Hi, my name is Eula Lys Dunkin . I'm a licensed therapist and coach, and this is a breathwork practice to help give you a sense of space internally. This is part of my ongoing series of mindfulness and meditation practices by and for trans folks. And as always with breathwork, you really want to listen to your own body and your own system.

Breathwork can be a really beautiful tool, and it can also be something that isn't always going to be accessible for you or your body. So my recommendation would be to listen to this practice once before doing it on your own. Another recommendation would be to really give yourself a chance to check in. Maybe try one round and see how it feels. Breathwork can help our nervous systems find a sense of grounding. And depending on how we're feeling with dysphoria, depending on how we're feeling, as far as wanting to be in touch with body sensation can vary by the day on whether it's going to be the practice for you.

Today's practice, I’m going to walk you through it with a description first, and then I'm going to do it with you. We're going to inhale for a count of four, pause for one count, exhale for a count of four and pause for one count. And we're going to do that for five rounds. So I'm going to guide you through and I'll be counting for you. And we're going to do a little bit of grounding and orienting before we get started and then again as we finish.

So find a space that feels cozy enough, private enough, safe enough to give this practice a go. My recommendation would be to either sit somewhere where your spine can be relatively straight, or to lie down on a supportive surface. The goal here is for your spine and your neck to be able to be in a straight line, so try not to hunch over or then crunch the neck.

As we get started, feel what's holding you. You're sitting in a chair. Really feel how this chair is supporting you and holding you up. You're laying down. Notice either the floor, the mattress, or the ground. How that's supporting you, holding your body, your points of contact. Starting to slow down a little more.

Just notice any moving or adjustments want to happen. I usually check in to see are my shoulders scrunched up by my ears? If so, just a gentle rolling back of the shoulders. Check in with the jaw. You could even give it a little manual massage if you need. If you're noticing, it's clenching. Check in with the brow line and just notice if there's any tension. Just starting to smooth out some of these edges, where we tend to carry a lot of tension in our in our bodies.

Now, before starting the actual space breathwork practice, first notice what your breath is right now without changing it. Just notice where are you breathing? Where's the breath going? Wherever that is. You're welcome to place a hand on your diaphragm. You don't have to if that's going to kick up any body stuff today, but just gently start to move your breath down into your diaphragm. And again, that's the space that's underneath your rib cage. It's really a like a bowl that expands three hundred and sixty degrees when we breathe.

Just start little by little. Try to breathe from your belly, from your diaphragm. And if your hand is there, the next couple breaths you take, you might notice your hand moving outward with the inhale and moving back down with the exhale. Diaphragmatic breathing helps our lungs get more oxygen. It helps move oxygen through the bloodstream more efficiently. So just see how that feels. Diaphragmatic breathing in and out. Feel the lungs fill with air and then feel that little gentle contraction going down.

Now check in. Is this as far as you want to go today? If so, great. You can pause the practice here and you can just practice a few more rounds of that diaphragmatic belly breath. If this feels okay and you're ready to go forward with the next part of the practice, follow along.

So on the next breath in, I want you to breathe in from your belly. Take a nice deep breath, maybe the deepest breath you've taken so far. And then exhale all your air out. You could even exhale through the mouth. for these next part of the practice. And now we're going to inhale on a count of one two three four. Little pause. Exhale through the mouth. One two three four. Little pause. Inhale through the nose. One two three four. Little pause. Exhale through the mouth. One two three four. Little pause. Inhale one two three four. Little pause. Exhale One, two, three. Four little paws. One more round. Inhale. One two three four little paws. Exhale one two three four little paws. Now inhale and your own counting. Fill your lungs. And then with a ha sound. Exhale all your air out. Feel that oceanic sound that “ha.” Empty out your lungs and return back to your regular breathing.

And just take a little scan and notice any micro shifts that have happened from doing this short practice. Notice again anything with your thoughts. With how your body is feeling. With your emotions. And before going to the rest of your day. Go ahead and just orient your space. If your eyes were closed. Go ahead and open them. Just look around the room. Wiggle your toes. Wiggle your fingers. Maybe stretch. Any movement that wants to happen.

Now, when you're ready, you can close this practice and go on with the rest of your day.