Exercise

BREATHING EXERCISES

1. Belly Breathing
a.    Sit in a comfortable chair. Let your body relax. Place your hands on your waist, with your fingers pointing toward your belly. Feel your hands move out and apart as you breathe in. Notice how they move inward and together as you breathe out. Try imagining that you are pouring liquid into a cup. That is how you fill your belly with air. Reverse that sensation as you exhale.
b.    Practice for at least 10 minutes per day. As you become adept, you will be able to experience a great deal of relaxation by taking 10 deep belly breaths at any time of the day. You will receive more benefit if you practice more often during the day.

2. Relaxation Breathing
This combines belly breathing with visual/auditory focus. For 10-15 minutes per day, practice your belly breathing. As you do this with your eyes closed, hold a single image/sound in your mind. You can choose something like imagining a candle flame, a beautiful scene, a single tone, simple tune, or single word or sentence, repeated. Some people find that a visual image works better, some people find that a sound or word works better. Another option is to hold the sensation of energy or “breath” moving through your body.

3. Guided Breathing
As you are breathing from your belly, follow your breath to any area of tightness in your body. Hold your attention there, allowing your “breath” to wash over the tense tissues. Imagine that you are breathing in energy and breathing out tension. Hold your attention in that place and continue your belly breathing until the tightness releases. Allow your attention to find the next location of tightness…

4. Relaxation Posture
Lay down on your back on a comfortable surface. Place your feet and calves on a piece of furniture, or on a stack of pillows, so that you have hips and knees bent, with your legs above your body. This will allow the blood to return to your body core, producing a shift in your nervous system which makes relaxation easier. Practice 15 minutes of belly breathing in this position, with your eyes closed, two times each day.