Since we first drew breath …

In a moment long, long ago somebody drew the first human breath. The breath you are drawing now is in a line that began with that first human breath.

In the intervening centuries, many people have studied how the breath, indispensable for survival, can enrich our lives in other ways also.

For instance we know that slow breathing can help us feel relaxed and can deepen that sense of relaxation.

We know that breathing out slowly through the nose is especially good for relaxation.

We know that mindfulness is good for us and that when you make yourself aware of your breathing you are being mindful.

We know that people in high stress situations use box breathing (inhale to a count of four, hold for a count of four, exhale to a count of four, hold empty to a count of four, repeat) to keep themselves focused.

We also know that the carbon dioxide we breathe out is used by plants for photosynthesis and they later emit oxygen as a by-product. Most of our oxygen, though, is produced by marine phytoplankton that live in the upper, sun-lit layers of the seas.

So when you take a simple inbreath and outbreath, you connect to past and future and to the forests and the seas. And when you do it in the ways outlined here, you also connect with your own wellbeing.

My next one-hour Zoom event is this Thursday evening 28th August at 7pm. In this event, I will describe how breathing affects the nervous system and we will learn simple, breathing exercises for stress, such as box breathing, that you can use straight away. Click or tap the button above to go to the booking page for more information). I will send everybody who books a link to the recording and also notes.

Video is by Arthouse Studio on Pexels