Five minute magic pt. 50 - Breathing exercise 'How to tune into your breath'

Welcome to five-minute magic from Mindful Creative Podcast. A short bonus episode, sharing tips and insights from the book's pages of the same title. 
 
Every week I'll share one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process or work/business, or just the food for thought for the weekend ahead. 

These bonus episodes share content from the audio book, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to five minute magic from the mindful creative podcast. A short bonus episode, share and tips and insights from the pages of the book of the same title. Every week I'll be sharing one or two ideas that can give you an actionable takeaway for your creative process, your work, your business. Or just food for thought for the weekend ahead. These episodes share content from the audio book, and you can find the link to the full version in the show notes below. 

This is the first of three simple breathing exercises that you can incorporate in your daily routine. You only need a chair and about 10 minutes where you won't be disturbed. The first in this episode is a breathing exercise for presence, the second is a body scan, and the third is a meditation for gaining space in the mind.

As you will see, they all operate on the same basic principle of sitting, breathing, and noticing. Breathing exercise number one is a simple exercise for tuning your breath that [00:01:00] requires as little as a couple of minutes per day and the maximum benefits will come from doing it every day.

You can do it on your sofa, sat at your desk or you can even modify it so you can do it when you're walking down the road or waiting in a queue. Whatever you do it, it's an anchor for bringing you into the present. The more you can do it every day, the more natural it will become, and the more it will become a habit. 

Breathing exercise number one. This is a very simple exercise for tuning into your breath that requires as little as a couple of minutes per day, and the maximum benefits will come from doing it every day. You can do it on your sofa, sat at your desk, and you can even modify it so that you can do it when you're walking down the road or waiting in a queue.

Wherever you do it, it's a fantastic anchor for bringing us into the present.[00:02:00] 

The more you can do it every day, the more natural it will become, and the more it will become habit. Find a comfortable place to sit where you can be undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Feel free to use a chair, sitting with both feet on the floor.

Alternatively, you can sit cross legged on your bed or on the floor. Either way, keep your back relaxed and supported.

Gently close your eyes and start to take in any sounds that are around you.

The sounds will change and come and go. That's no problem.

Just notice that they're there and be content to keep them in the background.[00:03:00] 

Begin to notice how you're breathing. Don't change it. Just notice it. Cast your mental gaze on the breath.

Notice how it feels as you breathe in. Where in your body the breath travels to, its rhythm, its pace, and how it feels as it leaves the body.

Settle into this inner gazing and keep your relaxed, curious attention on your breathing for a few minutes.[00:04:00] 

If the mind becomes distracted by thoughts or sounds, that's okay. It's perfectly natural. Gently bring your attention back to your breath.

When you're ready, slowly take a deep breath [00:05:00] in, filling your lungs and belly.

Hold your breath for a second, then slowly exhale in three parts.

Exhale a little. Then pause. Exhale a little more, then pause again.

Then finally, exhale fully and completely.

Allow the breath to return to normal.

Do this intentional, incremental breathing two more times. Breathing in slowly, fully, deeply, and exhaling in three increments, [00:06:00] pausing between each one.

With each exhalation, notice how your body also drops further into the seat, how your shoulders let go a little, and how the muscles gradually surrender any tension.

After three rounds of incremental exhalation. Let your breathing fully return to normal for a couple of minutes,[00:07:00] 

resting with the familiarity and comfort of its gentle rhythm.[00:08:00] 

Slowly bring yourself back to the space that you're in. Notice the sounds around you,

the feel of the air on your skin.

Take a deep breath in,

slowly let it out. and gently open your eyes.

How do you feel?

A simple breathing exercise like this slows us right down, brings us into the present, and helps ground our attention fully [00:09:00] in this moment.