B.E.T. Exercise 2

ENGAGING THE EXHALE

The ability to relax is essential to health and happiness. The fear of letting go, the need to stay in control, is probably the single greatest obstacle to growth and change, and the greatest barrier to having a higher power function in our lives.

Chronic muscular tension leads to pain and illness. It makes us prone to injury and disease. It causes fatigue and premature aging. It locks us into certain psychological states, and makes us prone to various emotional reactions.

Tightness in the muscles of the chest and abdomen inhibits breathing. Tension constricts the flow of blood, and the circulation of vital energies. Unconscious, habitual tension is like a light left on in the attic, or a motor running in the basement. It drains our energy, it robs us of our life force. The cost over time is high. Sooner or later, cells, organs, systems burn out, breakdown, or die off.

Everyone can relax to some degree. But how quickly can you relax? How deeply can you relax? How completely? In the face of what situations can you relax?

Maybe what you call relaxation is really your baseline level of tension. We all carry tension in our bodies. Some of this tension has been with us since birth and infancy. Throughout life, we frequently contract. We accumulate layer after layer of tension. But the process is so subtle, so gradual, so "normal" that it seems like a part life, of who we are.

This tension is so constant, so pervasive, that we don't notice it, and we in fact become numb to it. Like the hum of a refrigerator or the buzz of a fluorescent light, we notice it at first and from time to time, but for the most part, because it is there all the time, we tune it out.

In order to get on with life, the awareness of this tension gets pushed somewhere in the back of our consciousness. Or, we deliberately grin and bear it, with the aid of alcohol, cigarettes, food, sex, or any number of activities or distractions.

Witnessing people get free of these tensions and relax for the first time, even for a few moments, is one of the most exciting and pleasurable aspects of Breathwork. It doesn't matter how much work you've done on yourself, or how relaxed you already are, the breath has the power to root out, dissolve and release lifetimes physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual tension.

The following breathing lesson can awaken you to the "peace that passes understanding."

Snap the exhale loose. Set it free. Don't control it. Don't hold it. Don't let it out slowly. Release it completely, all at once, without hesitation. When you inhale fully into your chest, the elastic tendency of the muscles, atmospheric pressure, and gravity will do the exhale for you. Don't blow. Don't push. Don't force the air out.

Open and soften your jaw and throat. In the beginning, it is best to breathe through the mouth, giving the exhale an "aahhh" shape. As you progress, you can focus on a specific muscle or muscle group, while you release the exhale, allowing tension in that place to flow out with the breath. In the beginning it is best to focus on releasing tension from the breathing mechanism itself.

Inhale slowly. Fill yourself, and let the exhale fall out of you, propelled only by the internal pressure that builds up on the inhale. The key is to master a passive, yet powerful release of the exhale. It looks, sounds and feels like a dramatic sigh of relief.

Take one breath at a time. going deeply into the feelings triggered by the release. Notice the sensations as you settle into a quiet peaceful state following each release of the breath.