Don’t Breathe Deep – Restful Insomnia

Are you breathing? Of course you are.

Breathing is a gift, because it’s both automatic (involuntary) and controllable (voluntary). You keep going without noticing, and when you do notice, it awakens your calmer, parasympathetic nervous system state.

As I help my clients with that, I’ve stopped telling them to breathe deep.

Why? Because we don’t often naturally take a deep breath, unless we’re moving intensely or encounter a surprise or fear.

While deep intentional breath can be healing and releasing, there’s an intensity to it which also can bring up resistance…especially if you’re trying to force your body to do it right or deeply enough.

Instead I say things like, notice yourself taking a:

• Long breath…

• Gentle, flowing exhale…

• Kind, full breath in…

• Gentle full breath out…

• Soothing, long inhale…

• Flowing, soothing release out…

Breathing this way tunes you into your body as it is now. It honors where you might feel constriction.

Instead of forcing in a deep breath, you discover how to soothe the inhale and exhale, to make your breath flow just a bit more evenly. That soothes your nervous system as well.

A soothed nervous system helps you rest at night and rest into your best self during the day.

Let me know how you’re breathing and how it goes,