Spiritual Benefits of Abdominal Breathing
He lives most life whoever breathes most air.
~ Elizabeth Barret Browning
Proper breathing provides an essential foundation for physiological, psychological, and spiritual well-being.
FIGHT-OR-FLIGHT RESPONSE vs. RELAXATION RESPONSE
The two main branches of humans’ autonomic nervous system are the sympathetic nervous system, which activates our “fight-or-flight” responding to perceived threats (involving, for example, mental distress and increased heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension), and the parasympathetic nervous system, which activates the opposite, pleasant “relaxation response” (mental calm and decreased heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension).
The fight-or-flight response is helpful for reacting quickly – by fighting or fleeing – to threatening situations, but it’s harmful to our physiological and psychological functioning if experienced persistently. Possible physical consequences of chronic fight-or-flight responding include digestive problems, heart disease, and cancer; and possible psychological consequences include anxiety, insomnia, depression, and substance abuse.
CHEST BREATHING vs. ABDOMINAL BREATHING
High, rapid, “chest” breathing encourages the sympathetic nervous system to induce the fight-or-flight response, and low, slow, abdominal breathing encourages the parasympathetic nervous system to induce the relaxation response.
Many years ago, I developed this “5-2-5 System” for my psychology clients who sought to experience the benefits of abdominal breathing:
5-2-5 Abdominal Breathing System
Breathe Abdominally to Relax. The average respiratory rate for a healthy adult at rest is 12 to 20 breaths per minute. Most people breathe – especially when they’re stressed – by expanding and contracting the upper muscles of their chest, filling only their upper lungs with air. A more healthy, relaxing way to breathe is to expand and contract the abdomen – so-called “abdominal breathing” – which enables the lower lungs as well to fill with air. Abdominal breathing helps the part of your nervous system that’s in charge of calming you down to do its job well.
Preparation. While sitting in an upright, comfortable position, with both feet flat on the floor and eyes closed or partially open, take a few moments to notice some of the thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations that you’re experiencing right now – without getting involved in them, and without judgment or criticism. Then shift your attention to your experience of breathing. Does your breathing feel high in your chest or low in your abdomen? Does your breathing rate seem fast or slow? Simply notice and acknowledge what you experience.
“Breathe Low.” Now begin to focus on letting your abdomen do the work of pulling air in and pushing air out of your lungs. Focus on how it feels and sounds to breathe “low,” by filling your lower lungs first when you inhale, and emptying your lower lungs first when you exhale… Do this several times in a row, to get comfortable with low breathing. Feel your breath passing through your nostrils and through the back of your throat, but pay primary attention to the sensations of your abdomen expanding and contracting, like a balloon inflating and deflating. And when your mind wanders, don’t worry; that’s what minds do; just gently bring your attention back to your breath without judgment or criticism.
“Breathe Slow.” Next, focus on how it feels and sounds to breathe “slow,” by slowly inhaling cool, dry air in through your nostrils for five seconds… holding your breath for two seconds… and slowly exhaling warm, moist air out through your mouth for five seconds, with your lips loosely pursed (as if you’re blowing out through a straw, or breathing a sigh of relief)… – all for a total of 12 seconds per breath. (It helps to count silently “1,2,3,4,5” when inhaling, “5,5” when holding, and “5,4,3,2,1” when exhaling.) Do this several times in a row, to get comfortable with slow breathing.
“Breathe Low and Slow.” Now, get comfortable with breathing low and slow simultaneously. Slowly inhale (filling your lower lungs first) through your nostrils for five seconds (“1,2,3,4,5”)…, hold your breath for two seconds (“5,5”)…, and slowly exhale (emptying your lower lungs first) through your mouth for five seconds (“5,4,3,2,1”)…, for a total of 12 seconds per breath. Continue breathing like that (ideally, for at least three minutes) for as long as it takes to produce a sense of physical and mental relaxing. And as you conclude the process, notice any thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations that stand out for you.
Five Calming Breaths per Minute. With each low and slow breath lasting a total of 12 seconds, your breathing rate is now reduced to a total of five calming breaths per minute. As you become proficient in maintaining this respiratory rate, you may decide that you no longer need to count out each 12-second breath.
Frequency of Practice. Feel free to engage in abdominal breathing as often as you wish to relax by night or by day.
PHYSIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF ABDOMINAL BREATHING
The 5-2-5 system requires, at least initially, that one pay full attention to counting off seconds while inhaling through the nose, holding the breath, and exhaling through the mouth. Focusing fully on all aspects of this abdominal breathing process serves two purposes: it minimizes the chance of chest breathing and – more importantly – it distracts one away from habitual patterns of unproductive thinking, as discussed below.
The physiological and psychological benefits of abdominal breathing are universally acknowledged by medical experts such as Andrew Weil, MD, developer of the alternative “4-7-8 Relaxing Breath” system (see drweil.com).
What might the “spiritual” benefits of abdominal breathing be?
SPIRITUAL BENEFITS OF ABDOMINAL BREATHING
Three Levels of Consciousness
In my view, human consciousness has three levels: 1) unawareness, 2) awareness, and 3) awareness of being aware.
Unawareness. “Unaware” humans pay more attention to their internal world of thinking than to the external world of reality. This decreases their ability to thrive in the external world.
Awareness. “Aware” humans pay more attention to external reality than to their internal thinking, which increases their ability to thrive in the external world.
Awareness of Being Aware. And those who are “aware of being aware” practice the art of being conscious without any internal thinking (except as needed for practical purposes), which can confer upon them a sense of profound peace and profound openness to inspiration from transcendent (spiritual) sources.
Abdominal Breathing as Catalyst of Evolution. As will be shown, abdominal breathing can catalyze one’s shift from internal focus on thinking to external focus on worldly reality, permitting evolution out of unawareness into awareness. And it can catalyze a shift from external focus on worldly reality to “eternal” focus on transcendent, spiritual reality, permitting evolution out of awareness into humans’ highest state: awareness of being aware.
Unawareness
Focus on Internal Labeling, Judging, Storytelling. “Unawareness,” which sadly is where most humans spend the bulk of their lives, is the most primitive, least functional level of consciousness. It involves habitually focusing on one’s internal thoughts (labeling, judging, and storytelling) about external reality, at the expense of accurately perceiving reality. For example, an unaware individual might glance briefly at a beautiful rose and reduce what’s seen to the internally spoken word “rose” (labeling), then rate the value of the rose on some dimension (judging), and then become immersed in some personal opinion, memory, or fantasy regarding roses (storytelling). Owing to all this internal absorption in unproductive thinking, unaware humans forfeit experiencing the actual reality of the rose. They’re lost in thought.
Impaired Ability to Thrive in the External World. Unaware humans thus “live in their own world” of labels, judgments, and stories, which impairs their ability to thrive (and in extreme cases, survive) in the external world. They tend to perceive external circumstances inaccurately, to be self-centered when dealing with other people, and to set and pursue unreasonable, fiction-based goals – all of which inhibits their thriving in the external world.
When they vaguely sense and feel threatened by their disconnection from external reality, they cope by retreating even deeper into thought-chatter and, if necessary, engaging in defensive, fight-or-flight responding, which sadly serves only to exacerbate the disconnection. And, as noted, chronic fight-or-fight responding places them at risk for significant physical and psychological decline, further compromising their life management skills.
Comments by concerned companions like “a penny for your thoughts?” or “what planet are you living on?” may sound familiar to unaware humans. And when exhibiting worrisome fight-or-flight responses to threatening situations, they’re likely to be urged by concerned companions to “take a deep breath!” – based on the fanciful, but commonplace notion that a single, probably poorly executed abdominal breath can magically replace fight-or-flight responding with an enduring relaxation response.
Abdominal Breathing Can Increase External Focus. However, by engaging in successive, correctly executed abdominal breaths (i.e. giving full attention to the complexities of the above-described 5-2-5 process – rather than to internal labeling, judging, and storytelling), unaware humans can expand their awareness of the external world in two ways:
First – physiologically – each successive abdominal breath encourages replacement of any fight-or-flight responding with the relaxation response, resulting in pleasant physical/mental relief that’s more rewarding to pay attention to and experience than the content of habitual thought-chatter. One’s interest in focusing on internal labeling, judging, and storytelling consequently decreases, creating “space” for awareness of the external world to increase.
Second – psychologically – executing all the intricacies of the 5-2-5 process is highly distractive – in a good way. It distracts one from paying attention to internal chatter, again creating space for focus on the external world to increase.
By helping to shift one’s awareness away from internal thinking to external reality, abdominal breathing can facilitate upleveling one’s consciousness out of unawareness into awareness.
Awareness
The next evolutionary level up is “awareness,” a state of consciousness in which one pays primary attention to external reality, with reduced interest in internal labeling, judging, and storytelling about it. In consequence of “living in the real world,” aware humans tend to perceive external circumstances accurately, to be empathic when dealing with other people, and to set and pursue reasonable, fact-based goals – all of which contributes to their thriving in the world. Aware humans appreciate the restorative and informative value of “taking time to smell the roses,” as doing so reduces their likelihood of experiencing stress.
Awareness of Being Aware
The highest evolutionary level is “awareness of being aware,” a state of being conscious without any internal thinking, which can yield a sense of profound peace and profound openness to inspiration from transcendent (spiritual) sources.
Much more on the way…
