O C E A N · B R E A T H
Stress and worry have a direct effect on our sense of well-being. The mind brings us in all sorts of boundless movements and it becomes more difficult to find calm. As divers the stressors and situations may be, here is a simple, effective tool to calm the mind and help regulate your nervous system.
A place where the mind can find rest, is the breath. The breath anchors the floating, dispersing mind as it were. Imagine your thoughts to be a kite high in the air, very sensitive to the turbulence in the sky, and your breath being your hand holding the rope, letting the kite (thoughts) move in the wind, but with the steadiness and grounding of the hand.
I've been using breath exercises for myself and with clients and find them in their simplicity so so powerful. By focussing our mind on the breath, its movements (the thoughts) become more quiet and we feel the ground which holds us return.
One of the most simple breathing exercises, is Ujjayi breath; an audible breath in which you make a soft whispering internal sound. Some people call Ujjayi breath the ocean breath, because it resembles the sound of the waves coming to shore.
Once you know Ujjayi breath you can go back to it whenever you need to (without doing all the steps described below). It is really helpful and simple when you find yourself stressed or worried, to create a few breaths of calm and reconnection.
Steps to practise Ujjayi / ocean breath:
· find a comfortable seat, lift the heart a little
· bring attention to your normal breath
· start to slowly deepen your breath by breathing deeply into the nose and out through the mouth
· make the exhalation a bit more audible, you can imagine fogging a window with your breath. Hold your hand vertically in front of your mouth for a few breaths and feel the warmth of your breath
· now close your mouth for the exhale as well, but keep making the sound. Pay attention to the back of your throat (there is a tiny feeling of restriction there). If it is difficult to do the same exhale as you did with your mouth open, you can start the audible exhale with an open mouth and close your mouth during the exhalation, so you can keep the same sound and intensity. Try a few times.
· now start to make a similar sound when you inhale, coming from the back of the throat
· breathe like this for a few minutes
· Breathing body, breathing mind ·