Hello, my name is Jane O’Rourke. I’m a Child, Adolescent and Family Psychotherapist, and I’m a yoga and mindfulness teacher. Today we are going to do a really simple practice for when you don’t have much time but you would like to steady and calm.
So coming to a seated comfortable posture, so it might be on a chair or maybe you can find a cushion to sit on on the floor. And the aim is to try and get a nice straight back, so find your sit bones, so your spine can rise nice and tall and your shoulders can slide down the back, and your neck can be nice and long. And I invite you to put a hand over your heart, and the other hand, the finger tips just touching the floor, or maybe on your lap so you can feel the steadiness of the support of one hand and the other hand is in touch and supporting yourself. And then start to allow the breath to settle and relax, and just being in touch with how you are feeling in this moment.
And then I am inviting you to bring your focus to the breath at the tip of your nose. This is a really simple exercise, just being aware of the breath as it enters the nose, the in breath, and as it leaves the body through the nose on the out breath. Noticing the texture of the breath as it comes in and the slight warming on the out breath. Each breath a new breath of life, bringing oxygen to every cell in the body and a releasing and letting go on the out breath. And don’t worry if your mind wanders off as minds do, just gently bring back the focus to this next in breath coming in at the tip of your nose. Feeling the rise and fall of your chest on the in breath and the out breath and the steady rhythm of your heart. And then when you have taken your last out breath, placing both of your hands on your lap and just taking note of how you are feeling in this moment, and stay here for longer if you like, otherwise gently taking your time to come back into the room in your own time.
Jane O’Rourke guides us through a breathing practice for when you do not have much time but would like to relax and calm down. Jane is a yoga and mindfulness teacher and a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist working with Children and Families. She teaches yoga4trauma in the Trauma Unit at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
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