Breathing. As easy as that. Or so complex that one can get lost in its simplicity.
Before you continue reading, take a moment and shut your eyes.. think back to a time when you felt a robust emotion. Close your eyes… think again…
Are you watching your breath?
Chances are irrespective of whether the memory is happy or otherwise, if your imagination is right then you are possibly holding your breath or taking a deep breath. Or both.
This is what happens, we hold our breath all the time, even for a split second when something uncomfortable appears. Every time we see a child fall or when someone misses a step, we are shocked… check your breath… yup… we stop breathing, just for that moment.
What is this magical part of us that isn’t part of us, voluntary or eternally on auto-pilot?
Scientists have long realized that there’s much more to breathing than simply exchanging gases to oxygenate the blood. Disciplines such as Yoga and Meditation now have more practitioners than ever before.
Breath is the bridge between mind and body, between conscious and unconscious. Breathing in a certain pattern encourages energy to flow to areas of tension and to the underlying negative emotion. There are many emotions that we feel throughout the day, some more intense than others. How do we process all of these emotions, most of which we cannot even name?
Breathing acts as a silent communicator between the body and the unconscious. Think of it as your personal assistant whose job is to process and safely store the relevant emotions and thoughts in a way that can be retrieved as needed. Left unchecked, it develops its own filing system which, if you do not get used to it, will ultimately result in chaotic feelings and behaviors whose sources we are often unaware of.
This is what we have conditioned us to do. The feelings are there, the emotions are there, we just do not want to feel them, we do not validate our feelings which allow us to move on, we repress them, we ignore them and we talk ourselves out of our feelings and for the sake of doing that we tend to incorporate feelings us into our bodies and hence manifests into every kind of physical in addition to mental disorders such as stomach ulcers, migraines, heart problems, stress, insomnia, weight problems, anxiety, fears and phobias to cite a few.
During a well-integrated session, these areas are delivered to the surface and released, leading to a deep sense of inner cleansing at all levels of being; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Many people find these sessions to be spiritually empowering, Breathwork also stimulates brain waves longer than the normal sleep state. It helps “breathe” into a meditative or transcendent state of consciousness.
Breathwork is a really powerful and safe healing tool that uses our breath to emphasize trauma, generating unexpressed emotions tied up in muscle tension. Emotional release with full bodily involvement clears the slate, so to speak, for a more fulfilling and productive life. The therapist is pushing and concentrating on supporting whatever has tried to occur spontaneously. It is a highly subjective process in that no two sessions are the same, nor will any individual have the same experience. In fact, participants often find it difficult to explain this experience to people who do not know.
As your inner state changes, your external reality follows…
Afshan has been a resident of the Gulf for over 10 years. He is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist, NLP Practitioner, Wellness Counselor. As a Respiratory therapist, she has gained an enormous following not only in Dubai but also internationally.
