Angel of Breath

A gentle restorative practice to support us after last week’s challenging practice of forgiveness. Easy breaths, soothing repetition, and a remarkable visit from the Angel of Breath bringing a Gift especially for you. Gratitude to you for being in this practice.

'Angels of Beauty' music by Sanaya Roman (orindaben.com)
Podcast production by iRonick Media (ironickmedia.com)

Disclaimer:
Breath exercises are not intended to diagnose or treat illness. Anyone undertaking to practice breath awareness and exercises should be mindful of their health and consult their health care practitioner if they have any questions about their fitness for this practice. 

Transcript

Miriam: 0:03

Welcome, and blessings on this beautiful February day Valentine's Day, the sky is crisp and blue where I am. And there's a light snow on the ground. So it makes for a really perfect winter day. So I wish for you wherever you are beautiful weather and opening to more clear air flowing in and out of your being. So if you've been following the podcast, and did last week's piece of work, which was called forgiveness as pain relief. You may have had an experience like many of us that that was a profound and challenging piece of work. So many years ago, back in the 90s, when I was studying with my breath teacher, our practice was organized in such a way that if we did a powerful breath, which generated a lot of shifting and clearing in the body, and in our consciousness, then the next piece of work we did was soft, and supportive, and gentle. So that was my plan for us this week, as sort of a companion to last week's meditation that we are recognizing that piece of work according to what I've heard from many of you. And my own experience with that practice was that it created space. Inside my consciousness inside my energy field, a lot of old things I had been carrying that I was not even really aware of anymore. Like I told a couple of friends, I had stuffed them neatly into a box and forgot the box was there. Didn't even know where the key was anymore. And yet, like a Jack in the Box, this stuff popped right out for me to clear. I even reached a place of gratitude for being able to do this profound work and gratitude for having a practice. So. Anyway, before we go into the breath practice, what I wanted to do today was make a little more space in the body. So what I invite you to do is to begin to just rocking your chair a little bit, move your body from side to side. Let your head kind of waggle around. Maybe move back and forth in your chair. Let your head be soft. Let your neck be soft. Now, extend your arms out in front of you and clasp your hands together. And now press your palms away so you flip your hands around so your palms are pressed away. All right, straight in front of you. Now, I want you to extend your arms with your elbows as straight as though go up over your head as far as you can keep pressing your palms toward the sky. All right, now if you've gotten into this position and your shoulder blades are up around your ears, see if you can relax your shoulders down and keep pressing your palms up. Alright, now look up a little bit. Stretch your palms away and inhale. And as you exhale, relax your shoulder blades and lengthen the back of your neck. Drop your chin. Keep your palms up. Inhale again. Press your palms away. And exhale, relax your shoulders. Now on your next inhalation, tilt your body to one side. Keep pressing your palms toward the sky and open your armpit chest. That's an ion gar yoga term. Didn't even know you had armpit chest did you and now the other side, stretch and open the other armpit and exhale, let your arms drop down to your lap. I want to try one more that involves the arms. Alright, so arms out in front of you again. Now without interlacing your fingers just bring your arms up so that your inner elbow is close to your ears if you can do so, and then bend your elbows so that your elbows point up in your hands pat yourself on the back. Your elbows can be wide if that's more comfortable, but if you can bring your arms close to your ears, press your upper back with your hands and now look up and see if you can breathe into the front of your chest just right where your neck meets your chest. And exhale, don't strain. Just breathe in and out and see if you can open the front of your chest. And now relax, let your arms drop down to your lap. Now that's one, close your eyes and just breathe. That's one that you can try on your own later. Maybe standing up might be easier than in a chair, that those elbows pointing toward the sky and palms on the back has the effect of opening the front of the ribcage at the very top. And this is one of the hardest areas to get open. When you begin to breath, practice your belly, that will open your lower ribs, you've already noticed that that's starting to make some progress. But those upper ribs that can be very stiff. So let's bring our fingertips to that upper rib area. And just press and rub. Maybe suppressing the tween the ribs, the intercostal muscles. If pressing on that feels really stiff and painful, then I suggest you do this every day. And while you're doing this breathe and see if you can let the breath arrive in this upper chest. There's often a lot of material, we'll call it things emotional energy that's stuck in the body. old thought patterns, just getting this part of the body to open and move a little bit. There's your fountain of youth right there. upper chest. All right, relax your hands down. Come into your comfortable seat. Let your shoulders drop away from your ears and your crown of your head. You're going up toward the sky just breathe in, breathe out. Easy, peaceful breathing noticing how the breath is moving in your body today. And you've all had arm work and upper chest work, gave you a little stiffness in your upper back, feel free to move your head around a little bit and release the back of the head and neck. All right, now let's do our proni on and then we'll move into the soft, beautiful, lovely energy that our guides have for us today. So bring the first two fingers of the right hand up to touch your forehead. Right in the center of your forehead left hand remains in your lap. I will draw our 36 spirals on the forehead opening the Third Eye joining the breath in and out of the third eye. Begin 1-234-567-8910 1112 1314 1516 1718 1920 2120 320-425-2620 720-829-3031 30 230-334-3536 paths. Inhale into your third eye allowing the breath to spiral deep inside and exhale out the third eye. Right hand remain stationary left hand comes up to place upon your heart. Heart mind uniting breath. Breathe in your third eye. Draw the breath deep into the head until to the mind and then release the breath down into the heart. Breathing out. Inhale again and your third eye and exhaling releasing surrendering to the heart. Arriving fully at the heart. Inhale once again, assert i o breathing down into the heart. Inhale at the heart, allow the breath to rise, lifting, illuminating the mind. And then exhaling that blended breath back down into the heart. Breathe in at the heart, the breath rises and exhaling that blended energy back down into the sweetness of the heart. Once again, breathing of the heart, lift, blend. Exhale, releasing surrendering to the heart. Left hand drop, steer left, right hand remain stationary, alternate nostril breathing. Breathe in through both sides of your nose. And exhale out both sides of your nose mouth remains closed. Now, use your thumb to close off your right nostril only. And breathe in through the left side of your nose. Close off with your fingers lift up your son breathe out breathe insane close off with your thumb. Lift up your fingers breathe out inhale scene close off out other insane out other insane other insane out other you insane out other insane that your hand dropped your lap and breathe out breathe in and out an easy, peaceful breath now for the next few cycles of breath at your own pace. Breathe in and count how long it takes you to breathe a normal natural breath in. As you exhale, do that same count. But breathe out for two counts more than you breathed in. So if you breathe into a count of four, breathe out to a count of six. And so on. So you're just breathing in a natural easy breath, not trying to take the biggest breath ever. And then exhaling smooth and easy and completely slightly longer than your inhale. Now continue to breathe in this manner see if you can do it with just breathing through your nose. If your nose is not cooperating then obviously use your mouth as well. See if you can do this. Shorter inhale longer exhale and notice how you become quiet and peaceful. This is an excellent soothing breath. It's easy to do and easy to remember. Now let's do two retained breaths. retained breaths is a way to recognize the nourishment of the breath. The enoughness of the breath and the enoughness of you that you are enough, you have enough there is enough it's an abundance kind of practice. So first let's all exhale all the air in our lungs to prepare. Breathe in through your nose, a full and complete breath rising to the top. At the top, stretch, an open around the retained breath, you're keeping the breath in the body as you stretch and open and then open your mouth and let it go relax with the Retain the breath and release let's do one more breathe in. Gently Retain the breath. Feeling the richness the nourishment is the breath and the release now just breathe and natural breath. No technique, just a noticing, listening. Noticing how the external world has dropped away and that you were quietly inside your own being having your own unique and precious experience of you. If you found that those breaths made you yawn, or even feel like you are forgetting how to breathe, that's fine that happens sometimes. Just following along as well as you can, without strain. Notice your beautiful field of light. Draw your focus even more deeply into your consciousness and then beyond to a sort of all consciousness what lies beyond our unique and individualized focus is a field of beautiful light of beingness and openness hallowed ground notice whatever you can about the light and energy all around you. Use your focus to notice what is before you and what is behind you. Just by shifting your focus, notice the right and left of your energy field and what is beyond and what is above you and below you'll notice if there is any difference, any differences in these various regions around your immediate center you may notice that the center of your being that there is a column of light, a kind of core see if you can discern anything at all about this column have light at the center of your being and any textures or differences of energy there. From the surrounding halo of light all around you may perceive colors or patterns or you may have a felt sense of these energies. Whatever you're experiencing is just perfect for you in this moment. It is best not to try to have an experience or to allow whatever is naturally present to come forward into your consciousness. In this supportive, light filled beingness you may find the energy of compassion compassion is a caring pneus in one way it is an awareness that we are wrong in this human experience where there is a commonality that runs through that. And therefore, we can be in support of others, even in our differences and especially in our pain or difficulty recognizing that others to have pain and difficulty and allows us to create some space where before there might have been judgment or difficulty and inherent kindness but arises from our sameness and all those ways that we are very much like each other. Now, in this beautiful field where we have set this energy of compassion, it was a great being and would like to join each of us, you may be a choice about this beingness that is joining us. The being who has presented itself for our meditation today is the angel of breath a beautiful, tall, ephemeral presence and intelligence kind of liaison between us. And the beautiful, perfect Holy Breath. That is the practice of pranayama above and beyond the ordinary breath. But we say that ordinary breath for it is what keeps us alive. And is not ordinary at all. It's rather magical and special. And this angel of breath has come to recognize you for your dedication to this practice. For your willingness to be vulnerable and surrender to these energies, to learn about yourself through this holy passageway of the breath practice. And this being holds all of those frequencies and energies that we have been practicing and studying in a kind of perpetual container that is always available. Always abundant. For breath is always available and always abundant. There is a tenderness about this being this angel of breaths is just so filled with love for you for all of us here. Recognizing our diligence, our dedication, our holding of this practice in our own beingness which creates its aliveness. Yes, and keeps it evolving for future generations. There is a profound gratitude here for the breath for the wisdom of the breath for all it teaches us what brings us and all that we bring to the breath so this angel of breath if you would like Who invited closer in perhaps even to blend with your consciousness for a moment tall coherent beautifully organized energy Uh huh healing presence for that is at the core of what breath practice offers us a healing of ancestral patterns, old energies that we've been carrying around a freedom a freedom of the breath and openness a reminder of what it was like to breathe as a child or a baby a perfect splendid fluid breath. So, now, if you would like this angel of breath would like to give you a gift and gratitude for your practice offering you something of value that is specifically key to your energy system to the uniqueness of you. So, if you would like make yourself open and available for this angel of breath to give you this gift let a gift move out into your entire energy system and flow freely through you. Creating an abundance is with you at any moment and there is so very much that it can be freely given away for we're all learning to be conduits of this beautiful light that is the light of consciousness now the angel of breath is giving us gratitude as it moves back and away out of our energy systems and stands again at a bit of a distance and then calling yourself back to your own energy field. And noticing any differences or changes that have come about harmony and beauty, joy and light as abundant as the sunshine and is freely given. Bring your attention back to your breath. And notice if your breath is cheap Ah any places in your body are being where the breath seems more open, more fluid more delightful let's do a balanced breaths all together will breathe into a count of four paws for a count of two and out for a count of four. And after a few cycles of breath like that, we might extend it to a six three count. exhale all the air in your lungs to prepare. Breathe in 1234 Paws one, two, out 1234 Paws one, two, and 1234 pauses one, two, out 1234 Pause one, two and 1234 Paws one, two, out 1234 Paws one, two and 123456 Paws 123 Out 123456 Paws 123 in 123456, spas 123 Out 123456 past 123 inhale and exhale notice how clear and open and peaceful your Thanksgiving for each of us. We're walking this path together for all who are to come sometime in the future. And even yourself if you are listening to this recording at another time. waved yourself in the future. Wave back from the future or in this practices for your outside of time in recognizing yourself with thanksgiving, for coming to practice today and gratitude to the angel of breath who made an appearance today and for the sweetness of the gifts that was offered. The light that is making us all one namaste Mahalo for listening, follow rate and review Miriam's meditations on Apple podcast, Spotify, Google podcast, or wherever you're getting your podcast. We share a new meditation each week. The breath work presented here is cumulative. So if you're new to breath work, please start at the beginning in season one, and you'll learn the fundamentals. You can find more information about my work and my blog at Miriam's. meditations.com That's mir I am s method patience.com I welcome your comments. Write to me at contact at Miriam's. meditations.com Aloha, and have a beautiful day