Mastering Belly Breathing: A Mindfulness Practice for Relaxation (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Belly breathing. In this mindfulness practice, you will learn a deep breathing technique. Sit on the floor and cross your legs, or sit upright in your chair, whichever your teacher prefers. Everyone take a deep breath in. Did your shoulders rise and your chest go out? This is most people's response, but it is incorrect. When we breathe in deeply, our shoulders should stay still and our stomachs should go out. This is because our diaphragm, a muscle under our lungs and above our stomachs, flattens and pushes out our stomach area, which is why we call it belly breathing. This is how singers and actors breathe to use their voice properly. Belly breathing instantly increases the amount of oxygen in our bloodstream. It calms our nervous system and releases feel-good chemicals into our bodies, so it is a key part of mindfulness. So, let's begin. Put your hands on your belly. Imagine you have a balloon in there, and when you breathe in, you're filling the balloon up with air and making your belly blow up. Breathe out and let the air out of the balloon. Your belly should go in and your hands go down. Let's repeat that. Breathe in through your nose, fill the balloon up with air. Now breathe out of your mouth, let the air out of the balloon. Let's keep going. In through your nose. Now breathe out through your mouth and flatten the balloon in your stomach. You shouldn't hear your breath go in. If you can, this means you're breathing too quickly. Breathe in and blow up the balloon and breathe out again. Keep your back and your shoulders still, nowhere apart from your stomach and chest should be moving. Breathe in and breathe out. In through your nose and out through your mouth. Breathe in and breathe out. One more time in and last time out. Well done. Don't worry if you found this challenging. It will take a lot of practice before deep belly breathing becomes natural and easy. You should now feel relaxed as you have increased the oxygen into your bloodstream, calmed your nervous system and released lots of feel-good chemicals into your bodies. You can do your belly breathing at any time, in any place. Even a couple of belly breaths will calm you down, wherever you are. Try it whenever you next feel worried.