I’ll soon be recording a breathwork training program and leading a level 1 facilitation program to begin others on their breath journey to know more about their breath, or to become a facilitator. In light of this, I will be sharing Breath Science material that will offer an introduction to the kind of material covered in the course.
For full introduction, disclaimers, and how to use this information, including a short breath practice to help you identity your breathing patterns, please see part 1
Breath Pattern Diagnosis Information:
- A pause before the inhalation
The practice of Conscious Connected Breathwork (CCB) is hallmarked by a breathing pattern that is connected – meaning there is no pauses. If there is a habitual inclination to pause before the inhalation there is some hesitation to take in breath – or it could be expressed as a metaphor, a hesitation to take in life force, or to take in the experience of life. This pattern may denote an imbalance and preference to surrender to life, but not in the positive letting go sense, more of a giving in and bending down towards life with tail between legs. The balance of the breath, and the balance of life is to manage effort and ease, or will and surrender.
Corrective measures:
- Coaching the breath and the client to take their inhalation as soon as they reach the bottom of the exhalation and breathing with them.
- Building up an internal intensity of awareness to the pattern, and continually breathing in with life force and enthusiasm on the inhale to encourage life force to flow in and an openness to say ‘yes!’ to experience.
- Hold breath out of the body, till the urge to inhale becomes reflexive.
- A pause before the exhalation
When an individual takes life force and experience in with the inhalation and habitually has hesitation to release the breath and surrender, the metaphor for the pattern is a resistance to letting to. Further assessment is advantageous to determine which parts of the body are most resistant to softening on the exhalation. The overall pattern is that there is a pause before exhalation, the deeper question is what physical, mental, and emotional holding is preventing the full release.
Corrective measures:
- Breath hold on the inhalation till the breath naturally requires surrendering.
- Throwing a tantrum, shaking, or using bioenergetic release methods.
- Affirmations: “It is safe is surrender”
- Control of the inhalation
The technique of CCB has several variations depending on the school and lineage. In general, it is taught that the inhalation has some degree of effort, while the exhalation is easeful. Though, it can be reversed to have an active and controlled exhale and a relaxed inhalation. And in truth, once the breath starts flowing, there is often a sense at which the ‘breath breaths itself’. So, a controlled inhalation can be difficult to determine; however, if one can properly identity a dysfunctional control of inhalation it may reflect a certain limiting of the life force from coming into the body. Further investigation as to which areas in the body one is controlling is important to determine what area of one’s life is being controlled. For example, an individual may express a high degree of control around their sexual organs and pelvic area, or perhaps the breath is jerky or forceful, which may be a metaphor for how one relates to this area of the body and its associated functions.
Corrective measures:
- Exhale breath hold
- Open mouth wider, open arms and legs
- Tapping of the body
- Get them to dance before the session and to move rhythmically during the session to create ease and flow
- Suspension of the breath
There is a natural way to spontaneously suspend the breath which can be beneficial, as well as the implementation of breath holds is a positive practice in breathwork. There is also a dysfunctional pattern of suspending that breath that is associated with voiding the body and feeling. This pattern is often an avoidance of feeling or something that is arising in the body. It is termed the ‘unconscious source urge or unconscious death urge’, which expresses that an individual may have a drive to leave their body and be released from what they are experiencing in this life. This pattern of voiding the body is often a control pattern that arises when an individual is under stress, an individual with this pattern is more likely to use substances to numb or to be inclined towards suicidal tendencies when challenged or stress is high.
Corrective measures:
- The lower portion of the belly and body is associated which our most physical nature, thus keeping the breathers energy and awareness in the low belly and legs helps to keep them present in the body.
- Holding ankles, feet, using pressure points in feet or calves.
- Reminding a person that it is safe to be in the body.
- The individual may be voiding the body because they do not feel safe, creating a safe environment, with safe individual is important. As if the work one does outside of the breath session, which may include reaching out to therapist, family support, assuring finances health and other areas of high stress are being managed.
- A shallow breath
There are times when the breath will become shallow, such as after releasing a large emotion, or towards the end of the practice. But if the breather has consistent trouble activating and breathing deep throughout the session, it may indicate a sluggishness of mind and body. The breath being a metaphor for how the breather is living, a shallow breather is one who is not expanding themselves and taking in life. Further inspection for any energy blockages will indicate where the energy is blocked.
Corrective measures:
- Identify where the energy is blocked (which chakra)
- Move the body before and during the session to open the energy channels, especially the legs which are powerful generators of energy and important pumps for getting energy flowing through the system.
- Get them playing or having fun before and during the session.
- Coaching before the session to get them excited.
- Get the client to speak in tongues and be silly and deprogram the current pattern and emotional state to make a positive shift
End – part 2
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