Take a look around and you might notice that anxiety is at an all time high, well at least it is here in QLD, Australia (commonly known as the “Sunshine State”). Rightly so, people are on the brink of apparent loss; loss of normal, loss of livelihood, loss of access to loved ones and maybe even loss of loved ones all together. Throw in there restrictions, mandates, opinion, confusion and division and you’ve got a sure fire recipe for chaos.
But friend… we aren’t meant to stay there. In that place of anxiety and worry.
A) It’s not good for our health! But also,
B) If there’s one phrase the Bible is plentiful in, it’s do not be afraid (‘fear not’ written 150 times, and ‘do not be afraid’ 65 times - to be precise).
Trust me, I’m the last person to spit out the “just relax”, “just trust God” card. I’m sure you know as well as I do that simply telling yourself (or others) to calm down, does NOT produce calm! So this post is not that. It is, however, offering something practical that you can implement in your life, like I have, to make stillness a reality.
In my very first post I spoke of stillness… and how stillness is the pathway to peace.
I believe stillness is the pathway to peace because it is VERY hard to see clearly in water full of ripples and waves, but water that is still? Suddenly reflections are clear.
It is no different when it comes to the state of our minds and souls. If they’re in a state of chaos and dysregulation (anxiety and stress), it suddenly becomes extremely hard to think clearly, see clearly or even hear God clearly; the water is choppy. But when we’re stilled and calm…… we can see clearly.
As Christians we know and believe that Jesus is our peace, He is the prince of peace, and that peace is a promise He has given to us (‘peace’ referenced 397 times in the Bible | NKJV) (You can read that first post here).
Today, I’ll go one step further to suggest stillness isn’t just the pathway to peace..
it’s the pathway to Jesus.
It’s the avenue through which we are able to live heavenly minded, presence conscious, and spirit filled.
So then the real question becomes - HOW, do we “be still”?
I imagine you would be much like me and sometimes (ok, lot’s of the time), struggle to be “still”, or calm, and therefore as a result struggle to fix your eyes on heaven and stay focused on that which is unseen rather than that which is seen (heavenly minded).
Well, there’s a practice to stillness. A discipline, if you will. Many actually.. But the one I’ve come back to time and time again, particularly in the last few years that has helped me immeasurable amounts, is that of BREATH-WORK.
Breathwork simply represents varying breathing exercises that benefit the mind, body and soul (and ultimately your spirit!).
For me, that breathwork is deep, intentional, mindful, diaphragmatic breathing. If you haven’t heard of it before - google it. I will also explain it in a bit more detail below though.
I breathed like this for the first time when I was 25 in a psychologist's office utterly and completely broken... and I can’t believe I lived so long without just…. really breathing. Even more than that, I can’t/couldn’t believe I hadn’t been taught this simple practice WAY earlier in my life. Sadly, I’ve spoken to 40, 50, 60 year olds who also say the same. When I breathed like that for the first time, it was as if I was truly IN my body for the first time. If you haven’t experienced that before, that will sound crazy to you. However… it’s a thing - so I have found out all these years later. See, trauma and chronic stress causes us to live in a constant dysregulated flight or fight response where we aren’t even really connected with… US, our own bodies. Dr Gabor Mate speaks on this wonderfully, as does The Holistic Psychologist on instagram (Nicole LaPera). We’re doing all the things but in a way that is somehow external to us. This was me for a long time.
When you begin looking into the benefits of practicing this kind of breathing the benefits are quite astounding, benefits that I have personally experienced. Apart from the obvious of feeling much more relaxed, it also:
* Lowers heart rate
* Lowers blood pressure
* Improves immunity and digestion
* Stimulates the lymphatic system
* Relieves pain
* Helps the nervous system return to a parasympathetic state (healthy state)
That’s a pretty impressive list, isn’t it? Amazing how simply understanding our biology and psychology and what it needs for optimal health can have benefits not only for body and soul, but spirit also (of course it does, God’s good like that).
Anyway, to breathe this way, the best practice I have found is to follow these steps:
1) Stop and close your eyes, sit or lie down, whatever is most comfortable and accessible at the time (I love lying down with hands on my tummy).
2) Take a slow breath in through the nose, focusing on the breath filling the lungs and feeling you tummy expand as you do (generally 6 seconds)
3) Once full, hold it there for just a moment
4) Then release slowly through pursed lips for 8 slow seconds or until you feel the breath fully empty
5) Repeat at least 3 times
I find that after breath 1 I’ll feel my shoulders drop, after breath 2 I’ll feel tension that was being held throughout my body release, then by the end of breath 3 I’ll feel the calmness. It is from this place that I can begin to really meditate on God and His God’s word (don’t try to empty your mind, direct its gaze to heaven).
Perhaps if you’re new to breathing this way using some guidance would help. I LOVE following ‘calm’ on instagram, they have wonderful visuals to follow for breathing like this. Then the headspace app also for guided breathing exercises.
Why is this practice necessary? Especially now?
Well, we’ve come so far from the slow paced life of old, Dr Archibald Hart refers to this as the ‘camel speed’ that we were made to live by… now… everything is rushed and fast, including our breathing. So I imagine that for Moses, Noah, Paul, John, and other great men and women of the Bible, in their time, wouldn’t have had to so consciously slow down, things just were slower. They had space, they had time, there wasn’t so much noise and distraction like we have now. So we NEED to consciously remove these to connect again with God… the practice of it leads to the fruit… it leads to Jesus. And that’s where I want to be and where I want to stay.
I hope this helps someone; even more that if you find yourself in a particularly rough spot that you’ll give it a go. That it’ll lead you to the rock that is higher than I (Ps 61:2), straight to the heart of Jesus - peace personified.
With Love,
