Sunsets and Sunrises

a free breathing exercise

Disclaimer: This is not clinical advice. If you cannot breathe comfortably through your nose, then consider seeking qualified medical help, or at least research the subject of breathing, so that you are informed and can decide for yourself how best to breathe.

The sun sets.

The sun rises.

As our breath.

To calm our busy minds.

Sit quietly and comfortably, upright, not slumped.

Shut your mouth, and breathe though your nose.

Gently and slowly.

Feel your stomach rising with each deepening slowing in-breath.

And breathe out through your nose too.

Breath slowly, gently, so that you cannot hear your breath.

Slow your breathing.

Focus on your breath.

Try this for less than a minute, and see how it feels for you.

If you like it, and it feels helpful, then gradually increase the duration of your nose-breathing, in and out.

Practice so that you can do it with your eyes closed, without the need to read these notes.

And/or find some guided breathing meditations online.

Be gentle with yourself.

Love yourself.

Consider other factors which can influence our breathing, such as stress levels, nutrition/diet, exposure to blue light/screens, sleep, pharmaceutical medications, age, past unresolved trauma, etc. There are many more. Life is an experiment.

More information and guided breathing exercises are at Patrick McKeown’s website OxygenAdvantage.com and https://www.youtube.com/@OxygenAdvantage

See also James Nestor’s website and 2020 book ‘Breath - The New Science of a Lost Art’.