Hi, I'm Eula Lys Dunkin, and this is a circular breathing practice. If you are new to breathwork, I recommend going back and doing one of my previous breathwork exercises. And even if you aren't new to breathwork and you want to get a better sense of what this practice is, go ahead and listen to this one all the way through before trying it.

Circular breathing is a breathwork technique where we're going to be inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth without any pause between the inhale and exhale. So if you imagine a circle, it's going to go all the way around the circle without any pauses in between. I'm going to be counting so that you'll know how long the inhale is and how long the exhale is. We're gonna do six counts for the inhale, six counts for the exhale, and we're going to do it for several rounds. The benefits of circular breathing: it can be good for a gentle stress and anxiety reduction practice. It can also help give you a sense of movement and flow in your body. It's going to be moving the oxygen, oxygenating your blood. And it can also be a helpful practice if you find that you're having a lot of racing, ruminating thoughts, focusing on the breath and getting some of that rest and digest parasympathetic energy into your nervous system. It's going to be really supportive.

So I'll talk you through it first. Go ahead and find a comfortable space for the next few minutes, where you’re gonna be uninterrupted, where you’re going to feel cozy, and settle in. Feel the points of contact that your body is making with whatever's holding you. It could be the chair. It could be a bed, floor. Wherever it is, feel yourself. That connection to gravity to the ground. Something that's holding you up.

I'm going to take a few gentle inhales and exhales before starting the circular breathing, just to get the body used to becoming aware of the breath. So go ahead. You can have these breaths be in and out the nose. I'm going to I inhale for a count of four and then exhale for a count of four.

Let that practice  go free and wiggle your fingers. Shrug your shoulders. Let your breath out with a ha sound. Notice how you're feeling. If this is enough for you today and you feel good, your body is saying I'm good with the focused breathwork, go ahead and pause. And if you feel like you want to continue, we’re going to start the circular breathing. I'm going to guide you through it. Again, we’re inhaling for a count of six, exhaling for a count of six. No pause in between the inhale and exhale. It's going to be one continuous loop.

Now go back to your regular breath. And feel. Notice any shifts that have happened around that practice. Feel the energy moving, feel the oxygen and blood moving through your body. Loving yourself. Notice any shifts? Maybe you're feeling a little more grounded. The mind is a little more quiet. If your eyes were closed, go ahead and reorient to the room. You can open them. Stretching your fingers, your toes, any movements your body wants to make right now. Stay here until you're ready to resume the rest of your day.