Start with the Breath

If you’ve ever had to start over in life after loss or change you didn’t expect, or if you have any chronic illness, anxiety, stress, insomnia, mental health issues, etc., it can be overwhelming knowing where to begin to heal.

The healing journey is not linear, it’s a dance, it's an ebb and flow, it’s going in and out of a spiral. It’s two steps forward, one step back. Sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back. But we are always moving, albeit sometimes slowly, sometimes faster, sometimes backwards, but are always moving. The good news is that when we get off track, we have a chance every day we wake up to start our healing journey.

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But where to start when you are overwhelmed? Sometimes starting can be easy if you are relatively healthy and it’s a small quick fix. But what about when the physical is caused by the emotional or the spiritual or vice versa? Or if you have a chronic illness you’ve been battling for years? How does one even begin to heal when there are many layers? Sometimes I get a case of imposter syndrome when it comes to offering advice on health and wellness because I’m not currently the epitome of my healthiest self. But the best teachers are those that teach what they need the most.

In beginning the quest (again) for my health and healing, I needed to know where to start so I returned to my nursing books, my functional nutrition books, my ayurvedic books, my herbalism books, and my spiritual books. I get overwhelmed because not only do I want to heal myself, but I’m a nurse and I want to help others. So, I asked myself, where do I begin? And wouldn’t you know it, my ‘self’ answered back. Self said, “Start at the beginning. The breath”. The essential often overlooked breath. So simple, yet so complex.

Healing starts with breathing. Something we do automatically every day and often don’t even think about. But our breath is quite powerful. The inhale brings life giving oxygen to every cell of our body, and the exhale clears carbon dioxide from our bodies. But did you know there is a correct way and incorrect way to breathe? Breathing is automatic but we also can consciously alter how we breathe. We have our natural breath; that’s the breath we do without thinking. Often, we develop bad habits with our natural breath. We are supposed to ‘belly breathe’ which means our abdomen is supposed to expand with our inhale and go back to neutral position with our exhale. Many of us tend to breathe shallowly by keeping our breath in our chest. This doesn’t allow us to fully expand our lungs. Most of us aren’t even aware of our ineffective breathing patterns. We’re alive right? That means we are breathing. But the breath can be the difference between living in a chronic stressed-out state to living in a more relaxed state that allows for healing to occur.

How to begin healing with the breath:

1. Breath awareness: We need to know first how we currently breathe. Pause for just a moment and notice your breath. Does your belly expand, or do you feel your breath mostly in your chest? Pause and notice how you breathe when you are relaxed and how you breathe when you are not relaxed. Any time we notice our breath; we are brought back into the present moment and offered an opportunity to nourish each cell in our body. We also become mindful of what is happening right now. Shallow breathing constricts blood vessels and decreases circulation of blood and oxygen to the brain and body. Full breathing allows the oxygen rich blood to penetrate every cell.

2. Take 3 belly breaths. Put one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart. Close your eyes, take a deep slow breath in through your nose focusing on bringing that oxygen all the way to your belly, then slowly exhale through pursed lips. We want our exhale to be twice as long as our inhale as this brings us into a more relaxed state. To help remember to breathe in through the nose and exhale through pursed lips you can repeat this mantra, “Smell the rose, blow out the candle”. Do this whenever you feel stressed. Or do this 3 times at least once a day. Notice how you feel after.

There are many more breathing exercises available. There are certain ones that focus on increasing energy, improving focus, energizing, relaxing, calming, etc. Whatever your goal is, there is probably a breathing exercise that goes along with it. Breathwork is an art. But the key is it is something that has to be practiced. I think it's best to start with the basics and focus first on breath awareness and correct breathing. After we have gotten into the habit of practicing these two for a bit, then we can move on to more advanced breathwork.

As a nurse, I’ve worked mostly with the geriatric population with multiple chronic illnesses. I’ve taught and practiced breathing exercises together with patients with pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), end stage lung cancer, asthma, and other breathing issues. Practicing together with patients helped not only them, but also me. It took me quite some time to realize breathing exercises aren’t just for those with chronic illness but also for anyone who needs help to help manage anxiety, stress, ADHD, depression, fatigue, insomnia, etc.

There is no quick fix to healing. Let’s go slow for lasting change. Let’s start at the very beginning. Let’s start with what we carry with us until we leave this physical body. Let’s start with our breath. What perfect time to start now, especially with the holidays approaching. I am one who does research and reads everything I can, but then I don’t practice what I learn. And it’s the practice itself that matters most. There’s so much more into the art of breathing but it’s time to start our journey and breathe.