Breath Work for Grief and Intuition
In this video and article, I'm going to share with you a brief breathwork exercise. The reason why this is so powerful is breath is what connects us to life. I don't know about you, but for me on my journey with grief, I find that it's almost like I have to remind myself at times to breathe, especially earlier on in my grief journey.
Well-being during the most difficult times of life
Shallow breathing is common with grief. It relates to what we call the sympathetic nervous system where we go into that fight or flight mode, or that stress and trauma mode. And when we are shallow breathing due to stress and tension, our digestion system isn't working. Our body’s adrenaline is preparing us for something that we either need to fight or flee from, and that's just a common response to trauma.
So when we intentionally practice breathing and breath work, we shift from the sympathetic nervous system (or that fight or flight side of ourselves) over to the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the “rest and digest” side of our nervous system. When our nervous system is overburdened through trauma, stress, anxiety, worry, fear, grief, it taxes our health in body, mind, and spirit. The more we can do to be in that parasympathetic part of our nervous system (the rest and digest side), the better our body can repair itself.
I have found that grief has been the hardest thing on my body that I've ever experienced, so today, I'm going to walk you through this breathwork exercise that is pretty easy to practice. It's also helpful for your health and your well-being, as well as developing your intuition.
Develop your intuition and connection with loved ones on the Other Side
If you have experienced any of my other work, you might know that I share that intuition is how we can connect with our loved ones on the other side-- through our intuitive senses. The more we can develop and utilize those intuitive senses, the stronger and easier it is for us to connect with the other side. The exercise in this video is a great way to develop your clairvoyance, the intuitive sense that helps you to “see”.
***Watch the video above for a demonstration of this exercise***
So there's three components here that eventually you'll want to put together:
- Following the breathing pattern in the video
- “Seeing” the box in your mind’s eye, tracing it with a point of light as you breathe
- Counting: I use four seconds as my count in the video. You can make your count lower or higher depending on what is most comfortable for you. If counting is challenging, leave it out and focus on deep breathing and tracing the box.
If you're not getting all three parts as you start, that's okay. Take your time and practice it. At the very minimum, just practice some deep breathing.
Breath connects you to life. Intentional deep breathing is an easy thing to do that can go a long way in your health and well-being.
