We take roughly 20,000 breaths every day.And most of us rarely think about a single one of them.
I certainly didn’t.
But for almost two years, I’ve been doing something consciously and intentionally that has quite literally changed my life.
I breathe. Yes, I know. I was doing that before. But now I pay attention to how I breathe.
I believe it started after reading James Nestor’s fascinating book, Breath. His work made me much more conscious of something I had taken completely for granted: the way we breathe matters.
Breathe through the nose.
Slow the breath down.
And, especially when I want to settle my system, extend the exhale.
It sounds almost too simple to matter. It matters.
On mornings when I go to Jamatkhana, I spend from 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. in meditation and prayer. And breath has become an important part of that hour.
I breathe slowly through my nose.
I notice the inhale. And I make the exhale longer.
In for four. Out for six.
Again. And again.
There is something that happens in that space.
My body settles.
My mind quiets.
My nervous system gets a chance to pause.
Over time, I’ve started using my breath far beyond meditation.
When I’m unsure .
When I’m irritated.
When my mind is racing.
Before a difficult conversation.
When I need to respond rather than react.
Sometimes I simply stop and take a few slow breaths through my nose, making the exhale a little longer.
Nothing outside me has necessarily changed. But something inside me has.
And perhaps what I love most about breath is its availability.
We spend so much time searching for things that will help us manage stress, become more present, regulate our emotions and find some peace.
Yet one of the most powerful tools we have is already with us. No equipment. No app. No appointment. No special place.
Our breath is always available to us. Twenty-four hours a day.
And we can consciously use it to create a tiny space between stimulus and response.
A pause. A moment to settle. A chance to choose what comes next.
After almost two years of practising this, I would put conscious breathing among the most important things I do for my wellbeing.
So perhaps today, just try this:
Close your mouth.
Breathe gently through your nose.
Slow it down.
And let your exhale be a little longer than your inhale.
Then do it again.
You carry your breath everywhere. Perhaps the invitation is to start using it intentionally.
