Home Body: Intentional Rest

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again.” Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathing is our most basic interaction with the external environment. We make our grand entrance into the world with an inhale, and an exhale marks our final goodbye. It is one of our many autonomic processes; throughout most of our lives we have varying levels of awareness of how breathing impacts our health. This is true for other autonomic processes as well, unless we develop pathology or get sick. The major functions that keep us alive--respiration, our heart, circulating blood, digestion, and metabolism--chug along rhythmically in the background of our lives, largely outside of our attention.

We are born with what is referred to as a “natural breath”, a rhythm that generates a full uninhibited breath followed by a slow exhale that is unique to our body. With time, we lose touch with this rhythm due to stress, clothing, posture, and all the outside influences that come with maturity and the social environment. Many of our unhealthy breathing patterns are picked up simply by being around others; they frequently reflect the patterns of family members, friends, coworkers—essentially those who live closest to us. Unhealthy breathing patterns are contagious. Shifts away from our natural breath start early in life, quickly taking root to become second nature. Remaining largely out of our awareness, they take time and patience to unlearn. It is possible to reestablish our natural breath, but only after becoming aware of our current patterns. This is easier said than done as the moment we turn our attention to the breath it changes due to our desire to “fix” the pattern. We judge our breathing before we even experience it. Coming back to our natural breath is a gradual process of relaxing and observing, taking time to notice and connect to our own unique rhythm.

The natural breath should not be confused with a formal breathing practice as it is organic and quite simple. It requires only that we draw our attention inward to notice how the breath responds to the present moment. Noticing the breath is an act of witnessing, in real time, how our external circumstances impact the raw material of our inner lives--our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and intentions. What we observe in the breath acts as a mirror that shows our orientation to life. The depth and ease of the inhalation reflects our openness to the present moment and our readiness to participate in life as it unfolds. The softness and freedom of the exhalation reflects our ability to let go of what we no longer need, an understanding that it is time to make space, trust in life, and move on.

Breath awareness is not a special process, nor does it need to be done in a particular way—no need for a designated space, a meditation app, or sitting in a particular pose. It is simply a process of stopping—a pause that brings you into the present so that you notice the breath. Many times, we get stuck in the ruts of our habits, reacting to events with predictable behavioral patterns coupled with habitual breathing practices. These ruts are so deep and ingrained that we fail to notice these patterns, but they have a significant impact on our well-being. Many years ago, I worked for a woman who was volatile and argumentative. During staff meetings as she was notorious for publicly chastising some unlucky staff member—everyone in the room got a turn. In one particularly hostile meeting, she was called away to take a call. Rather than chat with my coworkers while she was gone, I took a pause, sat quietly, and turned inward. I was surprised at how my breath was shallow and uneven, and noticed a tight knot stuck in the middle of my chest. Feelings of frustration and anger were boiling at the surface. My body was coiled up tight—my jaw was clenched, shoulders elevated, fists tight. I failed to notice these strong sensations because they had become habitual over the years. Although my awareness didn’t make this woman less toxic, noticing these patterns offered clarity and gave me a greater sense of control.

Creating a pause is a purposeful act, one in which we knowingly shift our attention and step out of the stream of events. It is an intentional act of making space in which we can turn inward. It offers a type of rest that is not a random act that happens when we’ve drained our energy and can’t go on, much like collapsing at the end of a marathon. Nor is this a rest that we bump into when we finish our work or have a snow day—that’s just a break in the action. Taking a pause or choosing to stop is intentional rest, a conscious decision we make in response to a sense of internal imbalance, a recognition that we’re headed in the wrong direction and need to course correct. The guide that determines our need for rest is the breath. It will always expose the truth of a situation; we simply need to take a moment to listen.

Most of us recognize the connection between breathing irregularities and extreme emotional states, but we are less knowledgeable of how poor breathing patterns decrease our ability to cope and interfere with the functioning of other physiological systems such as our circulation, blood pressure, and metabolism. Breathing is the only autonomic process we can bring under voluntary control. We can breathe consciously, or we can ignore it; either way the body continues to meet our need for oxygen. When conscious control of the breath is abandoned, primitive parts of the brain take over. Involuntary breathing is highly influenced by our emotions, thoughts, and feelings, resulting in haphazard patterns and irregular rhythms. A simple shift of our attention brings breathing back within our control, resulting in significant changes to our wellbeing.

Healthy breathing is not simply a matter of getting enough oxygen but a process of establishing balance in our blood chemistry that reflects optimum ratios of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Poorly regulated breathing can lead to a condition referred to as “over breathing” in which we overuse the chest muscles and fail to adequately engage the diaphragm. This breathing pattern changes the amount of oxygen breathed in and the amount of carbon dioxide breathed out. Over breathing is also referred to as chest breathing it uses the muscles of the chest, shoulders, clavicle, and neck. This breathing pattern releases high levels of carbon dioxide. With less carbon dioxide, our blood chemistry shifts, resulting in a fast, shallow breathing pattern that triggers muscle tension, stimulates pain receptors, and makes us feel anxious and irritable. Eventually this type of breathing becomes habitual and can lead to a host of physical complications, including extreme fatigue, painful legs, a stiff neck, and brain fog, to name a few. It has also been implicated in heart disease and blood pressure.

If you watch a baby sleeping peacefully, you’ll notice the belly rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. This is indicative of relaxed, diaphragmatic breathing. There is an intimate connection between movement of the diaphragm and feelings of calm. The diaphragm is a muscle that spans the lower chest cavity from the bottom ribs back to the spine. Upon contracting, this muscle pushes downward and expands the lower ribs, allowing a large amount of air to be drawn into the lungs.

The diaphragm also plays an important role in bringing other body processes into balance. Diaphragmatic breathing creates a rhythmic pumping action that creates fluctuations in pressure in the thoracic and abdominal cavity that promote circulation throughout the body. This pumping action also helps to regulate blood pressure. As the diaphragm contracts and descends into the abdominal cavity, it stimulates the vagus nerve, which sends signals to the brain to relax the body. Studies have shown that diaphragmatic breathing with a frequency of around 3 – 7 breaths per minute enhances the resiliency and responsiveness of several autonomic processes and can significantly improve our wellbeing.

Many spiritual teachers remind us that the most profound truths in our lives typically lie fully present but go unnoticed. Every moment of our lives, the breath offers us the truth of how we are living. We connect with this truth only when we purposefully take a pause and listen. The very process of respiration, the rhythmic process of making room for oxygen by releasing carbon dioxide, reminds us that well-being is a balance of letting go to make space for what we need. How would your life change if you took a pause, came to a rest, and tapped into the deep wisdom of your amazing breath?