Accessing Deep Calm

During this unsettling and apprehensive time there is something you can do that can dramatically calm your nerves and soothe your heart. And that is connecting with our breath.

Now, I know, you’ve heard a lot about the healing power of your own breath and there are so many different breath practices that have been around for eons. I want to share with you one of the most powerful and simplest ways I have ever discovered to turn on the part of our nervous system that calms and grounds us. This is so easy that you can gift yourself with this kind of breathing no matter where you are, no matter what is happening in your life.

In the past, when you have been told to breathe deeply, you’ve probably taken some big in-breaths and were given directions on how long your in-breath, out breath and holds should be.  And yet, if you notice carefully, this takes effort. That is one of the reasons why it is so easy for the guidance to breathe more deeply to fall by the wayside.  To try to breathe more deeply creates subtle stress.

The key to an open healing breath is not found with your in-breath. It is in your out-breath! When you exhale a long, slow out breath, a deeper in-breath automatically arises. I invite you to try this right now. On your next out-breath gently breathe out more air than you usually do. Then allow an in-breath and see how your body naturally fills with more air.

If you’re not quite sure how to do this it can be helpful to imagine there’s a candle a few inches in front of your mouth and as you breathe out, you gently blow out the candle. No force here, but because you have been conditioned to hold your breath, there is a lot of air left in your lungs. You can also slightly pull in your belly on your out-breath, gently lengthening your exhale, which then causes your lungs to automatically fill with a deeper in-breath. When you get the hang of it, let go of pulling in on your belly and simply let it fill like a sail on a sailing ship on your in-breath and let it relax on your out.

There is one other thing you can add to the deliciousness of a long slow out breath and that is the healing sound of “ahh.” This is not only the great sound of relaxing and satisfaction (we oftentimes say it when we see a new baby or watch a spectacular sunset), but it is also the sound that is closest to the vibration of an open heart.

Years ago, when I was breathing this way, allowing the vibration of the ‘ahh’ to move through every nook and cranny of my being, I all of a sudden had a startling realization – that this sound is a part of many of the words we use to represent God including the word God –  Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, Ram, Abba. If you say any of these words out loud you, will hear the nourishing ‘ahh’.

So, during this fluid and rapidly changing time, I invite you to give yourself the gift of long slow out breaths sprinkled throughout your day. You can do them while watching TV or cleaning dishes or washing your hands and even in the middle of the night. Know that this is one of the quickest and easiest ways to calm what is agitated inside of you and to relax what is holding on.

The more you breathe this way, the more you realize how nourishing it is to your mind, your body and your heart to befriend your out-breath, allowing it to soothe you as deeply as a warm bath soothes you on a cold winter’s day.