What can I do to gain a greater sense of relaxation?
Breath Awareness as an Essential Part of Health Healing
Breath awareness can lead to a greater sense of relaxation and improve your physical and emotional health in very dramatic ways.
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How is relaxation related to our nervous system?
In the most simple terms, we have two types of nervous systems: a voluntary nervous system that responds to our will and an involuntary nervous system that automatically watches over the functions of the body.
Hormonal secretions are effected by both nervous systems, but it is the involuntary system that mainly regulates hormones. Therefore, an imbalanced involuntary nervous system is more likely to cause chronic ailments physically and emotionally.
How is the breath regulated during our sleep versus the daytime?
The involuntary nervous system keeps us alive when we sleep, making sure we breath and the heart keeps beating. While we sleep, the voluntary nervous system rests.
When does this all important involuntary nervous system get to rest?
The answer seems to be that only when we consciously take over the act of breathing for 12-24 minutes does the involuntary nervous system rest and re-balance. And during this time, if we stop thinking about our breath for even a moment, the involuntary nervous system rushes in to take over the breathing in order to keep us alive. However, with consistent gradual training, all of us can practice breath awareness in a manner that will provide deep rest to the body and the involuntary nervous system.
When I begin, do I breath out of my nose or my mouth?
We begin by allowing the breath to flow in and out of the nose exclusively. The breath will become smooth, serene, and quiet. Gradually the flow of air becomes slow, continuous and diaphragmatic. The upper chest and shoulders remain quiet and still, while the abdomen pushes outward on inhalation and then gently falls inward on exhalation. Later, we may even gently push in with our abdominal muscles at the end of an exhalation to insure a full and complete exhalation.
Where do I focus, where does my mind go?
Softly observe the flow of air, notice that at the tip of the nose, on the inside of the wall dividing the two nostrils you will feel a sensation of coolness on inhalation and a faint sensation of warmth on exhalation. Allow the mind to focus on this sensation of coolness and warmth as the breath lengthens to a slow gentle continuous flow of air.
The air flow should be equal on breathing in and breathing out. Start with a goal of inhaling for 8 seconds and exhaling for 8 seconds, remember to always keep the breath continuous without a pause. The slower you breath the easier it is to eliminate the natural pause between the two different motions, inhalation and exhalation.
Should I do this on a daily basis?
Within a week or two, it will be very natural to breath in this very serene manner. Now we are ready to gather tremendous rest for our minds, bodies, and the entire nervous system by consciously breathing 12 minutes twice daily. This amount is based on one minute of proper breath awareness for each hour of the day, thus a total of 24 minutes for the 24 hours of the day.
Keeping the head, neck and trunk of our body in straight alignment will further enhance the comfort and rest of our body while we breath. It will take a few weeks to be able to sustain 12 minutes without becoming distracted, gentle persistence will help you overcome these distractions.
Everyone in your family can be taught to breath slowly and consciously with breath awareness. The health benefits for our body and emotions increase over the years with consistent practice.
Tips on Breath Awareness
- Inhale and exhale through the nose.
- Breathe smooth, slow, quiet & continuously.
- Keep your head neck and trunk in straight alignment.
- Notice the sensation of coolness on inhalation at the tip of the nose and the sensation of warmth on exhalation.
- Practice slow serene breathing with an initial goal of inhaling for 8 seconds and exhaling for 8 seconds. Later with medical guidance this capacity can be expanded.
- It is important to stay within your comfortable capacity. Do not strain the breath.
- Practice your breath awareness for 12 minutes twice a day or longer. For your nervous system to get great benefits from this practice, strive for consistent awareness of the act of breathing for the entire 12 minutes.
