Breath Awareness
Phase 1 of our 5 point breathing programme is for us to discover how the breath is naturally behaving on a moment-by-moment basis. This means nothing more than taking a little time to observe, witness, or ‘be aware’ of the breath as it flows in and out of the body.
All the simple breath awareness exercises below are presented in a logical sequence, so please do follow them in the order they are given.
Remember - this is about awareness only. Not one of these exercises asks you to take any form of active control over your breathing at all.
Exercise 1 Catching yourself unawares - the first thing to observe is whether you are breathing through the nose or the mouth. If you discover you are a mouth breather, then consider training yourself to close the mouth and use the nostrils if you can.
The nose is designed to clean the air, and to moisten and warm it in preparation for entering the lungs. Mouth breathing allows unhealthy germs into the body, and cold air to hit the lungs with a shock. Obviously, if you have nasal congestion because of a cold or any other reason, then nose breathing might be out of the question for now.
Exercise 2 Sit in an upright chair with the soles of your feet firmly on the floor and your hands resting gently on your thighs. Close your eyes and allow yourself to get in touch with your breath. You may register the movement of your breathing, the sound of your breathing, any movement your chest or belly might make as you breathe, what type of rhythm it has (is it jerky and irregular? short and gasping? smooth and easy?). Is the inbreath longer than the outbreath? Are they of equal length?
I’m not asking you to do anything with it or to influence it at all; I just want you to tune into it, as an observer, and follow what it is doing, using your awareness.
Stay like this for 2-3 minutes, continuing to be a passive observer. You might discover a natural urge arising for the need to let out a sigh, or to suck in some air. Allow it to happen; impose no restrictions.
It might be useful to write down what you have noticed about your breathing, so that you have a reference point against which to measure any changes or improvement over the next few weeks.
Exercise 3 Now let’s see if you can experience what happens when tension is held in the body. Try making a fist with both hands and tightening them as much as you can; make both arms rigid, locking out the elbows – put as much effort into it as you can, clenching tighter and tighter. Keep hold of it for a few seconds..... Don’t let up..... What has happened to your breathing? Has it stopped? Become shallower? Something else? Now let go; release the tension and tightness until everything is soft.
If making a fist is not possible for you, try tightening up any other part of you –like screwing up the face and clenching the jaw, eyebrows drawn together, eyelids scrunched, mouth tight.....
During the clenching and tightening of the muscles, it is common to find that we have actually stopped breathing, or that the breathing has become very shallow; when the tension is quickly released, we often automatically let out a sigh. You may also have been aware of a brief softening and relaxation of the muscles involved. Tension results in a very shallow breath or, at its worst, no breath for moments on end!
Exercise 4 Next we need to find out whether the diaphragm is being engaged during respiration as it should be.
The Breathing Process explains the role of the diaphragm if you need to have a look. This is the most valued and important breathing muscle to get in touch with; its contribution to respiration and relaxation is not to be underestimated. Employing the diaphragm achieves a deep, regular, and healthy breath pattern.
This exercise is best done lying down or reclining in an easy chair. Get comfortable, then place the palm of one hand on the centre of the chest and the palm of the other hand on the belly just above the navel. Keep the hands soft and relaxed, and rest in this position. Draw your attention to the hands and to any movement, created by the breathing, you can feel beneath them. Give yourself, and your awareness, plenty of time to tune into this.
Can you feel anything under the hand on your chest? Any rise and fall? If so, is it regular/irregular? How much movement?
What about the hand on your belly? What can you feel there? Anything? What sort of movement? How much movement?
So, what have you discovered? Make a note of your findings if you wish.
More movement in the chest than the belly? Then your diaphragm needs waking up and working on.
More movement in the belly than the chest? Indicates that your diaphragm is probably active and functioning to a degree.
Exercise 5 Once you have registered your experiences with Exercise 4, gently move the upper hand and bring it down to the belly to join the other. Position both hands now just above the navel but below the ribs, one hand to each side so that the middle finger of each hand is just lightly touching the other. Remember to keep the hands, arms, and shoulders relaxed.
Now softly continue observing and feeling what may be happening beneath the hands. As each breath moves in and out of your body, let go and relax more and more so that there is nothing in your experience but the hands, your belly, and your breath.
Stay with this exercise for as long as you like. Once again, you might want to record your experiences for future reference.
Exercise 5 does have a relaxing influence; if that’s what you have experienced, then revisit it as much as you wish!
These exercises on breath awareness are not intended for your regular repetition; they are merely ways for you to become familiar with your own breath and your own responses.
It would be an excellent idea however, to revisit them occasionally so that you can monitor your progress and improvement.
Having discovered, through awareness, what your personal breathing habits or patterns are, then you should be ready to move into the next stage of re-educating your breath - Phase 2: Breathing Exercises. This is where the constructive work of improving the tone of your breathing muscles starts, and you will begin to experience the amazing transformative power of the breath.
