Tips to try for lying down

So you might find that you want to do the practices lying down. So if you're low of energy or you're having a bad day, it's absolutely fine. You can adapt these practices to suit you. So I'm going to take some cushions down to the floor and you could do this in bed as well. Um and there are several different ways you might like to try this. So I've got lots of cushions here. Uh because sometimes lying on your back if you're breathless can increase breathlessness because of the pressure on your chest. So you may already know this, you may already do this, but lying down can actually make your breathing worse at times. So you can use cushions to make a kind of shelf for the back of the body like this. And then oops when you lie down like this, that's it. The whole of the back of the body is slightly elevated. And this is also nice because you can actually feel your own body breathing. And this can help us to really settle. So if breath is the barometer of the nervous system, then you know we can tune into and notice how we're feeling and settle putting the hands on the body and just feeling the breath coming in and out.

So it's nice because you can feel the breath from the inside.

and your ribs lifting and lowering.

And the other option, if you don't like that one, is to go over onto your side, put a cushion between your legs, cuz that can be comfortable if you've got bony knees. It's also helpful for lower back trouble. Maybe lower the head a bit. And if you're lying on your side, then your tummy can relax. So, we're not holding the tummy in. The tummy can relax. the diaphragm can flow and we can feel the breath in the back and the side of the body. So you could try any of those breathing exercises here. Again, just tuning into how you feel, softening your eyes, your jaw, your belly, and just let your breathing drop into its natural rhythm. Slightly extending the exhalation very naturally, just like that wave of breath going out.

And then if you want to lie on your back and that's okay for you, this can be nice. You know, if you want to have a nap or 40 winks or at night if you want to sleep, just support the backs of the knees. That softens the hips, the knee joints. You can get yourself comfortable here. Spread your back into the floor. Um, if you were doing a few movements first, that's fine. You can do them here. You can do the stretches here. You can move the joints here. You can release the shoulders and neck here. You don't have to do it sitting or standing. So, you know, don't forget you can do these movements lying down. Anyway, once you've got your body arranged, then again, you could just put your hands on your tummy and just feel the soft movement of your breath like those gentle waves coming in and going out. allowing the exhalation to be beautifully long, rolling away. And then just let the inhalation rush in when it's ready. So no forcing, no holding back, no restrictions, just the natural breath.