Breathe Into the New Year

You might be thinking... New Year?! We are two months away.

Interestingly enough, November 1st used to be considered the new year and from an ancient farming perspective the year ended when the final crops were harvested... which meant it was a time to rest. Whether the nature of late Autumn and shorter days quiet down the world around you or not, I invite you to allow your body, your mind, your spirit to shift into this state of rest by coming back to your breath, by coming back to yourself.

You may have heard me talk about how every emotion has a specific breath pattern and how this can be an insight... and how our breath can also be a tool to use with emotion. Just this past weekend, I noticed another link between my breath pattern and thoughts.

I had a moment of being very caught up, I might even say absorbed in my thoughts and what did I notice. The breath was short, shallow and at times it seemed like I would stop breathing.

From a yogic perspective, prana/ breath/ energy is our life force. So as I am caught up in my head, my life force is caught up too. The energy of the body is no longer free to do what it does best- balance and heal. And you've heard me say energy follows attention which would make sense, if my attention is stuck in thought, where would my energy be.

I only offer this example to encourage you to explore links between your breath and ....... really anything at all that you think will support you. What is your breath like when you're nervous? Angry? Excited? Working hard? Peaceful? Checked out? Present?

And remember, we will always have natural breath responses. Noticing gives us insight to see if we want to stay with that breath pattern, what it might be accentuating physiologically OR if we want to shift it. We have the choice.

Here are a few little breath practices you can do anytime to promote a balanced, peaceful, restful state.

1. Hum! Notice that when you hum, your exhale naturally elongates. Exhales slow down our heartbeat and promote a parasympathetic state. Plus you get the benefits from the vibration of sound and maybe a lovely song :) I received an awesome podcast recommendation from a friend about breath and the gentleman talked about the mmmm sound at the end of an Om and how healing it is. Check it out here or on apple or spotify.

2. Simple awareness of the breath. Just by bringing awareness to your breath, you are shifting your attention away from the external and into the energy or wisdom of the body... your life force. At a time, when there is constant inundation from the "outside," offer yourself the opportunity to connect inside for a few minutes daily. To take it a step further, close your eyes as you focus on your breath.

3. 5 second inhale, 5 second exhale. You can always start with a lower number and work your way up to 5. This should be done with ease- without forcing the exhale or straining the inhale for length. You can do this through the nose or the mouth. Even though, it is important to work towards everyday breathing through the nose; both breathwork through the nose and the mouth can be beneficial for different reasons. If you are someone who tends to have a short or rapid breath or you hold your breath often, mouth breathing [as an intentional practice] gives your body big doses of oxygen.

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