Breath work has really become one of my favourite self-care tools because there are so many techniques we can draw upon, and the benefits make taking the time to be still and breathe more than worth it in my experience. For me, the starting point is breath awareness: finding space to be still (let’s be realistic here, that space might not always be a quiet one, and that’s okay!) and giving myself the time to reconnect to my rhythm of breathing without altering it.
Noticing the natural rise and fall of my torso as I breathe in and out, noticing where my breath lands in my body, and how it feels in that moment. Then noticing my thoughts, beliefs, and judgments around my breath (and this part is important because it helps to build awareness around what we bring into this space and how it impacts our breathing), welcoming in those thoughts, beliefs, and judgments and acknowledging them one by one. When we do this, we’re not resisting them (what we resist persists), and when we’re not resisting them, we begin to take the power out of them, finding our way back to our breath and using that as an anchor.
We can survive three weeks without food, three days without water, & three minutes without oxygen.
25% of the oxygen we breathe is used by the brain, 12% by the kidneys, and only 7% by the heart. We breathe on average 12-20 times per minute, which equates to roughly 20,000 cycles in a 24-hour period.
We have the power to shift our thinking by changing the way we breathe.”
~ Ashley Neese
The autonomic nervous system connects the brain and body and is made up of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). During high stress, the SNS (fight, flight, or freeze response) is activated. We know the signs: heartbeat rises and adrenaline courses through our body, our breath becomes faster, shallower, higher up in the chest. When we’re calm, truly calm and relaxed, the PNS (rest and digest mode) is activated. This is less known, but the heart rate slows, blood pressure is reduced, breathing slows down and is somewhat deeper in the torso, nearer the belly.
Get to know how your diaphragm works:
- Place your hands at each side of your torso with pinky fingers touching your bottom ribs.
- Breathing gently in and out through your nose, feel your sides expand on each inhale and retract on each exhale.
Many of us hold our breath without realising, reading that email first thing in the morning or noticing how many emails we need to respond to, on top of our ever-growing to-do list! Focusing on the exhale can be challenging because it forces us to look at why we might be holding our breath. When we pause for a moment to focus our attention on the exhale as we breathe, our brain will further support this pause by sending a message from the brain to the body to switch gears and shift into rest and digest mode. In return, the lungs and heart send feedback to the brain convincing it that all is calm and peaceful even when it might not be. Anxiety and stress cannot live within our body if we choose to consciously slow down our breathing.
They require shallow and fast breathing to survive and thrive within us. Focusing on the exhale and making it longer than the inhale centers, grounds, and calms us, allowing us to be a little more present.
Building a Breath Work Practice:
- Find a comfortable position whether you are seated or lying down.
- Bring one hand to the belly, one hand to the chest.
- Without altering your breath, take the time here to notice your own rhythm of breathing.
- Where does it land and how does it feel?
- Is it landing lower down in your torso near the hand resting on your belly? Deeper, longer, slower.
- Or is it landing higher up in your torso near the hand resting on your chest? Shallower, shorter, quicker. (There’s no right or wrong here, it’s simply awareness).
- Begin to notice thoughts, beliefs, and judgments. Don’t try to resist them; what we resist persists. Instead, welcome them in one by one and acknowledge each of them as if they were your friend.
- Notice when you do this, you begin to take the power out of them. Those thoughts, beliefs, and judgments begin to dissipate and melt away (sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is challenging. Remember our practice is never linear but rather an opportunity to notice the similarities and differences, and what they could mean for us in each moment).
- Slowly begin to invite your inhale to deepen and your exhale to lengthen. If it’s comfortable, try inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth with a sigh.
- Consciously begin to extend the exhale so it’s a little longer than the inhale (if it helps, you can count to 3 with each inhale and count to 4 for each exhale).
- Repeat this for as many rounds of breath as feels comfortable for you before returning to your own natural rhythm.
- When you do return to your natural rhythm of breathing, notice the similarities and differences between your breath now and when you first began your practice (remembering that what matters is not the similarities and differences but rather your awareness of them).
Try this practice with me!
Main – Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
