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Mindfulness and the Breath…The Common Denominator

For years I’ve debated with myself about what the most effective and direct approach is to bringing the present moment experience into my life. My tendency is to think that the combination of using physical sensations/the 5 senses, thinking, emotions and the breath is the most effective and balanced practice. Lately, every time I use the breath I get a thought that this is the common denominator. I don’t know why it’s important to me to specify what the common denominator is in mindfulness but since it keeps presenting itself to me I think it may deserve some attention.

To begin with, when I’m feeling stressed I find it easier to focus on the breath. I don’t know if that is the case for everyone, but it certainly is for me. Since I’m a fan of the path of least resistance I naturally gravitate to the breath in these situations. It seems to reconnect me with my body easier and faster than any other aspect of the practice. In the world of stress this is a big deal. Coping with stress usually involves some degree of disconnection. When we disconnect from our bodies we also disconnect from our thoughts, emotions and breath so if coming to the breath somehow reconnects me to these things quickly and easily… all the better. This is very important because that disconnection somehow perpetuates being stuck in fight or flight. It’s “as if” the body senses the disconnection and interprets it as meaning that there is still a danger to survival. As long as that perception remains, fight or flight to some degree will be present.

When we go into a stress reaction one of the first things that we notice is the change in our breathing. Instead of a slow, deep, nasal breath that starts in the belly we shift to a fast, shallow, mouth breath that situates itself in the chest. This kind of breathing is unhealthy for many reasons, probably mostly because it limits the amount of oxygen we take in. Our bodies are very dependent on oxygen to maintain peak functioning. The breath seems to always be front and center to how we function. In fact, when we stop functioning/die, the breath, or rather the lack of it, is the easiest way of telling that life as we are used to it has ceased. Life begins with that first breath and ends with the last. In between we want to maintain the natural rhythm of breathing and the best way to do that is by attending to it mindfully.

Mindfulness: Back to Basics…the Breath

August 26, 2015 / webmo / mindfulness

There’s a tendency to make mindfulness practice more complicated than it is. There’s a lot of reasons for this. Two that come to mind are 1. a lack of understanding of the process and 2. a tendency to think that the more words employed in teaching and writing the more “expert” it seems. In that case, it’s almost as if that person is getting paid by the word…which a lot of writers actually are. The more appropriate situation would be just the reverse…getting paid by how few words are used.

To me, the core of the practice is the attention being paid to the present moment through the medium of the breath, body, thoughts, emotions and 5 senses(the body). They are all interconnected but we are able to create loose categories when describing the details. When I look for the common denominator of all these I always seem to come back to the breath. I’ve seen amazing transformations while focusing simply on the breath. My instructions always include 1. breathing in and out through the nose, 2. sensing the movement of the belly and 3. embodying the attitudes of self compassion/acceptance and alert attention. While employing these instructions we fully experience the breath as it is in the moment without changing anything. These instructions are designed to counteract the results of breathing from chronic stress. Stress causes us to breathe from the chest and mouth which combined with a rapid, shallow breath limits the amount of oxygen coming into the body. This pattern of breathing also results in the continuation of being stuck in the stress cycle/fight, flight or freeze. It’s almost as if the body senses the irregular breathing and interprets it as being an indication that danger is still near resulting in a continuation of fight or flight. When the body senses the regular “normal” breathing pattern it interprets it as the danger being gone and it is safe to come out of fight or flight. I know this sounds a bit simplistic but it is the observation of many years of my own practice and the millions of people who have practiced over the centuries…..not to mention the “Johnny come lately” scientific studies which are abounding over the past thirty years.

The breath is a good reflection of what is going on with us. If we pay close attention to it we will learn a lot about ourselves. The breath is also a convenient bridge between the autonomic and central nervous systems. It is really part of both. It runs by itself(autonomic) and can be easily brought under conscious control(central). Overlapping as it does, it provides an opportunity for the unconscious and conscious parts of ourselves to partner in communication. This is a very good thing as it paves the way for an inner synchronicity that helps to keep the entire system in balance. So let’s pay homage to our friend the breath and greet it with full attention moment to moment.

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