The other day I was driving home with my son from school and I let go of a big breath. He asked me what was wrong, thinking that it was a sigh, or a sign of irritation. Possibly it triggered childhood of memories of me having us all take “a deep breath” in those moments where it felt like nothing would pull us through the chaos. But those breaths always seemed to do the trick.
The power of breath is actually quite remarkable. My own visceral experience came from practicing yoga and pranayama after the birth of my first child. While the asana felt wonderful, although challenging to my postpartum body, it was the breath, and how it created space and movement inside of me that made the biggest difference.
It’s a tool that surprisingly, is only recently getting the attention it deserves. In 2020, duing the chaos of the early days of the pandemic, James Nestor and his book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art brought it to the forefront of everyone’s attention. As an investigative journalist, Nestor explored the science of how we breathe, what we’re doing wrong, and how we can breathe in a way that supports our health.
When was the last time you took a breath? Not the quick, get-ready-for-the-next-thing kind of breath,
But the gentle inhale and the slow, deep exhale,
where your shoulders drop
and your belly softens.
The one where you soften your face and create space in your body.
You feel relief wash over you, an actual chemical shift within your body:
that slows your racing heart,
sweetens the corners of your mind,
and gently uncurls the petals of your heart.
You carry this super power with you wherever you go. Whenever you need it, it’s there, just waiting to be accessed as medicine for you in the moment. The form your breath takes can change the way your heart beats, it can settle down the rhythm that your entire physiology responds to.
Breathing is something your body does without conscious thought. You don’t have to think about it for it to happen. But you can take conscious control of your breath, directing it in a way that supports what you need from your physiology and mental state in the moment. You can use your breath as a kind of medicine for the moment.
Your breath can get you activated, preparing you to take action. It can also slow you down, settling your nervous system from your core.
It is the deepest and surest path to connecting with the present moment. Your breath can be your anchor, your ballast, reminding you for however long you choose that the most important time there ever was is this moment that you are in right now.
Try it for yourself now, just for a moment, feel as if there is no to-do list, no one needing anything from you, nowhere you need to get to in a hurry.
Let your breath, and your awareness of the texture of it, how it feels as it enters your body through your nostrils, and the tone of it as you exhale, guide you down the path to the present. Feel how your body responds. Bring your awareness to your belly, your chest, your shoulders. Notice how you can expand your breath into your hips and release so many things that you carry there.
Let your breath be your ally, your friend, your partner.
For this one moment, it’s just you and your breath, dancing together.
If you want guidance on breath practices to help you find peace, ease, and stability, I’ve got some great ones to share with you.
Want better breathing?
If your breath isn’t helping you, it might be hurting you. Mouth breathing and stress breathing can both cause pain in the body and make it harder to deal with all the things you are juggling in your life. If you think better breathing can help you, join me in my next free breath class.
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