Find Your Balance | Full SOMA Breath Session with Michael Mackin

Absolutely. So for anybody who's new to Soma Breath on here, Soma Breath is a transformational technique. It's actually a complete holistic health system, but what we're doing here today is a transformational breathwork technique. It combines breathwork with sound and guided visualization. The method itself consists of 3 phases. There's breathing in a rhythm where we breathe— breathing in through our nose and out through our mouth in a smooth cycle in time with the music. And then we will move into phase 2, which is an out-breath retention. You'll hear me guide you to take a big breath in and full breath out. Then we'll hold our breath with empty lungs. During this time, you might feel an initial urge to breathe, which might be just a fear response. So during this time, please just try to relax through that initial urge. And when you get a strong urge to breathe, you can take a sip just in and out quickly and then continue to hold your breath to the edge of your comfort zone. And you be your own guide on that. Then the stage 3 is an in-breath retention. So we'll be taking a big breath in, holding our breath. At this point, if anybody's familiar with the mula bandha, it's basically a contraction of the pelvic floor. And just to visualize energy rising up from the base of your spine through your body and into your brain. And then we'll go into relaxation before the next round. So also there is 2 locks. So during the breath holds, you can do the neck lock, which is just a slight drop of the chin to the chest, and the mula bandha, which is the pelvic floor lock.

Okay.

As discussed. So I do need to just mention some contraindications, so I'm going to read those so I don't miss anything. So this is just for people with— for the breath holds. Anybody with a severe critical disease or infection that impairs your ability to breathe, severe uncontrolled hypertension, organ failure, or late-stage terminal illness.

Anybody's pregnant.

Congratulations, of course. If you have epilepsy, a pacemaker, irregular heartbeat, then it's only with a doctor's okay. And this is only for the breath hold aspects. Tinnitus and hernias may be aggravated. The neck lock will help you if you're sitting up. And that's the contraindications. So is there anything else, Wilma, before we—

Yeah, I just wanted to ask you when, especially for anybody new in the room, if whilst they're doing the breath hold, They do want to take that sip of air. Could you just explain?

Explain what they should do? So when you're, when you're doing the breath hold, we all have a different capacity in this, so it's really important that you be your own guide. But if you feel a strong urge to breathe, then just take sips, like breathe back out again, and then relax back into the breath hold. And we will be holding our breath between a minute to 2 minutes. But you be your own guide, and it's just— it's not a competition. It's just about moving to the edge of our comfort zone, a little bit beyond, so that we can trigger a positive reaction and get the most out of the breathwork today.

Excellent. So who's looking forward to this session guided for the first time by Michael? I know I certainly am. Yeah, round of applause. Some of the people in the room are giving you a round of applause, Michael. No pressure. on you, but we have between YouTube and here, we have gone over the 100 mark. So we have about 110, 115 people that you are going to—

Welcome everybody.

Thank you so much for coming. Actually guide. And you know, you're going to actually take us all on this journey with— I just know we're all going to come out of it for the better. So guys, anyone else who wants to join us right now in the Zoom room, now's your time to come on in. Headphones or great speakers, I would recommend that you connect with them right now. All the music that you're going to hear is made by Soma Breath. Our founder Niraj Naik is a music producer and a DJ as well. So, you know, this is just the Soma Breath magic when it all comes together and the instructors then take that music and write this journey especially for us. So if you can connect to your headphones The music, like I always say, it massages your brain whilst you do the breathwork. Okay, and the two together is what's going to create this magic under Michael's guidance. So if we are all ready, if there are any questions, please do drop them in the Zoom room right now and inside the YouTube chat box. Um, right, Radha is asking, can they do this seated or lying down? Which I think you offered either.

Yeah, so they can do it either. The body activation is better if you're seated. Actually, yeah, the body activation seated and then the meditation lying down or seated.

And is it— does this have to be done on an empty stomach?

Um, I would say it's better on an empty stomach, but I don't think it's critical. Um, just be your own guide, and if you feel discomfort in any way, then just relax and, you know, do it with less. Don't do it with any force and Yeah, be your own guide on that.

I think this is going to be a very gentle journey. I've just had a cup of tea and a snack and I'm going to be doing it. Just so long as you're not bloated, because obviously you do want to fill your abdomen, so you, you know, you need space. So, you know, if you're very full, join in, listen, and maybe the breathing is not going to be comfortable, but I think this is going to be such a soft journey that it will be. Okay, but if you're uncomfortable, you can still tune in and then watch the, watch the replay. Okay, I don't think there's any more questions. I'm just jumping onto YouTube now and checking. No, just loads of hearts. People are ready for you. We're all ready, community, for this.

Excellent, thank you.

Well, take it away, Michael.

Thank you, Wilma. Well, first of all, we'll be doing the body activation, which is quite short, but it's reasonably challenging. So what I've chosen for today is a yoga asana combined with a chanting of the mantra Har, H-A-R. And the movement is with your arms outstretched wide with your thumbs pointing up. There's 5 parts to the movement. This is 1. Thumbs to shoulders is 2. Elbows up is 3. Back down is 4. Back out is 5. And it's just going in a cycle like this. If at any point it becomes too much, then you can just bring your hands down and try to continue chanting the mantra. So this is a really good movement for like releasing any stress and tension in the shoulders. And the mantra Har is actually about opening the heart. So yeah, I think this is going to be really, really lovely. So if we're ready, let's Again. Okay, with your hands out wide, beginning to prepare ourselves for chanting as we move the body Reconnecting with the music, connecting with your body as we get ready to begin. Try to relax the shoulders as much as possible. Using your will to move the body. If you like, you can add in a little pump of the navel as you chant the mantra. You'll feel it get a bit challenging, but see if you can just push through the resistance that comes up. This is an opportunity to break through any mental blockages. Doing amazing, we're halfway there. If you can begin to connect more with the sound of the mantra, how it's designed to open your heart.

And 7.

30 seconds left.

You're doing amazing.

See if you can push through. Last few cycles, and then at the end we bring our arms up. Now big breath in and bring your hands up.

Hold your breath.

Please move it up. Please give it a bit more air.

Almost there.

And then let it go.

Bringing your arms down, closing your eyes, just drop into the feelings of your body.

Notice the energy that's been shifted around. At this point, it'd be nice to just place one hand on your chest, the other hand on your stomach, begin to breathe into the abdomen, taking a few nice deep breaths in, just noticing and ensuring that you're breathing into the diaphragm. And then when you're ready, bring yourself back and bring yourself down to your position, ready for the breathwork meditation. So beginning to settle yourself now, feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed, with a straight spine, whether sitting down or laying down. Bring your focus to your breath, breathing into the abdomen, breathing out through your mouth in a smooth cycle. Really begin to feel yourself arriving here, ready For this journey. Now take a full breath in, pause your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, and then let it go, feeling your body relax. Take another full breath in, pause your breath again, 3 to 5 seconds, and then And let go, this time instructing your body to sink even deeper. One more time, big breath in, pause your breath, squeeze any area of your body that you feel called to squeeze, and then let it go. Feeling yourself Settling into the body, ready for this meditation. Before we start to breathe to the beats, see if we can drop out of our minds and into our body. Bringing our awareness to our physical self, start to notice these subtle sensations. Might be your heart beating in your chest or some gentle movement in your abdomen. Whatever it is, Just bring your awareness to this subtle activity within your body. And notice that even when you lay down to rest, there are parts of you that are still active, still at work. Keeping the show on the road. Just like this, nothing in the universe is ever really still, ever fully at rest. But everything From the smallest particle to the largest galaxy is moving towards and seeking equilibrium, which is a state of being where all the different influences acting upon something Or someone, where all the different forces acting upon you in your life are literally all canceling each other out. Equilibrium. Leaving you in a state of balance. Of calm, of harmony. Before we start the first round, I invite you to visualize you are inside giant bubble. A sphere of energy surrounds you, with you at the center. And let's welcome into this sphere of your physical reality all of the feelings, the emotions What if the energy associated with all the different action areas of your physical life, all the different areas where you give and receive energy— welcome all these feelings into this sphere. Let's call it your reality sphere. And as we breathe in a rhythm in this first round, let's see that we are breathing in life, breathing in expansion to this reality sphere of yours, seeing it grow. As you breathe, so that you can begin to see all this stuff more clearly. And I also welcome you during this breathwork to continue with Ocean breath, ujjayi breathing, with a slight contraction of the throat so that you can feel gentle whisper of the air as it passes through your throat, making the sound of the ocean as you breathe. Here we go. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4. 3, 4. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4.

In.

Breathing in through your nose.

Out.

And out through your mouth.

In.

In a smooth rhythm.

Out.

In.

Out.

Making your breath as effortless as it can be.

In. Out.

And continue to relax throughout this journey.

In.

Out.

In.

In.

Staying fully connected to the breath.

Out. In. Out.

If your mind begins to wander, that's okay. Just welcome the thoughts in and gently bring your awareness back to your breath, back to the rhythm of the music.

In, out, in, in through your nose, out through your mouth.

And out through your mouth, allowing your breath in to fall into the perfect rhythm. Breathing in strength, breathing out Any tension you may have.

In, out. In, out.

Continue to visualize your sphere of energy around you.

In, out.

See that you're breathing in life.

In, out.

Breathing in space into your reality. Doing amazing. Keep breathing. Keep connecting deeper. You may begin to feel tingles in areas of the body. Know that this is normal. Giving your breath the power to unlock these areas within yourself, these areas where Potential lies to charge you up with just what you require, all coming from within yourself. And now we'll move up to a two-two rhythm. In, out, in. For the last. 30 seconds of this round. See that you're breathing in love into your heart and into your sphere of energy around you.

In, out, in, out, in.

Keeping your breath relaxed.

In.

We get ready for the first breath hold.

In. Out. In. Out.

And now take a big breath fully in and let it go, breathing all the way out and finding a comfortable spot to pause your breath on empty. Give your body this opportunity to fully surrender, to fully relax and let go. You are safe. You are strong.

Sink deeper.

Into this space between the breaths. Remember, if you need to, you can take as many sips of air as you require, but try to relax through it. We're almost there. You're doing amazing. Sink deeper. Surrender.

Take a big breath in.

Hold. Contract and pull up the pelvic floor muscles and see the energy just rising up through your spine, through your abdomen, through your heart, through your throat, and into your brain, illuminating you. From within. Hold for a bit more, and when you're ready, let it go. Continue to breathe long, deep Slow breaths as you rest and get ready for the second round. Feel the refreshing nature of This space you are in right now. Bring your awareness back to visualizing at the center of this sphere of energy. See how it's now grown, how you've created more space. You can see colors of energy swirling around in this sphere around you, all the different feelings and emotions and frequencies associated, all the different parts of you, all the different parts that Project outwards into the physical world. As we go into this next round, if you can begin to notice any areas that might need recalibration, areas where there's a real Opportunity. If you give a little bit more energy, there'll be so much provided in return. Also notice any areas where you may need to shed some excess. Let's be— breathe in a rhythm in this second round. Really feel yourself in this sphere of your reality, all this different energy swirling around you, each with its own significant value to you.

Your life.

Let's fine-tune our moving parts, bringing yourself back into the rhythm and groove of the music. Here we go.

In, out. In, out.

Breathing in and breathing out in a smooth cycle, feeling yourself rising and falling like an ocean wave flowing.

In, out. In.

Keeping the breath as effortless as possible.

In. Out.

Allowing your breath to fall back into the perfect rhythm of inspiration and expiration.

In.

Breathing in life. Breathing out excess.

In. Out.

In. Allowing the air to fill you up. Up as you breathe in and cleanse you as you exhale.

In, out, in.

Now we'll move the breath up to a 2-2 rhythm.

Out.

In. Pushing through any resistance that comes up.

Out. In. Out. In.

Stay connected, stay committed.

In.

To this transformation.

Out. In. Out. In.

Remember, you are safe.

Out.

You are strong.

In.

You are supportive.

In.

And you are loved.

Out. In. Out.

And as you begin to charge those parts of you That need extra, extra love, extra life force. Feel this resonating in the energy around you. Feel your vibration shifting.

In, out, in, out.

And for the last 30 seconds, we'll move to a 1-1 rhythm.

In, out. In, out. In, out.

Stay connected to the rhythm, keeping your breath relaxed, allowing yourself to access more, more of this dormant energy within your Breathing in strength. Breathing in expansion.

Almost there.

See this as an act of self-love. A gift for yourself as you push through any resistance that comes up blocking you from the full potential of your life. Last few rounds. You're doing amazing. Now take a big breath fully in and let it all go. Pause your breath on empty, sinking back into this space Between the breaths, dropping into the archives of the subconscious mind. Feel the wisdom that's present here. Remember to take a sip as required. Try to relax through any tension. Sinking deeper, deeper. Almost there.

And now take a big breath fully in, all the way in.

Hold your breath and contract the pelvic floor. Muscles and see this energy rising up, elevating within you, charging you up. Hold your breath, squeeze a little bit more in. This energy filling every cell of your body.

Hold.

And then And let it go. Relaxing your breath, continue to breathe in a slow fashion. For this final relaxation, Bring yourself back to you at the center of your reality sphere. This time, see everything in perfect harmony, all the energy flowing around you, your reality sphere, in perfect coherence. Leaving you at the center in a state of bliss, equanimity, stability, balance. As we start to bring this session towards conclusion, see your sphere now reducing back down to its original size, gradually coming back home into you. Just relax and bring it all back into your body. See your sphere shrinking right down now, contained completely within your heart center. Now, with the sound of the gong, see that this energy is trickling out from your heart into your body. into all of the cells of your body, reprogramming you to live the life of your highest potential.

And bringing yourself gradually back.

Back into your body. Feel yourself coming back into this space. Wiggle your fingers, wiggle your toes, and when you are ready, bring yourself back to the Zoom room.