Your body is designed for efficiency
Engineer, inventor and life scientist Stephen Elliott is credited with giving the name to this self-regulating breath - coherent breath.
He continues to research the wide reaching benefits of this.
It. is. Fascinating.
It truly is breath for health. And huge thanks to Ben Wolff for sharing this at a class I went to at the Shala, a yoga studio in south London, in February 2019.
All we did was breathe 6 seconds in, 6 seconds out - to the rhythm of his clicker ticker. He ran an immersive few days of what he calls, Breathing School soon after which of course I was all over! Deepening my understanding of the 'whys' and the' what's happenings' when we do this.
Going onto to share this in my own teaching, including coherent breath workshops and the results and experiences others shared - well. It was a game changer. The feedback continues to blow me away.
And I want you to know about it too. And for you to use it. To invite and create more health within yourself.
And am now fresh off another deeper immersion of a new iteration of Ben's Breathing School (gotta ring to it hasn't it!). The past year alone has seen a significant emergence of new research. SO MUCH TO SHARE WITH YOU!
Oh my. It's so true - breathe. And everything changes. Your brain waves, your heart rate, your interpretation of emotion. Your capacity to truly realise how we hold ourselves back with mind limitations.....
All the perennial wisdoms refer to the breath as pivotal to health. Where we are now in the neuroscience of this, is so very compelling. Even in the past year alone, the research coming out, including James Nestor's book released in September,' Breath. The New Science of a Lost Art', which charts what we might call our own devolution.
That we have become so disconnected with our own breath - at very serious consequences. Book review of that coming soon. Am halfway through reading it. Stay tuned.
If we are not breathing fully, we're not living fully. It is as simple and as wildly complex as that.
Check in with the current quality of your breath. Are you hunched over, squishing your diaphragm? Are you mouth breathing? What happens when you slow the breath down?
How could this have happened, when all the ancient texts speak of breath? It's been in plain sight all along. All along.
So what is coherent breath? And why is it possibly the most important and life changing practise you can begin to weave into your life?
Let's defer to Stephen on this. He says:
'Coherent breathing is an evolving science: The current understanding is that benefits are ultimately an outcome of improved brain function via enhanced circulation in the brain, this, and care and feeding of every cell in the body.'
It's all in the breath. Invite greater coherence into your life. Ultimately, it is balance. How you breathe is the message that influences how your brain interprets. Brain always listening to the lungs.
We are designed for efficiency. The coherent breath allows heart rate, brain wave and metabolic rate all to be in a sweet spot for your optimal health.
Do not underestimate this power. The psychology of it is astounding. You influence brain waves with this. Meaning you get to transform your mind with this practise. It really is the great untapped resource. It's free. And within you always.
Are you up for it?
Let's start with 3 levers to get you going with this:
1. Breathe through the nose. Inhale and exhale is through the nose.
2. A gentle oceanic sound (in yoga this is called ujayi breathing) - simply make a gentle whooshing sound in the back of the throat. Imagine you are breathing through an imaginary hole at the base of your throat.
3. Rate and rhythm is the 6/6. Inhale for 6 seconds into the belly, exhale smoothly for 6 seconds. This places your breathing rate as 5 rounds of breath. minute. The sweet spot if you like.
Guidance can be so helpful when we are learning this. So do avail of the below podcast, a guided 20 minutes of this practise. Feel the benefits for yourself. Do it today.
Happy breathing! There is plenty more I'll be sharing on breath in the coming weeks. It is so needed. Tell your friends! Share this message with them.
The brain learns through repetition. We are what we repeatedly do.
So don't give up. It all comes with practise. And it's a daily practise for us all.
We breathe as one. You are only ever one breath away from sweet repose.
Ciara
