The Breath Letter - #7
Dear Breather,
Hope you’ve been breathing well!
As I’m typing “breathing well”, it also immediately raises the question on what that actually means. Maybe the inner critic kicks in… “You’ve been breathing wrong”, maybe you don’t really know how you breathe, or, just like I did, you are so busy breathing “right” it becomes a full time thing that kinda drives you nuts.
So upon reflection; ignore the opening sentence, and instead read it as an invitation to observe and realise that the way you breathe is never wrong. It’s simply a reflection of the state that your body is in and let’s see what happens when we stay with that as you try the exercise, read some insights, check out some content and hopefully join me for the next upcoming experience!
The Breath
Intuitive Breathing
Let’s stay a little longer with the opening comments.
How does my body actually want to breathe, if I let it breathe itself?
What would happen if I would only listen to what’s going on inside and let the breath be a reflection of this?
No rules.
No techniques.
Letting the breath be the most accurate reflection of your somatic truth.
Instructions:
Sit, lie or stand.
Play some gentle music if you feel like this would help you.
Bring your attention to your breath and observe.
Ask yourself the question “How am I breathing right now?”.
Describe it in as much detail as you possibly can, through as many lenses as you can think of.
Then slowly shift your attention to your internal state and investigate the relationship between your breath and your state. What do you notice?
Continue this process and see if you can find more and more congruence between the requests of the body and your breathing. Making your breath the most true reflection of your internal world as you possibly can.
Can you make them one?
Does it change?
Is anything else coming alive or do you want to move?
The Insights
Feeling better is about better feeling
A sentence I heard recently on a podcast that felt true. It’s easy to mainly focus on the “good” feelings, and getting away from the “bad” ones. However, no feeling is inherently good or bad - there’s just some that are more or less comfortable to be with.
And there’s a rebound effect here, the more we try to only feel comfortable, the worse we’ll end up feeling because we’re fundamentally denying a part of our experience.
So if you want to feel better, consider spending more time investigating all feelings and learn to become comfortable with them, rather than being reactive to the feelings you don’t want.
The parts that don’t move - where there is little happening - might need the most attention.
This came up in my Cranio-Sacral training and it’s a very important part of the work.
Rather than focusing on the places where there’s a lot happening in the body, where there clearly is movement, what about the places where there is no movement, that are maybe numb.
Sometimes, parts of ourselves (emotional or physical) can be so stagnant or numb that we almost forget we exist. Like the kid in the classroom, who is always quiet and not moving at all because they’re “just like that.”. Well, maybe they did want attention after all, but were always overlooked and didn’t have the means to speak up.
So what would it mean for you if you would look at this “part/kid” in you and give it attention, rather than focusing on the more alive one?
The Content
Play is serious business!
A great short review of the workings of the nervous system and how play can help us grow. Play happens right at the intersection of danger and safety, the known and the unknown. It allows us to explore sides of ourselves that we normally don’t express, but without the interpersonal risk because we’re “only playing”.
Why breathwork might be more useful than mindfulness for dealing with PTSD
A very interesting point came up in the podcast around @8mins in, where the guest says that Bessel van der Kolk - writer of “The Body Keeps the Score” - stopped recommending mindfulness to people who may have difficulties regulating themselves as a result of PTSD because of its passive nature. It also talks about other research on breathwork.
Oral posture?!! Are you serious? Yes I am!
Below you can see the three points where your tongue should be touching the roof of the mouth as you’re breathing.
In addition, your teeth should be apart and the lips are closed and relaxed as you breathe through the nose.
The Experiences
17th of August @ Bless - Breathwork Class - London - Stoke Newington
I really enjoy these sessions since they’re very intimate. Max 6 people in a cosy space.
Perfect for those who want to explore group breathwork in a safe container.
You also get a free Breathe. Card Deck with this one!
Tickets here
18th of August @ Fire + Alchemy - Shoreditch - Breathwork Class
For this session we’ll do a deep-dive into the world of breathing - with a specific focus on motion.
Going back to a sense of safety in ourselves, deep calmness, and from there we'll explore what wants to come alive.
Tickets here
22nd of August @ Open House Hackney - Breathwork Class - East London
My regular Breathwork Odyssey session in collaboration with The Psychedelic Society.
An evening full of connected breathing, movement and music!
Make sure to bring your own yoga mat, blanket and cushion :)
As always, if you have any questions about anything breath related, are interested in one on one breathwork in London or online, joining a group sessions or just want to have a chat please feel free to reach out or book in some time here: https://calendly.com/stevenebbers/30min-checkin
Enjoy the breath!
With warmth,
Steven from Breathlife
