Diaphragmatic Breathing
This meditation will guide you through proper diaphragmatic breath so that you can instantly feel that relaxing and sedative feeling. When done right, just a few short minutes of breathing can feel like a beautiful nap. By practicing proper diaphragmatic breathing, you will give your body the important message to relax and settle, rather than being on the edge of anxiety and stress. The best part of learning to breathe properly is that you can practice it as you are going through your day. You don't need to stop, close your eyes and breathe. Try this when you're driving, having a stressful time at work or when you're waking up or going to sleep. Hopefully soon, it will be the natural way you breathe throughout the day, no matter what you're doing.
Belly Ribs Chest
As you continue to learn how to breathe diaphragmatically, focusing on the part of your body that moves as you breathe properly is incredibly helpful. In this practice, you'll ground your awareness on your belly, ribs, and chest as they expand and compress with each breath. If you have a busy mind, focusing on these three simple body parts is relaxing, and allows you to de-stress and refocus, while also encouraging you to breathe properly and expansively.
Counting Breath
The meditation guides you to exhale LONGER than your inhalation- and this makes a huge difference to those sedative effects we love to feel after meditating! This breathing exercise is scientifically proven to calm your nervous system immediately de-stress you and bring you to a state of calmness again. Remember, at first these may feel counter-intuitive, but soon, with practice, they will feel more natural. Remember, you can practice this style of breathing while you're doing other things. It's especially helpful in stressful situations. It doesn't matter what the length of your breath is, as long as your out-breath is longer than your in-breath.
Word Focus
In this meditation we combine diaphragmatic breathing with focus words, to help keep your awareness anchored in the present moment. This meditation guides you through deep belly breathing, calming the vagus nerve by breathing out longer on the exhalation than when you breathe in for your inhalation. The meditation then incorporates simple words to anchor your awareness, inviting you to enjoy the simplicity of this exercise, and surrender to the waves of relaxation cultivated. You'll practice breathing out the past through your exhalation, and breathing in the present moment. This meditation reminds you of the present moment and what's really important, and guides you to let go, forgive, remove and forget everything else that happened up until this moment.
Body Focus
In this final exercise, we'll combine all of the exercises together and add awareness of your body which will encourage you to settle any tension or stress in the body. This meditation is simple, quick, effective, and brings you back to today. The meditation will nourish your body and settle your nervous system. No matter what is happening in life: Stop, reset and ground yourself in the present moment; It’s all we have. Once you have taken the time to re-centre yourself, then you can get back to kicking all of your goals in a more productive and focused way.
By now you’re a professional at correct diaphragmatic breathing and have 5 simple and effective tools you can practice any time you need de-stress!