Welcome! Thank you for joining. My name is Tutu Mora. I'm here with The Y offering
you tools to feel well in your body, mind and spirit. So, today we're gonna be
working on the level of the emotional today. I know a lot of us are probably
feeling pretty anxious, probably a little overwhelmed. It's not comfortable living
in the unknown or the uncertain. And, you know, a lot of that can build up. It can
cause physical tension in the body. It can just make us feel a little bit
activated all the time. So, today we're going to focus on letting a little bit
of that go with some breath work. If you haven't joined us for breath work before,
I'm just gonna go over the breathing pattern here. And, you know, if you start
breathing and you start to feel that this maybe isn't for you, that's okay.
So, these are just tools. Take what works for you and you can leave the rest. So, we are
going to be breathing with an open mouth into the low belly, into the high chest,
and exhaling to release. So, that's the pattern we're gonna be breathing with
for about five minutes. And then we're gonna spend one to two minutes just
breathing normally resting and letting all of that integrate. So, those final two
minutes are when you get to feel kind of the payoff of the first five; the work
that you did with the active breathing. And just let that nervous system get a
nice big exhale, feel that soothing hum of your body and that's when we get that
nice still moment. So, definitely after you breathe stay laying down for those
one to two minutes so you can get those benefits of the breath work. Okay. So, let
me just demonstrate this for you and then you can lay down on your own, and
I'll guide you through these five to seven minutes of breathing. Okay. So, I'm
gonna tilt my screen down here so you can see my body. So, you're gonna breathe
with an open mouth into the low belly, really filling up this whole space.
Breathe with the open mouth into the high chest. And exhale to release.
Low belly, heart space, exhale to release. Low belly, heart space, exhale to release.
So, wherever you are, I would invite you to go ahead and lay down on the floor, the
couch, the yoga mat, wherever you are and whatever is comfortable for you.
So, take a minute and once you're all lying down I will start you off with that breathing
pattern, and you can match my flow, and then you can find your own rhythm.
So, let's start with just finding a small intent for your breathing practice right now.
Whether that is just to feel a little bit more calm, to connect a little
bit more deeply with yourself. Maybe it's to find that inner sense of stability
that is a little lacking right now. Whatever that is for you, just ground
yourself in that for a moment.
And then, let's start by breathing all through the mouth into the low belly,
high chest, exhale to release.
Low belly, high chest, exhale.
And just continuing like that, letting yourself find your rhythm. And just letting your attention
focus on your breath, listening to the sound of my voice.
Low belly, high chest, exhale.
and start to let that mind soften a little bit. If you're feeling particularly antsy, distracted, agitated,
just see if you can let your mind know that it's okay to turn off for just a
few minutes. Can turn back on later. And if you can, send about ten percent more
breath into that low belly and ten percent more into the high chest.
Taking an even bigger exhale.
And you might notice that you are feeling a little bit lightheaded maybe,
which is completely normal as you start to take in extra oxygen into your body
right now. And so, again, just letting that
distracted mind go a little bit, staying with your breath, observing your breath,
sending it even a little bit deeper.
And so, continuing to follow that pattern. You are about halfway through now.
So, staying with that breath and see how deeply you can take it. See if you can
take in even a little bit more into that low belly, even a little bit more into
that high chest, making those exhales even fuller, as if you're wringing
everything out like a sponge.
And staying with that breath. You can come back to that intent that you may
have had in the beginning, whether that is just to feel a little bit more calm,
to feel a little bit more stable and grounded, and just breathe that in.
Breathe that in all the way down into the low belly, all the way deep into that
high chest—into that heart space— exhaling even deeper.
You have just 30 seconds left to breathe here, so let's finish nice and strong,
nice and full. Make this time count.
And you can go ahead and let go of that active breath and just let yourself
breathe normally, whether that is still through the mouth,
or whether that's through the nose. And just let yourself be in this rest space.
Maybe your body feels like it's humming a little bit. Maybe you are noticing
little sensations, physical sensations as you let yourself just observe them.
Letting any extra tension that you might be holding in your shoulders and your
neck, your hips and your belly, letting even more of that go.
Just let it dissolve.
And then you can go ahead and put your hands over your heart here if that feels
right to you, and just mentally send yourself a little thank-you note all the
way down into your body. Thank yourself for taking this time to check in, to care
for yourself, to just be kind to yourself.
And let's take three deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth,
as if you're just inhaling a thank-you all the way down to your toes and
fingertips. So, let's take this in through the nose and out through the mouth.
In through the nose, out through the mouth. And, last time, in through the nose, out through
the mouth.
And you can stay here as long as you wish. And I will see you next time for
more tools to help you feel well in your body, mind and spirit.
Take care.