"Take a deep breath.." Aspirations around Respiration

“Take a deep breath"...It’s rarely said before something pleasant.

We say it before the needle goes in. Before "the conversation". Before the bill arrives. Before we brace ourselves for "the good news or the bad news" and anything else we supsect we won't enjoy at all.

It’s a phrase that assumes impact. A small hand-on-the-shoulder, before something uncomfortable happens.

Which is curious, when you think about it. Because breathing deeply is one of the most beneficial things we can do for ourselves. Yet somehow, culturally, we’ve managed to frame it as preparation for discomfort rather than a really good practice in its own right.

Let's face it...most of the time, we don’t breathe very well. And considering we do it around 20,000 times a day, that is a poor return for our breath. We don't breathe poorly enough to cause alarm, but for most of us, it leans into the sha-lah-low. It is bordeline OK. I would give us a collective, C minus compared to what we are truly capable of.

Our breathing - and check yours out before you say in that voice - "well I breathe properly.." sits generally quite high in our chest. Quick, economical and cursory. Useful if we are being chased by an angry cat, but not over periods of months and years.

Research shows that a more conscious appraoch to breathing, comes with a lungful of long-term benefits - imporved heart health, reduced stress, better moods, incresed cognitive function and good old restful sleep.

Guy Fincham, is English and breathes nicely. He also happens to be the founder of the breathwork lab at Brighton & Sussex Medical School and co-author of a book called immaginatively, "Breathwork Research".

He says that breathing is one of the "most profoundly effective tools we have for calming the nervous system and boosting physical and mental resilience, and yet despite it's accesibility, it's power is often underestimated". After saying which, one assumes he would have taken a good, deep breath..

A deep breath does something quite unremarkable and is therefore quite easily overlooked. It tells the nervous system to calm down and that there is no angry cat chasing us. When we inhale slowly and fully - particularly into the belly rather than the upper chest - the body responds by shifting gears. Down. Heart rate eases. Muscles release and relax a fraction. Nothing dramatic happens. Which is kind of the point.

One deep breath doesn’t fix anything. Habitual deep breathing is a game changer. Physiologically, it increases oxygen exchange and stimulates the vagus nerve, (see our next P/13 newsletter) nudging the body out of stand-and-deliver mode and into a more restorative state. But experientially, it does something way simpler - it creates space. A pause long enough for the system to realise it is not about to step onto a roller-coaster, emotional or otherwise.

This time of year carries a lot of held breath. We’re no longer in the thick of winter, but we’re not quite ready to move forward either. Most of our work and play is almost all indoors and we breathe accordingly. Probably, why things slow down. We don’t open the windows to air things out, so we are all still breathing the same air as 2025. Ew..

Which is why “take a deep breath” might be worth reclaiming. Not as a prelude to the bad news of a dentist visit, or applying for a bank loan in France, but as an act in itself. A way of telling the body — gently, without drama — that it’s safe to stand down a little. That nothing is required in this moment except the right blend of Nitrogen and Oxygen. Air...

My personal favorite technique to calm the mind and body is the 4-7-8.

4-7-8 Breathing - Right before sleep, if my mind is racing, this one is a godsend.

Inhale through the nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, exhale through the mouth for a count of 8. Doing this several times before sleep or during a daytime “mini-crisis” can regulate your nervous system quickly and calmly. It’s the modern day version of counting sheep and just getting centered enough to release tension and touch base with where we are now.

There are more things on the web about breathing techniques than you could shake a stick at. Google it and let me know your favorite ones.

Let’s do ourselves a favour, and think on our breath this month. Take some deep ones. See how it feels. Breathe like nothing is going to happen. Breathe like everything is possible. Think of it as a way to connect to our soul, exchange with the Universe and be present. Via the in-breath receive all the good that is around you, the light the joy, abundance, peace and love. The out breath, release all that no longer serves you and just let go. Let it feel like a relief. Because it is.

Our Soulstice Immersion in September will focus a little on breathing. It is certainly an area that deserves attention. We all seem too much on edge. We are braced. Strung out. And while the Febraury weather might be described as "bracing", being braced on hyper alert, is very tiring.