Breathwork to Transform Stress into Serenity

Did you spend any part of the past few weeks just trying to make it through? Have you worried about what others might think about the gifts you gave or food you made, or did you hold back your authentic thoughts and feelings to make peace with others around the dinner table?

Maybe you felt like you came up short somewhere, or that you didn't enjoy the magic enough. 

The thoughts and feelings that we have during the holidays, particularly those we resist, can manifest as energetic blocks in our bodies. When we judge ourselves, fear the judgment of others, or hold back our true thoughts or feelings at holiday gatherings, it's essential to take a time out to process what has come up.

This episode explores the powerful impact of breathwork in meeting all of this, which often begins to manifest as overwhelm or stress. Though particularly created for releasing any pressure or stress felt during the holiday season, this practice is great for any time you feel stress, tension, overwhelm or pressure.

Embrace your emotions while finding calming clarity in this guided breathwork session, encouraging acceptance of feelings and inviting connection with the heart's wisdom to:

• Recognize emotions as part of the holiday experience 
• Release blockages and invite a sense of calm connectedness
• Create space with breath to emotions to naturally process
• Welcome miracles into your life

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hi and welcome to Untethered with Jen Liss, the podcast that's here to help you break free, be you and unleash your inner brilliance. I'm your host, jen, and in this episode I'm going to support you with a short breathwork session to help you calm the overwhelm and welcome a little holiday magic. Let's dive in. Hey there, unicorn, it's Jen. Welcome back to the podcast. How are you feeling this holiday season? For real? How are you feeling this holiday season? You might be one of those people who is always super prepared. You love the holidays. You had your shopping done back around Thanksgiving. You're good to go, you're so into it, you're in it to win it and you're perfect.

Speaker 1: 1:00

Other people might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed. At this point. I just want you to know that, wherever you are, it is perfect, it is wonderful, it's exactly as it's intended to be, and there is something here for you, in whatever it is that you are experiencing, even if, at this moment, you are experiencing a strong sense of overwhelm, that overwhelm has arisen for you in this moment. All things that have led to this moment that you are in right now listening to this podcast, maybe even experiencing this sense of overwhelm right now, it could be why you reached for this podcast in the first place is for you. You are feeling this way because there is something in it for you, there's something to be gained, there's something to be experienced, there's something to witness. So, in this breathwork session, let's witness it, let's feel it.

Speaker 1: 2:08

Healing comes when we pause and we let our emotions, we let our sensations, we let all things that are here to be experienced in our very human experience be felt. And so often we will push feelings of overwhelm and stress and anxiety. We will try to push it away. We will feel like it's wrong that we shouldn't feel that way. And I'm here to tell you yes, it is meant to be here. You are supposed to be feeling this way. It's a gift. Feeling this way, it's a gift. It's here for you. And as we experience and let this energy of overwhelm or stress or anxiety or whatever it is that is coming up in your body, as we let it be felt, we allow it to transition into whatever its next phase is going to be.

Speaker 1: 3:05

So, finding a space wherever you are comfortable. This could be lying down, this could be sitting up, it could even be while walking, ensuring your own safety, that you're in a safe place where you can relax your gaze a bit, letting yourself get comfortable and, as you do, taking a big, deep breath into the nose and, when you're ready, exhaling that breath out through the mouth. Exhaling that breath out through the mouth, another breath into the nose and a nice full exhale, maybe even with an audible sigh out through the mouth. One final breath, really feeling that breath on your nose, letting that exhale go out through the mouth, placing one hand on your heart, the other hand on your belly, whichever hand naturally goes to, each location is perfect. Where your hands chose to rest on the chest and the belly are also perfect.

Speaker 1: 4:34

And just noticing your breath, noticing this tiny miracle that happens thousands of times a day, this energetic flow that is moving in and out of your body. Not asking this breath to change or do anything different, just letting it flow into the nose, out through the mouth, perhaps into the nose, out through the nose, whichever way your body is naturally breathing, knowing that there's no right or wrong way to breathe, just as there's no right or wrong way to be. Feeling your sit bones beneath you if you're sitting up, if you're lying down, feeling the gentle press against your back and the entire back body, feeling your feet resting on the surface beneath you, maybe even gently pressing every part of your body that is touching a surface down into that surface and feeling that there is support pressing back up for you, your body gently resting into that support, that support reaching up, holding you. And when you're ready, we are going to begin what is called the halo active breath breathing into the nose and out through the mouth. Big, intentional breath in through the nose, filling up the belly. Exhale out through the nose, filling up the belly. Exhale out through the mouth, into the nose, out through the mouth, and just starting to rotate that breath at your pace, starting to get a feel for what the experience is like to bring that breath into the belly, really expanding the belly. We hold the thighs tight, we pull everything inward when we get stressed, seeing with each inhale you can expand that belly and let it expand, let it grow. And with each exhale can you relax something. Each inhale expanding, each exhale, letting something go, that's it. Continuing to rotate that breath at your pace, in your way. That's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 8:41

And as you begin to find this pacing, what is your pacing today? Your body's natural way that it wants to breathe, inviting in and welcoming in any emotions that might want to be felt in this moment. You could experience all things in your body all at once. You could have joy, you could have peace, anger, frustration. You could have peace, anger, frustration, guilt, overwhelm and just noticing which of these things is swirling into your experience. Maybe it's one thing, perhaps it's many, and as you experience this, noticing if you can back your awareness out of those swirls, the swirls might continue to happen. You might be feeling them, noticing how there is a part of you that is connected to something else. Maybe there's just one millimeter of disconnection between yourself and that sensation. Can you find it? Can you find this tiny space between, and maybe you can even use your inhale to move a little bit of energy and a little bit of space into that tiny space.

Speaker 1: 10:46

Taking a breath in creating some space, exhaling, letting something go, creating space, letting something go, recognizing that emotions run through our body for 90 seconds. Each of these tiny swirls has a maximum length of 90 seconds and the only thing that can cause us to feel these for longer is a reduction in that space is emerging as a holding. So can you, with your breath and on each breath, create a little distance, still allowing the emotions to be exactly as they are. We don't have to change them. We just get to create that tiny bit of separation. Beautiful, just continuing to breathe into this for as long as feels good to you. If it supports you to pause this audio and continue to breathe for a bit, you're welcome to do that.

Speaker 1: 12:26

Otherwise, when you're ready, taking a final big, deep breath into the nose, filling up, feeling that belly fill, feeling your entire being fill, creating as much space as you can, holding that breath at the top and, even though you feel so full, seeing if you can take another sip of air in at the top. And when you're ready, releasing that breath, letting it go, coming back to your natural breath, placing One hand on your chest and the other hand on your belly and connecting with the part of you that is separate from that swirl, separate from each of those 90 second emotions. There's something else here, maybe even simply being curious. Is there something else here, apart from all of those sensations? What is that part of me that is witnessing and taking a breath in and on your exhale, allowing your awareness to rest right into the heart space, taking two more inhales right into that heart space, right into that heart space and feeling this heart space, this portal, this life force, this thing that supports your breath, this thing that supports your life.

Speaker 1: 14:44

Your heart supports every thought that you have, it supports every feeling that gets to swirl through your body. This heart that speaks to you day in and day out Sometimes gets drowned out by the thoughts and the swirls connected here to your heart. Asking your heart what is it that I truly live for? What tiny miracles can you help me see today? Allowing your heart to respond in only the way that your unique heart responds to you could be a word, a phrase, a sensation, a color. What tiny miracles does your heart help you to see? What tiny miracles does your heart help you to see and what miracles await you today? Opening up your heart and your mind and your body to the curiosities of what will drop in for you today, thanking yourself, thanking your heart, thanking each feeling that has shown up to support you past, present and future, and expecting miracles in every moment of every day. When you're ready, beginning to bring your awareness back into the present moment, slowly returning back into the here and the now, perhaps gently pressing your body back down into the surface beneath you, feeling that little nudge of support back, blinking your eyes open, making eye contact with something here in the room, with you in the space that you're in, coming fully back into the present moment and your time in your way. Thank you so much for taking the time to join me for this breathwork session. I hope that you found it supportive and I hope that it will support you, and I hope that today you will open your heart and open your mind and your soul to the miracles that are truly here and available to you. In fact, those miracles are seeking you, just as you've opened up to seeking them.

Speaker 1: 18:15

As we close out this episode, I would love to let you know about something. If you're not aware of it I am hosting a word of the year party. It is one of my favorite things, perhaps my favorite thing that I do all year. This word of the year party will help you in crafting an intentional word of the year that will carry you through 2025 and welcome many, many miracles and lessons and beautiful possibilities into your world. If you'd like to join this word of the year party, you can go to genliscom slash 2025, genliscom slash 2025. It's completely free and I would love to see you there 2025. It's completely free and I would love to see you there. You just keep shining your magical unicorn light out there for all to see. I'll see you next time.