“Listen. Are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?” – Mary Oliver

Do you remember the last time you had an awe-inspiring moment that took your breath away, like witnessing a beautiful sunset, hearing a song that touched your heart and moved you to tears, a sense of bliss and calm after a deep breathing practice?

In a world where we are more connected than ever with access to communication night and day, more and more people feel disconnected. There are probably times when you feel as though your authentic self isn’t aligned with where you are in life. It’s at those fleeting moments when you feel disconnected from your body, mind and soul. Some people seek spiritual connection by having a relationship to God, nature, Great Spirit, their ancestors, the divine source. We all have our own belief systems and some days we feel more plugged in than others.

There are days when you might be walking and barely notice the world around you. Your mind is running through all the things you need to complete that day. But on other days you’re walking along and you notice an ancient tree – really notice it and you become aware of Nature as a whole and that you are a part of nature.  When we swim in the ocean or are walking in a forest or up a mountain we can feel at peace. In these times we can sense that feeling of deep connection and feeling at one with the wonders of this world.

We live in equally remarkable and challenging times. We face social injustices and environmental destruction, yet can this provide an opportunity, a motivation to reimagine how we might live individually and collectively?

The breath connects us all and connection is vital. Breathwork can also be a spiritual practice which can allow you to move beyond your mind and body and help you connect to the world within and outside of you.

I’ve been practising breathwork for years now and at the start I didn’t feel particularly good at it. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right. I would have sessions where I would feel frustrated and disconnected. Days when I would give up after a few minutes and even one time when I walked out of a class halfway through. How rude was I?! I still do have sessions where it takes a while to get out of my overthinking mind and feel fully in my body.

In those early days I was looking for a sign, a message from higher beings and angels to appear but who never came or at least not how my overthinking mind imagined they would.

I was pushing for the trauma story to be healed and the clarity and bliss to appear.
I was looking but I wasn’t seeing and I was hearing but I wasn’t truly listening.
I would feel envious when others shared they had seen colours and lights and connected to their ancestors.

I persevered and when I surrendered, let go of the expectation and how the connection should feel, my body finally breathed a sigh of relief. I stopped pushing for outcomes and could access that space for connection and deep inner knowing and wisdom. For me every breath session is different and continues to evolve and teach me.

The journey to connection can be clunky and uncomfortable. A bit like walking into a messy room and not knowing where to begin tidying up and then bit by bit you clear the room so the air can circulate and you can feel inspired.

The realisation came from letting go of the pressure I was putting on it to be perfect. It flowed when I let go, rather than sitting for hours at my metaphorical desk and trying to write a perfect prose.

Breath moves through you and helps to connect the dots and stories to bring expansive possibilities.

I’ve travelled to so many places, other realms and dimensions with the breath. I’ve met the worst version of myself on my breath travels and the best version of myself. It’s allowed myself to love and accept all these pieces of me. It’s therapy for me and it continues daily.

Even on days when I feel like nothing has shifted there are always little shifts happening subtlety in the nervous system and corners of the mind.

Every day we have a choice to breathe a little or to breathe fully and embrace, embody and feel and connect to life, remembering we are all a part of nature.