Breathe Easy - The Necessity of Slowing Down

Inhale. Exhale.

Breathe In. Breath Out.

As you read those phrases could you feel your mind, body and soul slowly beginning to align with your breathing?

As someone who thrives off doing meditation and breathwork exercises, I can wholeheartedly see and feel the benefits that it has had over my wellbeing. In my last article, I mentioned the importance slowing down this year, for pacing myself and returning to my breath as a way of grounding myself through the gift of taking twenty minutes a day to just be with my Self. For this reason, I wanted to follow on from that train of thought and speak to you today about the significance of being supported by the breath.

So let's begin...

What is "the breath"?

To put it simply the breath is a life source. It helps to sustain us. It is life and vitality. The breath is a light current of air that grounds us. It brings us back to our essence. Parallel to this, the breath is flow; like water it carries all of our spirit and internal messages through us.

Benefits of Breathing

Outside of being a clear indicator that you are alive, breathing can offer you so much more. The breath has the ability to

• Signal when something is off balance/in alignment; your breathing pattern changes dependent on what your mind/body is feeling. If you are scared or fearful you may tend to breathe faster, in contrast when you are relaxed you will breathe smoothly.
• Opening you up energetically; when you take those pockets of time to be still and centre yourself breathing becomes less restricted or held and in turn helps you to open up and feel the environment around you.
• Provides comfort; when you consciously listen to the pattern, pace, rhythm, sounds that come from doing various forms of breathwork you will start to become aware of how much comfort arises from within. It offers a softness and gentleness that we sometimes do not receive from outside sources.
• Offers familiarity; the more that you spend time with yourself, the more inclined you will become in taking advantage of being with yourself in silence. Your breathe will naturally become a dear friend that you cherish dearly.

Simplistic Breathing Exercise

Get into a comfortable position. If you are laying down be sure to elevate your head slightly with a pillow. Allow your body to sink into the mattress. If you opt to sit in a chair, ideally remove your shoes and socks and let your bare feet become rooted into the floor. Place your arms either on the arm rests or relaxed on your knees. Once you feel settled, spend a few moments breathing at your natural pace and depth. Do not force this. Let your breathing be effortless. Close your eyes. Focus your attention to the sensation of your breathing. Does it feel shallow? Does it feel irregular? Does is feel uneven? Is it fast or slow, short or long, smooth or rigid? Sit here in this space of connection and understanding of your breath. Go further. Follow the flow of your breath as it travels through your nostrils, past your throat, into your lungs. Notice the rise, fall and expansion of you chest, the bellowing of your stomach. Make a mental note of how the breath interacts with parts of your body - is tension being released? Are you feeling warm or tingly?

Slowly begin to shift gears. Still keeping your breathing pattern at its current pace start to gentle push the breathing around your body in various patterns. For example, zig zagging from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. Alternatively, lengthwise - a straight line from the top of your head to the soles of your feet (or vice versa). Repeat for several breaths.

Now calmly allow your body to feel the environment that surrounds it. The chair/bed holding and supporting your weight. The texture of the material beneath you. Sounds you might hear. Smells that are in the air. Open your eyes, wiggle your fingers and toes. Take a moment before rising. If possible grab some water and reflect on how you feel. What sensations, emotions, thoughts are your experiencing now? Have they changed to way you felt before trying this practice? if you so choose to, grab your journal and explore this experience.

The beauty of this exercise is that you can do it for as along as your want as you are not changing the pace or dynamics of the breath. This simple exercise is one that is a great gateway into breathwork. It is helping you to become attuned to the rhythm of your life force in a nourishing and nurturing way.

Combining Breathe with Movement

Pairing our breathing with movement can be extremely powerful. It is an opportunity to really trust and settle into your body. These kinds of practices are amazing for building confidence and acceptance of Self. In addition, it can also identify areas of yourself that might require healing, reassurance and/or compassion.

Try this...

Find a space which allows you to spread our arms out from side-to-side. Stand in a comfortable position with your knees slightly bent. Inhale and begin to raise you arms above your head allowing your arms to arch over your head until they touch. Pause and hold your inhale for two seconds. As you exhale, release your arms and let them come back down to your sides. Repeat for several breaths.

If you would like to introduce more elements of movements, you can inhale and raise your arms to arch above your head, hold for two seconds, and instead of exhaling your arms back to your side, you can replace this action with a gentle twist to the left. Repeat the inhalation, and then on your next exhalation turn to the right.

After a while of practicing this breathing exercise you can incorporate movements that are more intuitive as a way of honouring what your body needs within that specific moment.

So let me ask you now, how do you feel?

For more intuitive exercises like this follow my LinkedIn page, register to the Sister Circle and/or purchase my book Returning Home to Self on Amazon.