Gentle Breath is the easy, normal breath of the body.…with awareness. Normal breathing happens without our control, the non-emotional breath - the undercurrent which sustains our day-to-day living. Yet it often gets the least of our attention.
Monkey mind, swirling moods, and tense, painful muscles/joints draw our attention quite easily. All of these thoughts, emotions and sensations affect how we breathe, resulting in what I describe as the fabric of breathing: silky smooth, corduroy bumpy, and burlap rough. Silk is the natural easy breath. Corduroy is sighing breath, as in sorrow. Burlap is the jarred breath, as in anger.
When I work with the Gentle Breath, I am referring to the silky smooth breathing that is our natural breath rhythm with awareness. This means we are paying attention to our breathing.
Here’s a practice: take a deep breath now, while you are reading this…inhale AND exhale. This is a breath “round.” (As noted in the first Blog.) Return to the Gentle Breath and relax your jaw. Note: This is a nostril breathing practice. If you have any nasal deviations or stuffiness, certainly mouth breathing is necessary.
Now, take another round of a deep, controlled breath, and be aware that there are four parts: inhalation, space, exhalation, space. (The space refers to the point where there is no inhale and no exhale.) Then be aware of your Gentle Breath, relaxing your jaw muscles.
One last time: take three rounds of deep, controlled breaths in a row…no counting needed, no particular pattern, and no forceful or quickened actions…just long inhalation and long exhalation with attention to the space between those actions. AND being aware of what is happening with your body, with you. Then return to the Gentle Breath flow, again being aware of what is happening with you, and once again, relaxing your jaw.
Can you feel (body sensations) the differences between the normal breath and the controlled breath? What have you felt, discerned? Whatever you experienced is just that, an experience. No correct/incorrect is necessary.
This is the simplest method of being in the present moment. Add awareness to your breathing. And it does not take long to align and awaken this gentle process.
This begs the question of… “ So what?”
Our breath changes immediately and automatically with every thought, emotion and activity we have. This implies compromised breathing…the different fabrics of breath. My premise is that we start easy with being quiet for a few moments every day with the above practice of aware breathing.
Once this feels familiar, add being attentive to breath patterns throughout the day, in every situation whether pleasant and unpleasant. Are they silk, corduroy or burlap? If not silky, then change by taking the deep breath round and moving into the Gentle Breath.
When we notice what happens within ourselves through the breath, the more control we will experience. We can more easily move out of pain, strain, and tension, into more ease, focus and choice. Changing our breathing is the start.
