12
Using our breath to calm our minds and bring us into the present moment!? Count us in!!
Claudia is back and is bringing wisdom, tips, and guidance to this self-love Monday! We discuss how foundational breath is, the benefits of nostril breathing and then Claudia lovingly guides us through a series of 3 different breathing techniques: Three-Part breath, Alternate Nostril Breathing, and 4-7-8.
We also talk about:
Resources:
Breath by James Nestor
How to Do Three-Part Breath by Life For Me
Alternate Nostril Breathing: Benefits, How To and More by Healthline
The 4-7-8 Method That Could Help You Sleep by CNN
Find the full episode transcription here
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: call 988 to be connected with a trained professional
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor
Follow us on:
TikTok:
@nooffenseand
Instagram:
@nooffenseand_podcast
@kelly.haze
@amustardshower
Email: nooffenseand@gmail.com
Send us your feedback here
Subscribe to our email list here
We acknowledge we are operating on the occupied land of the Ute, Arapahoe, and Cheyenne peoples colonized as Denver - we pay our respects to those past, present, and future. We also acknowledge this statement is not enough and are committed to giving a portion of our proceeds to the people whose land we occupy and are in the process of getting a true land reverence.
12
Using our breath to calm our minds and bring us into the present moment!? Count us in!!
Claudia is back and is bringing wisdom, tips, and guidance to this self-love Monday! We discuss how foundational breath is, the benefits of nostril breathing and then Claudia lovingly guides us through a series of 3 different breathing techniques: Three-Part breath, Alternate Nostril Breathing, and 4-7-8.
We also talk about:
Resources:
Breath by James Nestor
How to Do Three-Part Breath by Life For Me
Alternate Nostril Breathing: Benefits, How To and More by Healthline
The 4-7-8 Method That Could Help You Sleep by CNN
Find the full episode transcription here
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: call 988 to be connected with a trained professional
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor
Follow us on:
TikTok:
@nooffenseand
Instagram:
@nooffenseand_podcast
@kelly.haze
@amustardshower
Email: nooffenseand@gmail.com
Send us your feedback here
Subscribe to our email list here
We acknowledge we are operating on the occupied land of the Ute, Arapahoe, and Cheyenne peoples colonized as Denver - we pay our respects to those past, present, and future. We also acknowledge this statement is not enough and are committed to giving a portion of our proceeds to the people whose land we occupy and are in the process of getting a true land reverence.
[music]
Kendle: Hey, y'all. You're listening to No Offense, And a loving and nourishing space created to fuel conversations around personal and collective liberation. We're Kelly Kendle, having vulnerable and intentional conversations full of humor, empathy, and, of course, love.
Kelly: Honestly, these episodes are just our opinions, so take no offense, and we invite you to explore yourself through our words, help grow our community by leaving a review, and most importantly, sharing. Now let's get into some self loving.
[music]
Kendle: Hello, everybody. Welcome to this very special selflove Monday. We have our very first guest guiding us on a selflove journey today. Claudia Nanino is back with us. We had her interview last week, and now she is gracing us with her knowledge and her expertise in breath. She's going to be guiding us through a breath sequence. Claudia, hello. We're so honored that you're here.
Claudia: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Kendle: Yeah, thank you.
Claudia: I love sharing breath, breath practices, breath education. I think it's really important, especially in a self love journey, because it's one of our easiest tools to access, and it's you. You don't have to rely on any outside source or an outside person. Yes, there are techniques. There are different things you can learn, but it can be really simple, too. It's not something that has to be overthought or rigid. Yeah, but just finding a few tools that you like a few different maybe histories or lineages or I like to always say if all else fails and you forget everything that we do today, just even nasal breath is wonderful. Even if you do that three times, six times, that is going to do wonders for your system, for your energy, for your emotions, especially if you're feeling moments of stress or anxiety. Six, even nasal breath is a game changer.
Kendle: And when you say nasal breath, do you mean breathing in through the nose and out through the nose?
Claudia: Yes. I think a lot of us have developed habits with our breathing that we're not even aware of, that are not optimal. I don't want to say they're bad. Like, I don't want to judge breath as good or bad, but there are certainly ways of breathing that are more ideal, that's better for the body, that allows all of the systems to work in the way that they're supposed to. That really helps you shift from being in your sympathetic nervous system versus your parasympathetic, or in simpler terms, being stressed versus being calm. And there's so many of us are breathing in a way that keeps us more in that stressed, anxious, vigilant way of living, which then doesn't allow the energy to be properly directed to the more basic systems of the body, like digestion, like recovery, like healing. And so breathing through the nose is one of the easiest, simplest things to remember, to be in a more optimal state. When you're thinking about the physical body and also the emotional body, the energetic body as well, and then if you can do your best to slow the breath down and to have that inhale and exhale to even it's beautiful. So if you want to start with a count of three, probably. Most of us are normally breathing somewhere between two to 4 seconds on the inhale and the exhale. But according to James Nester and his book Breath, according to the studies and the research that he dove into, like the ideal length is five to 6 seconds in and five to 6 seconds out, which is much slower than most of us are breathing. So it's important to just start to bring awareness to your breath and catch yourself, catch your pace, catch your depth. Notice when you're holding your breath. So many of us are holding our breath throughout the day. There's this term called email apnea. Have you heard of it? I think have we talked about it before?
Kendle: Yeah, we have. It's so fascinating.
Claudia: I know. And they've studied that and found that up to 80% of people studied experience this phenomenon and it's called email apnea. But it's essentially whenever you're on a device, your computer, your phone, you know, you're just kind of focused in the zone, typing or texting that we tend to hold our breath and we're not even consciously choosing to do so. And I'm not saying that necessarily breath holds are bad for you, but when they're done in this way, that's not intentional. And with again, being more in that kind of stressed, energetic state, it isn't good for you, actually. And so just bringing awareness again, catching when you're holding your breath and just not judging it, not getting mad at yourself or telling yourself that you're doing it wrong, just giving yourself a chance to do it better by introducing a long, slow, deep breath whenever you catch it. And you'll start to notice your breath throughout the day more and more. And that's a beautiful relationship to cultivate and have because you'll become very aware of how your breath can be directly correlated to how you're feeling.
Kendle: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I remember reading James master's book that you had us read in the apprenticeship and the conscious breathing through the nose with the five to 6 seconds and beginning to integrate that into the day. It was transformational just like that as you're saying that awareness and just giving yourself that moment. It's like such a little moment of self love to just kind of come back to the breath. And I found for myself it's beneficial to kind of like write on a sticky note, breathe. Same with blink. If you're like on a computer a lot like breathe and blink. Do the two B's because those are the things that we just don't do if we're focused.
Claudia: Blink. Wow. Didn't even think about blinking, right?
Kendle: Yeah, it's wild. It's like we're not breathing and we're not blinking. And I wonder what the disconnect there is and how we then get into that state. But I think the thing that's so cool about all of this is everything's a muscle and we've learned patterns and we can learn a different way of being. It takes time, but it's like this stuff eventually does become second nature.
Claudia: Right? And it's not about being perfect with it. I think we have somewhere around 25,000 breaths today. There's no way I think anybody is really realistically going to get to the point where all 25,000 breaths are that ideal scenario, but it's more about just like catching it more and more often and giving yourself that gift of that deep, even breath and starting to really get in tune with the shifts that you will immediately feel every time you do so. And then that becomes the reward. You're like, oh, I want to feel that goodness, I want to feel that calm, I want to feel that ease. Or I just want to be in that energy of knowing that I just did something good for myself. Even if maybe I don't feel a tangible benefit, at least I know I just did something that's good for my body, good for the spirit. And I can just appreciate that and be in gratitude for that.
Kendle: Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you for all of that. And we're excited for you to guide us today in this breath sequence. You mentioned you're going to take us through three different types of breathing. They're all kind of in the realm of calming and down regulating the system. So I'm really honored to be guided by you. We all are.
Claudia: Yeah. Thank you. Well, I love to do little sequences like this because it can be almost like a guided meditation, but we're just focusing on breath and there is no goal in terms of what the mind needs to be doing as long as you're breathing, as long as you're doing your best to follow the pattern and the sequence and just letting the mind do what it's going to do. More often than not, it is going to slow down a little bit, it is going to quiet because it does take some energy and some effort in order to maintain these patterns. But also it's very normal to find yourself distracted and maybe you kind of lost the sequence and that's okay. Just catching it with love when you do and coming back. It's a practice. We're just practicing. We're breathing. Whenever we breathe in this way, it brings us very much into the present moment, brings us into our bodies. And that's a gift in of itself as well because we're not stressing about any future situations or outcomes, we're not worrying about the past, we're just here in ourselves. And that's, I mean, that's essentially the goal of meditation as well. But this is just a different way of achieving that level of presence.
Kendle: Yeah.
Claudia: So we can get started. I invite you to find a comfortable seat wherever you are. And for those of you who are listening while driving, this is all safe to do while driving, just making sure you keep your eyes open, you keep your awareness about you. But if you are somewhere where you're able to close your eyes and not feel comfortable, I invite you to do so. And whether you're lying down, whether you're seated, just being kind of mindful of the spine, it doesn't need to be stick straight. Just giving yourself kind of that opportunity, thinking about the lungs and the ribs and how sitting a little bit taller gives that area a little bit more opportunity to fully expand and not be encumbered in any ways. Going back to that email, apnea, that's part of it too. That position starts to collapse the lungs and the ribs. So we want to just give ourselves a chance to have the lungs be open while still feeling comfortable. You're just taking a few deep breaths on your own, using the breath to really connect with your body and feeling the ribs and the lungs expand, maybe even feeling the belly fill. We're going to be using different parts of the body. We'll be engaging. So for now, just kind of taking full breaths and feeling it all. The first breath we're going to do is called three-parts breath. And so we'll be thinking about our torso divided into thirds with the upper chest, with the middle, which is diaphragm. And I like to think of my lower ribs kind of moving to the sides when I'm engaging this part and then the belly. And people I think are very used to chest and belly. The diaphragm can feel a little bit tricky. But again, just imagining it doesn't have to be perfect. That at the lower ribs you're feeling expansion in all directions. So let's start by exhaling the air completely inhaling one third of your air into the chest. One third middle, last third belly. Reversing that flow. Exhaling one third belly, one third ribs. Last third chest inhale chest, third into the diaphragm. Last third belly. Exhaling one third belly, middle chest inhale third into the chest, the side of the ribs, belly exhale belly, ribs, upper chest. Continuing at your own pace, moving from chest to ribs to belly. And then reversing that flow.
[silence]
This is the combination of feeling the parts of your body and also visualizing the air going there, the breath. There's no need to get it perfect.
[silence]
Some parts will feel easier for you than others.
[silence]
Just letting it flow without judgment.
[silence]
Because we're not used to breathing into these specific area parts in this way, it takes some focus, some attention, and that helps to slow things down. It's okay if you still feel like your mind is busy, if you're feeling distracted, just noticing, coming back to the breath, coming back to the body.
[silence]
Remember, we're breathing slowly and intentionally in this way. And especially when we're engaging the diaphragm and the belly. It's very calming, very grounding.
[silence]
Wonderful in moments of tension, stress.:
Also beautiful breath to use before rest.
[silence]
Brings in a lot of body awareness. I invite you to also bring in some extra love into these different parts of the body that you're engaging.
[silence]
We each have our own unique relationship with the different parts of our body. It's fascinating to think about how they're all working together now
[silence]
breathe. Breathe in oxygen, to breathe in energy, breathing life force. And therefore they're all very essential and important.
[silence]
One more round wherever you're at.
[silence]
Just coming back to an easy breath. When you've completed, just taking little self inventory in terms of anything you might be feeling or noticing. Sometimes you can feel different parts of your body a little bit more. Sometimes you feel a little bit of energy. Sometimes certain sensation or energy will come over you. Motion. Maybe you could feel your heart more strongly than before. And this next breath is a form of pranayama. An older yogic breath. It's called alternate nostril breathing. And there are a few variations of this. But I like to use one hand and fold down my pointer and middle finger, keeping my thumb ring and pinky extended. I'm going to use those two sides, those two fingers, sets of fingers to open and close the nostrils so that we can inhale and exhale on specific sides, which I'll guide us through. So I invite you to first start by closing the left side, exhaling your air completely. Then inhaling on the right, closing the right, opening the left, exhale. Inhale on the left, close left open right to let it go. Inhale right, close right open. Left, exhale.
Close left open right, exhale.
Inhale. Left Excuse me, right.
Close right open, left, exhale.
Inhale left, close, left open right exhale.
Continuing at your own pace, just being mindful that the inhales and the exhales feel equal even on all sides, it helps you to keep count. I generally work with a count of four or you can just feel into it and let it feel even. Very common to have one nostril more open than the other. So you might need to use a little bit different emphasis or strength on one side versus the other to get those inhales and exhales to match.
[silence]
And then the yoga tradition they've mapped out. Energy meridian is very similar to what's used in Chinese medicine with acupuncture. They're very, very similar indeed. And this breath in particular is excellent for helping to clear all those energetic channels, particularly the two key ones. One that runs up the spine, one that runs down the spine. Also good for balancing left and right hemispheres of the brain.
[silence]
Noticing in your body if you've tensed up anywhere. It can happen when you're trying something new, just relaxing, breathing into that space.
[silence]
Do one more round on the right side and then on the left side and finishing on the right.
[silence]
Going back to an easy breath, checking out with your body, seeing if there's any organic movement that could feel good, maybe in the shoulders or the neck. We started to loosen up, potentially some muscles, or started to move through a little bit of energy or attention, feel good to engage some of the muscles. And again, checking in with how you're feeling, what you're noticing doesn't have to be any specific goals, any specific benchmarks, but just noticing what may have shifted for you now compared to our last break or compared to when we started. The last breath is called a four, seven, eight breath. And it's made popular by Doctor Andrew Wild, and he's done a lot of research and studying into the nervous system and into the vagus nerve, which is essentially the key nerve that connects to everything in the body. And the importance of regulating it, the importance of toning it, the importance of finding practices that help you to calm it, tap into it. And so this is a beautiful one, and it's going to be all through the nose. Again, we're going to inhale for a count of four, hold for a count of seven, and exhale for a count of eight. And this one can be a little tricky as you're finding with each repetition how much breath you need to take in on the inhale in order to complete the second and the third step. So if you find it takes you a little while, that's okay. Do it with grace, with compassion, because we've done the other two relaxing, calming breaths. It gives you a little bit of a light up compared to how we just started with this breath. But again, let it be easy. Let it be nourishing. In no way are these breath practices meant to add any additional stress or judgment. More to relax. So making whatever adjustments necessary, figure out what works for you.
first to exhale completely. Take a deep inhale through the nose for four.
Hold - 7
Exhale - 8. Slowly.
Inhale - 4, hold- 7.
Exhale-8.
Inhale-4
Hold-7.
Exhale-8.
Inhale-4
Hold-7.
Exhale - 8 . Slowly.
Let's do one more. Inhale - 4.
Hold - 7.
Exhale - 8.
Going back to an easy breath, just finding a moment of gratitude for yourself, for giving yourself this gift, for appreciating the breath and everything it does for us.
And building these new patterns, this new awareness, so that you can be more conscious of your breath and work with it and decide what works best for you, what feels the most like love, self love self care throughout your day, throughout your life.
I'm ready to go to sleep.
[laughter]
Kendle: Yes,
Claudia: Feeling really very relaxed.
Kendle: I just feel so grateful for all of that.
Claudia: And I feel a little buzzy too, which is interesting. I don't normally feel that way after these techniques, but I just want to voice that. So it normalizes. It for anyone else who's feeling maybe a little buzzy, little light headed, like it's okay. These are new oftentimes, and they'll feel differently just kind of depending on where you are and where your nervous system is at, just continuing to work with it, try it, try different techniques, find the technique in a combination that works best for you.
Kendle: Absolutely. Yeah. I am just like reveling in the sequence of it and how we flow through all of that. I've struggled previously with four, seven, eight because I think I count too slowly or I'm like maybe a little too stringent with myself on that and having the breath before it and recognizing like, oh, I can count quicker was really helpful. And so I really appreciate all of that. And just how it all flowed. And I just couldn't help but think about how amazing it is that we are recording this on a Monday. And the intention of our doing our Self Love Mondays on a Monday is because it's the day ruled by the moon, and the moon is all about self love. So just feeling extra juicy in all of it.
Claudia: Amazing. You know that I have a free library of these practices and different sequences. So maybe show that in the show notes.
Kendle: Absolutely.
Claudia: People want to come back to it and reference it and practice and then try other sequences. I have different ones with different themes that are beautiful to practice.
Kendle: 100%. Yeah, we will definitely link that. And thank you so much for guiding us and for all of the knowledge and wisdom you brought to this Self Love Monday.
Claudia: It's my pleasure. Well, thank you for everything you're doing and thank you for letting me be part of it.
Kendle: Of course. Yeah. Thank you to everyone who's listening. We appreciate all of you and we love you all and we'll see you on Wednesday.
Kendle: Thank you for holding space for this conversation. We hope it was expansive. As a new podcast, it would mean the world if you could please help us grow our community by leaving a review and sharing this episode.
Kelly: Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on any of the juicy conversations. We would love to connect with you, so follow us on TikTok Instagram and our Patreon, coming soon.