Breathwork & How It Affects Us On A Cellular Level
While we cannot necessarily control what’s going on in our external environment, we can certainly manage our internal experience. Before we entered this year-long quarantine, most of us had our daily routines down and were buzzing around like the busy bees we love to be. When our schedules are packed, it’s easy to focus on everything else besides what’s going on internally.
Now that most of us are spending more time alone, the opportunity has arisen to think more critically about what patterns are running through our psyche and what beliefs systems we have developed over time. Quarantine has put us under the microscope. Studying how/why I think and respond the way that I do has fascinated me for a long time.
When I was able to observe myself objectively for the first time (probably towards the end of college) my life began to change. I was able to acknowledge myself as an energetic being having a physical experience. With this understanding, I sought out tools for becoming a better version of myself. And by ‘better’, I mean more self-actualized, more compassionate, more understanding, more acutely aware, a more conscious consumer (of media, people’s energy, food…everything). Perhaps the most effective tool that we have available to us is breathwork. I might have said meditation, but breathwork is a form of meditation. To me, it’s active contemplation of our essence.
When we analyze our breathing patterns, we’ll discover that the flow of our breath correlates with how we are feeling. How do you breathe when you are anxious? Often with quick, short breaths. How do you breathe when you are relaxed? Often with slow, easy breaths. Working with our breath delivers us straight to the present moment. From there, we can release what no longer serves us. Breathwork gives us this kind of portal to cellular memories, traumas and unhealed matters of the heart. When we breathe intentionally, and for extended periods of time, we are able to tap into our nervous system and reverse some of those blocks.
When I was working as a meditation facilitator with Inscape, we implemented the Wim Hof technique into one our guided meditations. It was an hour-long experience in which guests would lie down and follow a specific breathing technique paired with tribal instrumentations. At around the twenty minute mark, half of the group was in tears - each having their own personal experience and upheaval of pent-up emotions that were being released through the intense hit of oxygen. You can almost imagine the cells being so full of oxygen that they burst and release their memories, giving us an emotional response that we can heal from in that moment. Some people even had to excuse themselves as the experience was too intense.
I have had personal experiences with breathwork that mimic psychedelic trips - including hallucinations, memories of past lives, visions of how to heal my physical body, orgasmic sensations…it’s absolutely astonishing what we are capable of when we connect to our breath. When I hear our community talk about ‘waking up’…it’s not something that’s outside of us. It’s simply conscious attention to our own divine being. Waking up, to me, is becoming conscious of our own infinite power…and tapping into the technology of our incredible ‘biological spacesuits’ (as Shaman Durek would say).
So tonight, if you feel called to dive in, put on some music that activates you and set your timer for 15-20 minutes. This is your time to breathe, and here is the technique:
While sitting in a comfortable place, take 30 quick, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Then, take a deep breath and exhale; hold until you need to breathe in. Inhale again, as deep as you can, and hold it for 10 seconds. Repeat as many times as you like
If you would like to read more about breathwork and how it affects us on a cellular level, here are some links for your reference:
“Regulated by the autonomic nervous system, inhaling oxygen is an unconscious process. Fortunately it’s an unconscious praxis, otherwise we simply wouldn’t have a break, as we’d have to deal with it incessantly. The amount of oxygen that we inhale through our breathing, influences the amount of energy that is released into our body cells. On a molecular level, this progresses via various chemical and physiological processes. Breathing is the easiest and most instrumental part of the autonomic nervous system to control and navigate. In fact, the way you breathe strongly affects the chemical and physiological activities in your body. Throughout the years, Wim Hof has developed special breathing exertions that keep his body in optimal condition and in complete control in the most extreme conditions. The breathing technique is first and foremost premised on inhaling deeply and exhaling without any use of force!”- Wim Hof
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