Breathing exercises from Andrew Weil
(courtesy of my voice coach. I dont know where she got this from)
The goal is for your breathing to be deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular. Its important to notice if your abdomen rises and falls with your breath it should, as thats where your diaphragm is (or the dan tien as the Qi Gong folks say). Try to visualize that as the source of your breathing, and let your belly expand and contract with the breath.
You can stand, or sit, or lie flat to do these breathing exercises. Just remember to keep your spine straight, whichever position youre in.
1. Follow your breath for 5 minutes. When you notice youre distracted by thoughts, just gently return to the breath. This is the essence of meditation. (Or to paraphrase a Zen master, "We're thinking beings and no one is advocating insentience. That would be impossible. Just, when you think a thought, think nothing of it.")
2. Reverse your thinking about breathing. Begin the breath with the exhale. Do this consciously for about 2 minutes.
3. At the end of each normal exhale, push out more breath. Practice this for 2 minutes.
4. Put the tip of the tongue on the ridge behind your upper front teeth. This is a yogic position (ujiya breathing). Then breathe in and out through your nose as rapidly as you can, 3 times per second if possible. Do this for no more than 15 seconds, then breathe normally for 15 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Youll build up the ability to do it longer over time. Weil calls this bellows breathing. (Its great for the abs, lol.)
5. Relax and imagine that the cosmos is blowing breath into you, and then pulling it out, and that you are the passive recipient of this life force. Do this for 2 minutes. (One of my yoga teachers calls this, Letting the Goddess breathe you.)
6. Using the yogic tongue position again (ujiya breathing), inhale quietly through your nose for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 7, then exhale loudly through your mouth for a count of 8. Youll have to plan ahead to have 8 counts worth of breath to let out! This is excellent for breath control. IT IS ALSO VERY RELAXING, and can be combined with bellows breathing as a prelude to meditation.
Hope this helps. This is what I do these days instead of reaching for a pill. It doesnt always work but it ALWAYS works better than being high ever did.
Love,
Gina
Gina, I am printing it out as I post so that I will have it for a time when I will need to be " Letting the Goddness breathe" me. Thank you Gracie