Circle Breathing

As taught by Peter A. Levine, PhD and Maggie Phillips, PhD in their book "Freedom from Pain", circle breathing is a wonderful practice that you can do on your own to enhance your state of relaxation, increase comfort, and open pathways of flow in your body.

At class, we created a circle with the breath by imagining that you could breathe in, through and up the right side of the body, starting with the right foot, right lower leg, right thigh, progressing up to the belly.  The circle continued by sensing the breath crossing through the belly and over to the left side of the body.  As you exhale, imagine the breath moving down, out, and through the left thigh, left lower leg, left foot, and out into the earth.  Repeating a few times and noting what is different in your body each time your complete the circle.  We then reversed the circle direction with inhalation going up the left, breath crossing over the belly, and exhaling down the right leg.  Pausing again to notice what is different in your body experience.  Do you feel lighter? More energized?  More calm?  Less tense?  Or do you experience some other change - what is it?