Common Sense

In my last post, A No Brainer I wrote about how important our deep connection to our senses is to all aspects of our lives-- health, prosperity, communication, relationships. Most of us probably never noticed how much of our sensory experience has become obscured by the fast pace of our lives. We eat too quickly to fully taste our food and so much is flying at us at every moment that we spend much of our time filtering-out and numbing to sensory overload rather than engaging completely with the world around us. Whereas these may seem like necessary coping strategies simply to manage life in the modern world, what we have done is cut ourselves off from the primary sources of our most powerful, authentic and creative selves.

How often do we really smell the air we are breathing or make prolonged eye contact with people we encounter? When was the last time you really tasted the textures and nuances of what you eat or deeply felt life as you move through it? It seems to me that we spend a good amount of our time just hanging on by our fingernails to meet the obligations we have amassed as part of a full and productive life. Believe me, I did it too. Job, kids, partner, household, the business of life, all converging to keep us from engaging fully in the sensory information that feeds our thoughts and connects us with our true selves and each other. We allow our lives to push us from behind.

There is a lot of talk these days about the importance of breathing, aware breathing. Of course we know that the body breathes on its own, thankfully while we sleep and in the event that we are unconscious. But the breath mechanism is also voluntary, meaning we can consciously choose to train our breathing to be most advantageous to our health and wellness. Why would we do such a thing? The physical benefits of everyday good breathing have been well and thoroughly documented and conscious breathing practices have been used for healing throughout history.

Aware breathing has proven effective in "improving immune function; regulating arousal (stress and emotion);... balancing hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters; stabilizing blood gases; increasing vitality; promoting digestion, circulation, and proper organ function; facilitating waste metabolism; aligning posture; decreasing muscle tension, etc... These physical effects can in turn be seen as having a profound influence on psychological well-being, particularly in the areas of mood, the reduction of negative emotion and increase of positive emotion" (Bodyfulness by Christine Caldwell).

Conscious breathing is also the best way to reconnect with and ignite the full use of our senses. Whereas many of us have had the powerful experience of a breath practice in a class or retreat, it is important to practice aware breathing habitually to be able to integrate it into your life on an ongoing basis. Breathing is mostly regulated by the autonomic nervous system, so it takes time to change long-standing breathing habits. Reinforcing a balanced breath practice for a few minutes a couple of times a day will give you the ability to use your breath at will to regulate emotional states and the stress response, but will also eventually become automatic and will have a positive impact on all aspects of your life.

BALANCED BREATH PRACTICE: it's useful to practice this technique in a variety of positions-- sitting, standing, lying down, as well as while moving. Begin with the habit of early morning and night time when the nervous system is most open to change.

1. INSPIRATION- Focus first only on the inhale, allowing the exhale to just take care of itself. Neither over nor underworking, practice belly breathing, feeling like you are drawing your breath all the way down to the floor of your pelvis. Although we know you are really breathing into the lungs, allowing the belly to expand will help the lungs to draw in air easily and bypass the upper chest breathing associated with unregulated emotion and anxiety. Try this first with a few larger breaths, but then transition to more normal breathing. The goal is not to increase the volume of breath, but to make your breathing easy, graceful and conscious. Practice this in a variety of positions and through different activities. Take note of how you feel both physically and emotionally.

2. EXPIRATION-- Once you are comfortable with the mechanics of your inhale, try focusing only on the exhale. This is more challenging for some people as it is the passive phase of breathing (except during exercise) and may be associated with collapse or loss of control. It is helpful instead to think of giving in to gravity and allowing your body to be supported by the chair or the floor. Physically, it should feel like your ribs are drawing closer together on the exhale. Focus on the release of effort and try to let go a little bit more in the end without allowing your body to collapse-- the image of holding up a low ceiling with the top of your head can be helpful. The body can teach us that sometimes things can be accomplished in life by letting go of effort.

3. COMBINE THE TWO-- The next step is to combine the inhale and exhale into an integrated practice. Alternate between expanding your belly slightly on the inhale and releasing your weight into the ground on the exhale. Practice the efficient activation of the inhale and the pleasant release of the exhale. Find opportunities to exercise this balanced breathing in different positions and through different activities of your life. Once again, take note of both the sensations in your body as well as your state of mind as a result of this practice.

4. THE IN-BETWEEN-- The advanced practice of balanced breathing involves working with the transitional moments between inhaling and exhaling. Restricted breathing can squeeze the torso into ta narrow shape making the breath feel like it is going up and down rather than the 3-dimensional shape of the ideal breath wave. Imagining that the top of the inhale is like a wave that rolls over into the exhale can be helpful to attain a nice, easy, natural breath rhythm. After the exhale, allow the natural pause to happen and just wait to be inspired to inhale again. The goal is release of effort towards ease and grace in your breathing practice.

5. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER-- Now you're ready to combine all phases of balanced breathing into one, aware system-- inhale, roll-over, exhale, pause. After successfully practicing the mechanics of this technique, consciously initiate this new way of breathing at various times throughout your day--driving or waiting for the train, in a meeting, while hugging your kids. Be aware of the changes you feel the more this type of breathing becomes automatic.

Developing conscious, balanced breathing is the single most important contribution you can make to your improved health and vitality. Using the breathing mechanism the way it was intended (breathing diaphragmatically) rather than the way modern life has conditioned us to breathe, alone can stave off disease and the effects of stress. But it can also reconnect us to our senses so that the information we are receiving from our environment is deeply felt, leading to more clarity of thought and decision-making as well as more authentic communication and empathy in all of our relationships.

This Thanksgiving, as you gather with family and friends, take the opportunity to cultivate the new skillset of Balanced Breathing. Mind Your Body to fully appreciate the abundance in your life.

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