“What’s the nature of the place? The proper approach to any kind of land use begins with that question. What is the nature of this place? And then: What will nature permit me to do here?... that way of thinking continues in the work of some modern agriculturalists... whose approach is to ask what the nature of the place is, what nature would be doing here if left alone. What will nature permit me to do here without damage to herself or to me? What will nature help me to do here?”

Wendell Berry

Movement as Medicine:
Two Breath Meditations

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Here are two breath meditations to explore. The first is performed sitting in a chair; the second, lying on the floor. You can listen to them first here, and then order the Somatic Meditations Part 1 CD on the Products page. Have a good journey, and ENJOY YOUR BREATH!

Three-dimensional Breathing

Sit comfortably in a chair. The fullness of your pelvic bowl creates a stable foundation for the spine to extend, the back of your neck rising with the front of your face easing downwards, jaw softening, sometimes allowing the lips to open slightly. The movement of the breath in the belly helps stabilize your pelvic bowl.

With each breath, the diaphragm presses down towards the pelvic floor, towards the rectum, and with each exhale, floats back up towards the head. As the diaphragm is moving downwards, the lungs are filling up, creating movement upwards. This simultaneous up and down is the vertical dimension of breathing. Extend your awareness, and your breathing action, in this dimension. Each inhale lengthens, each exhale shortens (not collapses!) the verticality of your body. Do this for about 10-12 conscious repetitions, then drop it and move into open attention, allowing your body to settle into its own breath pattern. Notice what is happening in this receptive awareness.

Now, begin to focus on the forward and backward, or sagittal dimension, of your breathing. Start with the belly. With each inhale, focus the movement awareness and action to swell both the belly and the lower back, so that the breath is moving forwards and backwards into space simultaneously. On the exhale, the body comes back to the center line. As you extend the inhale, begin to include in your awareness the upper body, the chest coming forward and the back extending into the back space. Do this for about 10-12 conscious repetitions, then drop it and move into open attention again.

Now, shift your attention to the lateral movement, or horizontal dimension of activity. With each inhale, begin by noticing the opening of your rib case out to the side, and then the closing on each exhale. As you settle into that awareness and action through repetition, begin to include in awareness your pelvic halves opening and closing laterally. And finally, you may also notice your shoulders (and scapula, by extension) widening and narrowing on each breath cycle. After this investigation, return to open attention.

Finally, bring all three dimensions into your awareness and action simultaneously. Repeat for awhile, then return to open attention. Take a little time to make small movements in response to internal sensations. Keep the breath fluid and alive.

The 4 Diaphragms

Begin by lying down on the floor. Rub the palms of your hands together to generate heat, and lay the heels of the hands down in your eye sockets as the fingers spread out on the skull. Let the heat from the hands soak down into the eyes, refreshing and soothing them. Breathing in through the nose, and out through the mouth. Each breath you take expands the skull bones a tiny bit, creates a ripple through the supporting brain fluids and the tissue.

Now, let the hands slide down to the upper chest, feeling the hands rise and sink on each inhale-exhale cycle. Focus on the movement of the breastbone, or sternum. Empty out fully to create a valley; inhale fully to create a ridge. The breath is the movement of life, generating new landforms, wave motions, frequencies of thought, feeling and perception.

Now, bring the hands down to the sides of the rib case, where the ribs open out to the side. In your right hand is the lower lobe of the right lung and the liver; in your left hand, is the lower lobe of the left lung, and the stomach and spleen. With each inhale-exhale cycle, notice the lateral movement of the breath, moving out to the sides on the inhale, and coming back to center on the exhale. Begin to stretch your capacity to inhale in this dimension by extending the duration of the inhale beyond your ordinary range...and then let it go, lingering in the emptiness after the exhale until the next impetus to take in arises.

Now, let the hands slide down to the belly. With each inhale, notice the roundness and fullness of the belly as it swells and rises to the ceiling and simultaneously spreads out on the floor. With each exhale, feel the belly condense. Inhale-exhale...

Now, pay attention to the depth of the sustained inhale as it presses downward into the pelvic floor, all the way into your genitals and rectum, and then let it go. There is a bit of a rebound, like waves lapping up against a seawall, and then drifting back out. Feel into the rhythmic flow of this action. Once again, extend your capacity through extending the duration of the inhale cycle to its maximum occupancy.

Now, bring together the four places of the breath by conscious attention to the unobstructed flow of breath from belly to pelvis and rib case and chest and skull, maximizing the fullness of the torso on the inhale and the emptiness on the exhale. Experiment with this for at least six breath cycles.

Now, let go. Let the body breath itself in its own way. Rest in the movement of the breath passing in and out of the body.

Selection from “Restoring Original Grace: Movement as Medicine,” a work-in-progress by Jamie McHugh. All rights reserved.

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Jamie McHugh.
Photo by Rick Chapman.