I’ve been breathing for more than seven decades.
You’d think I’d have it figured out by now.
And yet I can still catch myself sitting at the computer, concentrating on something, barely breathing. Or something gets irritating and suddenly my shoulders are up around my ears and my breath has gotten short and tight.
Nothing is actually chasing me.
My body apparently didn’t get the memo.
That’s one of the things years of Qigong, yoga, movement and teaching have made me much more aware of.
Your breath changes with your life.
Get stressed and notice what happens.
Get angry.
Get scared.
Rush around trying to do six things at once.
Your breathing often changes before you even realize you’re stressed.
The interesting part is that this works in the other direction too.
You can deliberately change your breathing.
I use that all the time.
Not because I believe there is one magical breathing technique everybody should be doing. There are dozens of them, and I’ve played with plenty over the years.
Sometimes I breathe through my nose. Sometimes I make the exhale longer. Sometimes we coordinate breath with movement in Qigong. Sometimes I simply stop whatever the hell I’m doing and take a few slow breaths.
The technique matters less to me than paying attention.
Breathing is one of those wonderful things your body handles automatically until you decide to participate.
And when I participate, things often change.
My shoulders soften.
My jaw lets go.
My thoughts slow down a little.
Sometimes the problem that seemed enormous thirty seconds earlier becomes considerably less impressive.
The problem hasn’t disappeared.
I’ve changed how I’m meeting it.
That’s useful.
And it doesn’t require an app, a subscription, a supplement, or somebody standing over you telling you that you’re breathing incorrectly.
You already have everything you need.
Try It Right Now
Before you move on to whatever is next, stop for a moment.
Take one comfortable, slow breath.
Then another.
Do five.
Don’t force a giant inhale. Don’t worry about counting. Just let the breath slow down and give the exhale plenty of time.
While you’re doing it, notice your shoulders. Your jaw. Your belly. Your thoughts.
That’s all.
You don’t need to become an expert at breathing.
You’ve already been practicing your whole life.
Maybe you just need to notice it once in a while.