Just Breathe….Calm The Body And The Mind Will Follow

After a baby takes it first breath, you hear a cry signaling the infant is alive.
From that moment until death, humans breathe automatically as a natural process of life.

However, even though we are all using our lungs, there are different types of breathing occurring. Someone very stressed, on the verge of a panic attack, uses shallow, short breaths. In contrast, another person lying on the beach in the warm sun likely takes slow, deep, peaceful breaths.

It is true that it is easier to breathe deeply on the beach than in a stressful situation, but it is also true that you can change your anxiety levels by controlling your breathing.

If you calm the body and the mind will follow.

After a hard cry, a baby falls into deep sleep. Breathing heavily and deeply relaxes the body and sleep follows.

A Buddhist meditation practice called tonglen teaches this concept. The word tong means sending out, and the word len means bringing in. When you breathe, you are bringing in oxygen and sending out carbon monoxide. The concept of taking in good and letting go of the bad is a metaphor with practical application.

There are 4 phases

1. Find a moment of mindful quiet

For a few moments, sit quietly and focus inward and picture a calm, peaceful place.

2. Slow deep breathing

Breath in, Breath out. With each in-breath we imagine ourselves breathing in dark qualities such as pain, constriction, and heat. Then with the out-breath we send out light, openness, coolness. We consciously feel these qualities moving in and out of our entire bodies. Do this for several minutes.

3. Identify your emotional pain and let it go

Continue breathing slowly and deeply. Move your attention to any emotional pain you may be feeling in the moment. Breathe in the qualities of that pain, and breathe out peace, openness, and coolness.

David Richo says, “As you breathe in and out in this way, you are acting like a filter, taking in what is painful, transforming it within yourself, and sending out openness and light. Imagine … breathing in dark qualities such as pain, constriction, and heat. Then with the out-breath … send out light, openness, coolness.“

Consciously feel these opposites moving in and out of your entire body for several minutes as you breathe in and out. Feel and accept the pain as you breathe in.

4. Acceptance

As your release your breath, feel peace, openness, and coolness—all qualities brought by acceptance of the pain.

One of the challenges of being human is learning to accept pain, disappointment and loss. As we begin to accept pain, we learn from it and eventually heal. It feels like a contradiction to allow something into our lives that seems dangerous and undesirable in order for us to be transformed and experience peace, but it is true.

Richo suggests to think of it this way: We breathe in the experience of grief and loss that come with change and endings others are feeling, and we breathe out release from and resolution of them. We breathe in others’ disappointment because of failed plans and breathe out trust that things will work out for spiritual progress. We breathe in the unfairness and injustice others are facing, and we breathe out courage to stand up to injustice and act justly toward others while remaining nonretaliatory. We breathe in physical and psychological suffering and breathe out healing and serenity. We breathe in the hurt all humans feel when others are disloyal or unloving, and we breathe out love and loyalty. (p. 109–110)

Find The Gift

If we breathe in pain, sadness, and loss with acceptance and reverence, we can breathe out growth and insight. We will receive a gift from our suffering. Elizabeth Kuber-Ross said:

“You will not grow if you sit in a beautiful flower garden and somebody brings you gorgeous food on a silver platter. But you will grow if you are sick, if you are in pain, if you experience losses, and if you do not put your head in the sand but take the pain as a gift to you with a very, very specific purpose.”

The following song by Jimmy Buffet teaches the concept of breathe in, breathe out, move on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo9jAOx6Pdw

A simple breathing technique is called “Box Breathing”. You breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and let your air out for 4 seconds. Read more here: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321805#why-breath-is-vital-to-health