Words don’t do it justice, but we can say “amazing!” and it would be true. If you’re asking this question, it’s likely time for you to experience it for yourself. Breathwork affects us on all levels: mind, body, and spirit. Scientifically and experientially, we know each of these major aspects of personal identity (mind, body, and consciousness) are intimately connected. They perpetually reflect each other, behaviorally and chemically. It’s not possible to engage the body in a particular way and have it not affect the mind. Likewise, we can’t engage the mind without it affecting our body. The nature of this feedback loop directly shapes our state of consciousness, moment to moment. You can see how deep the Venn Diagram goes here. Given the interconnected nature of our internal wiring, when we practice Breathwork it’s having a direct impact on our entire Beingness. Let’s look at some of the ways we can expect to feel after deep Breathwork, from a few different lenses.
Physical
Obviously, Breathwork is a highly physical practice. We are engaging our physical bodies to breathe and to sustain that breath. Breathing is remarkable in that it’s both voluntary and involuntary in nature. When we practice breathwork mindfully, we are connecting consciousness and intention to something that was already occurring. One of its most powerful effects is its ability to release stress, tension, imbalance, overload, and distortion in the body. When we practice breathwork, we release superficial and substantial (accumulated) stress in the body. The result, over time, is a progression into greater lightness, ease, and surrender in daily living. As the body breathes out the weight it’s been carrying, we feel more and more at home in our body. Our capacity to feel joy is directly related to how we’re treating the physical. It’s good to view Breathwork as a practice that develops over time. We get to surrender the quick-fix mentality and trust in the process. After all, you’re likely after a new way of being, rather than a bandaid.
Mental & Emotional
As we made clear above, the physical practice of Breathwork has direct implications for our mental and emotional states. As we clear, expand, and clarify the body, the mind and consciousness follow. Actively expanding and releasing physically, creates the space for our psyche to do the same. This clearing of our mental field translates as less thinking and higher quality thinking. Stressed bodies produce irrelevant, uncreative thoughts. As the body breathes and releases, our thought process self-regulates and self-organizes. Remember, the mind reflects the current state of the body, moment to moment. Personally, I’ve experienced high-quality cognitions during and directly after practicing my Breathwork. As our breathing progressively clears our internal space of gunk, we have a newfound ability to receive creative cognitions, new perspectives, and previously unheard intuitions. Stress assumes and expresses itself as a variety of emotional states. Among the most common: fatigue, anger, anxiety, sadness, boredom, and hyperstimulation of the senses. Breathwork uproots the emotional baggage that’s temporarily rooted in our mind and body. It manages to do so with both power and grace. This uprooting and releasing process creates the space for us to reconnect to our natural states of Being: Blissful, Grounded, Balanced, Adaptable, Confident.
Spiritual
When the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of the self align with intention, our state of consciousness can’t help but be altered. Breathwork loosens up our relatively rigid and confined sense of self. It invites us into an expanded identity. As we expand our breath, we also practice expanding ourselves spiritually. This expansion of our own sense of self is one of the most powerful and intimate effects of consistent Breathwork practice. It’s time to move from speculation to action and direct experience. Inquire within and let’s get started. Namaste!
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