Breathe
by Dages Juvelier Keates, NYC-based Artist and Katonah Yoga instructor
WHY BREATHWORK?
There is nothing more immediate than one’s breath. Breath is the key to the most valuable real estate on the planet: your body. The body is not a concept, a project, or a problem but one’s true home. Breathwork gets us out of our heads and into the direct experience of being at home with life. One can go for hours without water or days without food but only a few short moments without breath. The body breathes itself. Whether or not you think about it (or choose to!), the body will continue breathing. Breath is autonomic and happens below the register of our awareness, ensuring our survival even when we have other things on our minds. However, there is a loophole. Unlike other autonomic bodily functions, respiration is one we can consciously manipulate to significant effect: relaxation, invigoration, adjustments to heart rate, and temperature augmentation. When we engage and actively manipulate the breath, we become agentic: directing, demanding, and modulating it to create a specific effect for ourselves. By breathing consciously, we self-regulate.
Breath is also one of the great equalizers: shared by all people, regardless of means, with every other living being. Breathing is dialogic. When we inhale, we internalize the out-breath of trees, star mosses, lilacs. When we exhale, we feed forests, seaweeds, linden trees. Through breath, we experience the reality of life as deeply collaborative. We fit together, belong to each other, embedded in an interconnected, alchemical ecology. The essence is this: We are bound together through breath. All living beings share breath and time, making us equally vulnerable, temporary, and precious. Our breathing bodies are the locus that can draw an interwoven, sustainable future to the present
BREATHWORK BASICS
Learning to manipulate the breath is like learning how to cook. At first, you just want to get the basics: this is how you saute, chop, broil, and bake. You learn the tastes and properties of different preparations through experimentation and repetition. Eventually, when you have acquired skills through all that repetition, you can cook whatever you want and even improvise great dishes based on whatever is in the fridge. The same principles apply to breathwork. At first, you learn general skills, repeat them, and gain experience, and then eventually, you can do whatever you want.
FIRST PRINCIPLES
The breath has 4 parts we can choose to manipulate:
INHALATION
BREATH HELD IN
EXHALATION
BREATH HELD OUT
GENERALLY SPEAKING
Inhalations are energizing.
During inhalation, the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) facilitates a brief heart rate acceleration. Breathing in prepares us to deal with challenges by raising blood pressure and increasing tension in the large skeletal muscles if we must act fast.
Exhalations are relaxing.
Long exhalations move the nervous system away from the fight-or-flight mode towards rest-and-digest. During exhalation, the vagus nerve secretes a transmitter substance, causing deceleration. Long exhalations improve heart rate variability (HRV) metrics and positively affect decision-making.
Holding the breath in or out will amplify the qualities of stimulation (in) or relaxation (out). It is very important to be conservative when learning breath retention. A little goes a long way. If you begin to feel panicky or your heart is racing, you are holding your breath in or out for too long. The utility of a practice is in its use to you!
Note: Do not hold your breath if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, or heart disease.
Different breath techniques amplify 1 or both aspects of the nervous system. As you become well-practiced, you will notice what the specific techniques do for you as an individual. Like a meal, your eating and enjoyment matter, regardless of what someone says about the ingredients!
Practice with Dages | Mar 14-16
Katonah Yoga® Immersion Weekend
How does breath show up in your practice differently during winter months? Use the breath techniques described above to encourage stimulation or relaxation. Share your experience in the comments below.
