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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Take A Deep Breath |
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Effort and Ease: Expanding Awareness This breathing exercise is really about learning how to shift and expand awareness. Begin by noticing your breath. Notice each inhalation and each exhalation. Continue to observe the breath until your breathing feels relaxed and steady. Now, put your awareness on the inhalation. Consciously draw the breath in. Make the inhalation active - let your belly expand, your rib cage expand, your back expand, and your chest expand. Fill up with the breath. Feel the strength of each inhalation. Let the exhalation be totally passive - like a sigh. Make no muscular effort to let the breath out. Continue with this breath cycle - active inhalation, passive exhalation. Notice how it feels. Now, you're going to reverse your actions and attention. Focus on the exhalation. Make the exhalation active - use your abdominal muscles to push the breath out. Draw your belly in, and consciously draw the ribs in and down. Feel the strength of each exhalation. Exhale until there is no breath left. Let the inhalation be passive, by simply relaxing the abdominal muscles. Feel the breath rush in without effort. Continue with this breath cycle - active exhalation, passive inhalation. Notice how it feels. Try to shift your awareness of the breath so that it feels like the exhalation is the beginning of each breath, and the inhalation is the completion of the breath. After a few minutes of this exercise, you will be aware of how both parts of the breath (inhalation and exhalation) can be passive or active, but a full breath requires balance of effort and ease. Having effort in one part of the breath allows the other part to be easy. Like in yoga postures, and in all aspects of life, a balance of effort and release is most effective. Sometimes putting all your focus on letting go is the best way to open to something new. Other times, finding something new to draw into your life makes it effortless to let go of old habits. This breathing exercise lets you practice doing both. Enjoy these ideas? Sign up to receive monthly ideas for your yoga practice in the free Open Mind Open Body Newsletter.
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