Throughout history, humans have made a strong connection between breathing and spirituality. For example, the words ‘spirit’ and ‘inspire’ are derived from the Latin word spiritus, which has two meanings: ‘soul’ and ‘breath’. Similarly, in Hebrew, the word ruah most commonly means ‘breath’ or ‘wind’, but it also means ‘soul’. Likewise, the Greek word psyche, from which we derive terms such as ‘psychology’ and ‘psychiatry’, variously means ‘soul’, ‘spirit’, ‘mind’ or ‘breath’.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him through the nostrils. In ancient Greek mythology, man was created out of mud by the God Prometheus, then the Goddess Athene breathed life into him. And in the ‘contemplative’ or ‘mystical’ branches of all the world’s most popular religions — Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Taoism — there are breathing exercises designed to help one access a higher state of awareness, or a direct experience of the divine.
So how do we explain this strong connection between breath and spirituality? There are many contributing factors. First and foremost is the obvious link between breathing and life. As long as you’re breathing, you’re alive — which means there is always something purposeful you can do. Another factor is that breathing exercises are often quite soothing or relaxing. They can help us to access a sense of inner peace; to find a safe, calm place in the midst of an emotional storm. A third factor is that we can use our breath to anchor ourselves in the present. When we’re all caught up in our thoughts and feelings, we can focus on our breath to ground ourselves and reconnect with our here-and-now experience.
Yet a fourth factor is that breathing can serve as a metaphor for ‘letting go’. Our breath flows in and out all day long, and most of the time, we don’t try to control it; we let it come and go as it pleases. But, if for some reason we try to hold it in, we find we can’t do so for very long. When we hold our breath in, the tension rapidly builds; the internal pressure increases and all manner of unpleasant feelings arise in our body. And then, when we let it go again, the sense of release is instant and profound.
In later chapters, we will explore all of these factors and more but, for now, we’ll focus on the breath and letting go. I’m going to invite you to try a little exercise. You may be able to do it while still reading, or you may need to read the instructions first and then put the book down to do it.
Take A Breath, Hold and Let Go
Slowly take a large breath in and once your lungs are filled with air, hold your breath.
Hold the breath for as long as you possibly can.
Notice how, as you keep the breath trapped inside your body, the pressure steadily builds.
Notice what happens in your chest, neck and abdomen.
Notice the tension building and the pressure rising.
Notice the changing feelings in your head, neck, shoulders, chest and abdomen.
And hold that breath.
Keep holding.
Notice how the sensations grow stronger and more unpleasant; how your body tries ever more forcefully to make you exhale.
Observe those physical sensations as if you are a curious child, who has never encountered anything like this before.
And when you can’t hold your breath a moment longer, slowly and, ever so gently, release it.
And as you let it go, savour the experience.
Appreciate the simple pleasure of breathing out.
Notice the letting go.
Notice the release of tension.
Notice your lungs deflating and your shoulders dropping.
Appreciate the simple pleasure of letting go.
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How did you find that experience? Were you able to appreciate it? Did you notice a sense of grounding or centring yourself? Perhaps a sense of calmness or stillness?
How often in our day-to-day existence do we hold on to things, refusing stubbornly to let go? We hold on to old hurts, grudges and grievances. We hold on to unhelpful attitudes and prejudices. We hold on to notions of blame and unfairness. We hold on to self-limiting beliefs, old failures and painful memories. We hold on to unrealistic expectations of ourselves, the world or others. We hold on to stories of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’, that pull us into fruitless struggles with reality.
So what if we could get better at ‘letting go’? What if we could loosen our grip and stop holding on so tightly? What if we could catch ourselves in the act of holding on to anxiety, frustration, criticism, judgement, resentment or blame and use our breath to remind us to ‘let it go’? What difference might that make to our relationships, our health and our vitality?
I now invite you to try another exercise, a little easier than the last one.
Take A Breath, Count To Three
Take a deep breath and hold it for a count of three.
Let the breath leave your lungs as slowly as possible.
As you breathe out, let your shoulders drop and feel your shoulder blades sliding down your back.
Once again notice the sense of release.
Appreciate the simple pleasure of exhaling.
Notice what it’s like to let . . . it . . . go.
I encourage you to try this exercise regularly throughout the day and see what difference it makes. Try it when you are holding on tightly to something — some hurt, resentment or blame that is draining away your vitality. Just breathe, hold and exhale. Many people also find it helpful to silently say something like, ‘Letting go’.
Suppose you’re stewing over that fight you had with your partner, or replaying the unkind comments your boss made at work, or giving yourself a guilt trip about the way you lost your temper with the kids, or dwelling on how unfairly life has treated you. These are all forms of ‘holding on tightly’. And you don’t need me to tell you that it doesn’t help; that it merely increases your stress and drains your vitality. So once you have caught yourself holding on, the next step is really very simple: take a deep breath, hold it for three and then, very slowly, let . . . it . . . go.