Our breathing often becomes shallow, tense, or restricted during the day, and we don’t notice it. Try the light, slow and deep breathing technique to loosen up, relax and stretch back.
Thanks to our autonomic nervous system, life-sustaining processes such as heartbeat, digestion, and breathing all happen without us having to pay attention to them. But our environments, stress levels, and other factors can certainly affect the health and efficiency of these processes.
For example, We sit hunched over our desks And stare at Screens This often means that our breathing becomes shallow and irregular, which of course affects things like focus, energy, perception and attention.
This week, Shamash Alidina leads a guided breathing exercise called Light, Slow, Deep (or LSD), designed to reset the breath in a way that opens the chest, relieves stress, and calms the nervous system.
Most of us breathe backwards: too forcefully, too quickly, and too frequently. We are holding our breath without realizing it. Breathing on LSD is an invitation to do the opposite.
- a light It means breathing gently, gently, as if your breathing hardly disturbs the air around you.
- slow It means lengthening each breath, giving your nervous system time to stabilize like a pendulum swinging wildly to gradually find its resting point.
- deep It means breathing into your lower abdomen, not into your chest, but lower down where the lungs are more spacious and more efficient.
Together, these three qualities activate your parasympathetic nervous system, the quiet, rest-and-digest part of you that is often displaced by the noise of the day. Think of it like turning down the volume of a radio that’s playing too loudly. You’re not turning it off, you’re taking it to a gentler, more natural level.
Meditate on light, slow, and deep breathing (LSD).
Read and practice the guided meditation text below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to audio exercises.
- Start by finding a comfortable position. You could be in a chair, cross-legged on the floor, lying down. You can even stand and move gently. Whatever allows your body to feel supported and comfortable.
- The breathing pattern we will use today is simple. Inhale for four counts, pause, then exhale for six counts. A slightly longer exhale is key. A longer exhale directly stimulates the vagus nerve, signaling to the entire system that you are safe. So you don’t need to force anything, you just allow.
- Let’s get started. Take one normal breath first. No need to change anything yet.
- Now place one hand on your lower abdomenjust below the navel. This is your anchor, and as you inhale, aim to feel that hand rising like an incoming tide. As you exhale, the hand goes down, and the tide recedes.
- Continue with this easy breathing. Inhale gently through the nose, feeling the expansion of the lower abdomen. In two, three, four, stop. And exhale slowly. Two, three, four, five, six. Then stop. In, two, three, four, and out, two, three, four, five, six
- Breathe in light and steady like warm mist rising from still water. Exhale, and the breath dissolves. Smoothing the body.
- If there is any tendency to hold or control while breathing nowSee if you can reduce your breath holding by just a little bit. Inhaling, the lower abdomen rises. Your chest barely moves, and your shoulders are slumped.
- Remember to hold the exhale longer than the inhale. All the way to the end. As you inhale, receive the breath rather than taking it in. Exhale and then release. Don’t push, just let the air out naturally.
- Now let the breath find its natural rhythm. Your job is simply to notice it now as a witness, not an observer. If thoughts arise, and they will, treat them like clouds passing through a still sky. The sky does not chase the clouds, nor does it argue with them, it simply carries them. They are allowed to be there, and they pass.
- Feel how each complete breathing cycle leaves you a little more still More easy. Like sediment that slowly settles to the bottom of a glass of water. The water is not trying to filter itself, it is just resting. Some clarity comes naturally. Breathing, slow, light, low. Exhale slowly. There is nothing to achieve and nowhere to go. Breathing simply happens, as it has done, effortlessly, all your life, long before you ever thought about it.
- One way to breathe lightly is to breathe softly. See if you can breathe so softly that you can hardly hear your breath. As you do this, you may feel a little hungry for air, and an urge to breathe more. This is completely normal. In fact, this is a good sign. You restore the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your body. More oxygen gets into your cells and into your body brain When you breathe lightly.
- When you don’t force yourself too muchYou may be able to notice more saliva in your mouth, and perhaps more warmth in your hands and feet. This is a sign of the relaxation response reaction, and it is a sign that you are going in the right direction.
- As we approach the end of your training, start noticing the quality of your mind now. Is it quieter than when we started? Is it more spacious? Breathing LSD does not create this stillness, it reveals it. Stillness has always existed beneath the movement. Simply breathing sets the stage. Light, slow, deep inhalation. Exhale, releasing with one last effort.
- Remember, you can return to this breathing at any time of your day.On the train, in your office, before a difficult conversation. It does not require any special equipment. Just a few moments.
- When you are ready, allow your eyes to open slowly if they are closed. Take the outside world back to you, and carry this quality into your day. Well done, you’ve given yourself 12 minutes of real rest. Thanks for joining me.
