness 3: “The Breath as Ocean Waves”
This is one of my favorite breath practices and I use it often…
Sit comfortably and close your eyes…
Bring your awareness to your breath…
Notice your inhalations and exhalations…
Notice the quality of your breaths,
and allow them to simply be as they are…
Visualize your in-breath like a wave on the ocean…
It washes over you – cleansing you, nourishing you,
and enveloping you – giving you everything that you need right now, in this moment…
Peace, stillness, comfort, presence, well-being, prosperity, health…
Whatever it is that you most need, you receive with every in-breath…
Visualize your out-breath receding – taking away whatever it is that you need to let go of – everything that does not serve you…
Anger, misperceptions, frustration, despair –
whatever you need to let go of, the wave takes away…
Whatever no longer serves, you release into the wave…
Continue visualizing in this way for a few moments…
The in-breath washes over you, and gives you everything you need…
The out-breath releases all that no longer serves…
Follow your in-breath and out-breath in and out – like the ebb flow of the ocean tides…
Stay with this as long as you need, then begin your meditation…
Use this practice whenever you need to settle your heart, your soul, and your very essence…
NEXT