Breathing into your new body.
On top of studying, practicing and integrating Thai/yoga massage and Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage into my work, I have also been integrating more breathwork into my sessions. By teaching them conscious breath techniques, connecting the breath with the body, my client’s are able to expand their awareness of and then release their stored/stuck crap. The results have been dramatic and powerful!!!
Breathing starts deep in the pelvis (root chakra), and involves the loosening of the abdomen (hara, dan tien, second chakra) to make room for the expansion of your intercostals (ribcage), and the expansion of your diaphragm into the abdomen. Muscles in your back, shoulders, neck and face are also subtly involved. In fact, breathing is a full body activity and is the bridge between the physical, mental/emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.
Breathing is an autonomic physical process. Breathwork is learning that you can consciously control and change your breathing. Shallow, quick breathing (the way so many of us breath on a regular basis), activates your sympathetic nervous system, creating and amplifying anxiety. Slowing and deepening your breath activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which calms your body and helps you to release toxins built up from all that anxious breathing you’ve been doing. In short, learning and practicing proper breathing is incredibly important.
All breathwork techniques are variations of depth combined with speed. In my work I use combinations of deep and slow, and deep and fast to teach the diaphragm, intercostals, spine, abdomen and pelvis to expand. This creates a deeply meditative state, which aids in regression work, brings past and present together, somatically connecting mind-body-spirit.
Deep and slow breath is a receptive, feminine process that works deep pelvic and abdominal movement or lack thereof. Through the awareness of subtle movements in the abdomen and pelvis, a sense of expansion is created around blockages allowing issues to surface where they can be released and integrated.
Quick, deep breath is a technique that requires a lot of work from you. It is a very masculine, yang, agitating and aggressive technique that creates discomfort, stuck places to open. It is meant to disconnect your mind from your body so that your body can begin to express without egoic control or judgment from your mind. This technique can be explosive and cathartic – and a little scary at first.
As I integrate focused breathwork into my sessions, I am finding that theory is becoming reality. If you can’t “feel” your breath in an area of your body, it is a signal that that part of your body is shut down and you need to bring awareness to it. As your bring awareness grows, you also discover the origins of your issues and answers to releasing them and living a more full and liberated life. Another perspective is that when you become aware of and can release those stuck places, your authentic self has room to move and manifest in the here and now. Good news – right??!!
