The Simple Power of the Breath
photo by szlea on flickr
Writing this week about my work with people living with cancer, I found myself commenting most significantly on the breath. The breath is our connection between the body and the mind. When we are stressed, or anxious, the breath can become short or shallow, we can even find ourselves holding the breath just as we clench the jaw or hold tension in the shoulders or belly. And breathing in this unhelpful way can become a habit. By learning to breathe more easily and practising simple breath awareness we can start to create a deeper connection with what is happening in the body. Simply noticing the breath can begin to change the way we breathe. Making space in the body by releasing long-held tension, we free the diaphragm allowing us to explore the full capacity of our lungs. When we take this practice further , maybe by following a practice of yoga, we can create new habits of breathing that have profoundly positive affects on our wellbeing.
Practising Breath Awareness
Sit or lie comfortably. Take a few deep breaths and release the breath in a big sigh, relaxing the abdomen as you breathe out. Then breathe comfortably through the nostrils, easily, without changing the breath in any way. Keep the abdomen relaxed and when you breathe naturally, it will move with the breath- rising on the inhalation and releasing on the exhalation. Although don’t feel the need to force this, just keep your abdomen relaxed – and breathe. You may focus on this movement of the body as your breathe – or you may find that you are drawn to some other aspect of the breath, such as the sensation of the breath in the nostrils or throat, the sound of the breath or even just the idea of it. Focus in whatever way is easy. Allow the breath to fill your thoughts. Allow other thoughts to drift. You won’t stop other thoughts coming, but just let them go again. If a thought or feeling distracts you, bring yourself gently back to thinking about the breath but don’t let this be a struggle, allow yourself to be gently guided back to the breath each time. As you focus you may find that your breath starts to become longer and deeper. Again, just let this happen. Become absorbed in the breath for a few minutes.
