Use Your Breath to Find Your Sweet Spot

A Breath Test to Reinvent Yourself

Inhale

The movement of life force is influenced by inhalation, exhalation, and sustained breath.

– Nischala Joy Devi

This sutra is the simple reminder to inhale, to exhale, to notice the pauses in between, and to explore the beginning the middle and end of our breath. The breath gives us an opportunity to tap into and frolic in our own life force, or prana, and to cultivate different aspects of ourselves.

The reminder this month is to breathe and to notice the effects of our breath.

I actually preset this blog to release on the full moon because I am currently in the Grand Canyon on a 22-day wilderness trip breathing. Nothing helps me simply inhale, exhale, be present, energize, and ground like the simplicity of the wilderness. Although I am currently lucky enough to take a step away from ‘real’ life to fill up, we all have the ability to fill up where ever we are and to notice when we are depleted. In all honesty, in the rush to check off lists, pack, and get into the wilderness, my own breath became rushed and shallower and I became more tired and irritable as we all do when we are under stress.

One of the beauties of being human is that we can consciously control our breath and therefore, we can consciously regulate our vitality and perspective.

The first step is to watch our breath so we can see how we are moving in the world and then, and only then, can we intelligently guide and balance our energy. A great tool to observe the breath and our natural inclinations is to watch our tendencies to stay on the full side, the empty side, or be balanced between the two states of breath.  We need both and we do best somewhere close to balance. Yoga is the balance of opposites into union.

Anytime we consciously alter the breath, it is important that we pause afterward and observe the effects of our efforts for a day or so.

The breath is powerful and it is of the utmost importance that we remember and respect the force we are toying with. I highly recommend moving slowly and patiently through the observation and adjustment process as we would train slowly and intelligently when going from the couch to running a marathon. Remember that the first person to run the first marathon didn’t train and literally died immediately after completing it!

Implications of Inhalation

Our inhale is an opportunity to take it all in, soak up all the nutrients and the riches around us. Inhaling literally brings in the oxygen molecules needed to release the energy stored in sugar or fat molecules in the body.  Focusing on our inhale helps us tap into our reserves and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, our get up and go commonly referred to as the flight, fight, or freeze response that instigates action. Too much action keeps us in a constant state of anxiety and stress. There can be too much of a good thing!

If we notice that we constantly exist on the full side of the breath, we may be putting too much fuel on the fire and end up with issues like adrenal fatigue.

If we notice our inhalations are shorter and we are closed off to the world around us, low energy, or lack creativity and oomph we may benefit from placing more gentle attention on our inhalations.

Implications of the Exhalation

Our exhalation is an opportunity to let go of what we don’t need and to make space. Oxygen also allows us to remove toxins from the body by accepting excess hydrogen and carbon atoms and carrying them out of the body as H20 and C02. Focusing on our exhale helps us release what we don’t need and stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system that allows us to rest, digest, repair, and grow. We need the exhale to balance the body, build needed compounds, and create homeostasis. We need the exhale to process and use the experiences and nutrients that we brought in, otherwise we exist on a hamster wheel.

If we notice that we are hustling and aren’t moving forward, we may need to focus more on the rest of our exhale.

Too much rest can also make us depressed. If we notice we regularly exist on the empty side of the breath and we are often low energy, lethargic, heavy, stuck, and uninspired we may be smothering our internal combustion system. If we notice our exhalations are shorter and we are agitated, overwhelmed, or don’t progress, grow, and heal we may benefit from placing more attention on our exhalations.

Implications of the Pause

The pause, or retention, allows us to steep in the qualities of our inhalation or exhalation and is a method of placing attention.

Pauses are amplifiers of our current state.

As we begin our practice, first we simply notice and briefly pause at the end of inhalation or exhalation. A brief pause at the end of our inhalations for 3-6 breath cycles will amplify our energy and we often feel sensation and energy in the head, behind the eyes, or a general buzzing in the upper body. A brief pause at the end of our exhalation for 3-6 breath cycles will calm our mind and slow our energy and we often feel more grounded, heavy, quieter, and sensations in the body somewhere below the heart.

If we can’t feel the subtleties of this simple practice, we aren’t ready for longer, more complicated, or amplifying processes.

The breath may be stopped externally, or internally, or checked in mid-motion, and regulated according to place, time and a fixed number of moments so that the stoppage is either protracted or brief.

– Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

The practice of more complicated pranayama, regulated breath, that involves longer retentions, significantly increasing or decreasing the length inhalation or exhalation, and breaks within the inhalation and the exhalation are best practiced under the instruction of a qualified teacher and after the body, breath, and internal awareness have been strengthened and developed.

Any pressure in the head, chest, or eyes is too much too fast. Any rapid change in body temperature, state of mind, or breath pattern is too much too fast.

To begin, the practice is to create balance between the inhalation and the exhalation. To begin, the practice is to observe and take note. To begin, we watch and learn. Breath is a window into our being and the window is best opened on calm days as we begin.

Exhale

My wish is that all beings everywhere find, remember, and balance their own life force. This month is a friendly reminder to breathe.

What reminds you to breathe?

What fills you up?

What nourishes you and what holds you tight?

Please share your thoughts below.

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