If you are familiar with breathwork, you have probably heard of the conscious connected breath. You may know it by a different name, but the basic technique is this:
1. Relax your jaw, open wide and breathe through the mouth
2. Breathe into the belly and chest
3. Simply relax on the exhale
4. Consciously connect your breathing, so no pauses between inhale and exhale
(A gentler version can be practiced by breathing in and out through the nose.)
Practicing 10 minutes of conscious connected breathing at a time can already induce remarkable results. You may experience deep peace, heightened present moment awareness, more aliveness in (parts of) your body, as well as strong emotions and outbursts of laughter or crying. 10 minutes of conscious connected breathing is also a great way to start a meditation or creative session (keep paper and pen at hand!).
Breathing the conscious connected breath for a longer time will bring you even deeper, but be wise and start your journey into the breath with a breath session under guidance of a breath coach. Seriously, this is strong stuff.
Physical effects of conscious connected breathing
On a physical level, breathing the conscious connected breath will bring more oxygen to your cells, stimulate the vagus nerve connecting many body parts, spur on the reptilian brain and impact the autonomic nervous system.
You may notice all sorts of sensations, ranging from cold, heat, tingling and itching to ticks, trembling, pain or surges of energy and waves of ecstasy. These are all natural bodily impulses which we tend to suppress. Create a safe space and let these movements come. You will feel more alive than ever before.
Emotional effects of conscious connected breathing
On an emotional level, all sorts of feelings may arise. Bliss, laughter and joy or fear, anger, and grief. Allow them to arise, and deepen your breath to go into the experience or return to a normal breath to simply witness the unfolding of emotions stored in your body.
Don’t go into stories now; the body doesn’t speak this kind of language and it knows nothing of your life drama. It’s enough to just let your emotions bubble up, play out and leave as they like.
Spiritual effects of conscious connected breathing
You may feel a sense of oneness or wholeness. The sense of separation between your body and the ‘outside world’ may disappear partly or completely. You may experience a strong intuition and inner knowing. Thoughts may cease to exist or loose their importance. You may experience unconditional love and recognize the nature of all of existence, including yourself, as deep peace.
And this is all available to anyone, simply through breathing! Pretty cool, right?
On the other hand, experiences like the above may lead to confusion and disbalance when we don’t have the mental framework or life circumstances conducive to healthy integration. This is why again it is advisable to take it slowly and take your time to explore this terrain wisely, with healthy intent, integrating as you go and seeking guidance where needed.
Any questions, put them in the comments and I will be available to respond.
[…] the relaxation response which is very beneficial for both you and your baby, or possibly even the conscious connected breath if you are free of emotional charge. More about that later […]
What is the difference between Rebirthing breathwork, holotropic and conscious connected method?
And would you happen to cater an online event in the future?
With gratitude
Sindre
Dear Sindre, conscious connected breathing is a breathing method used by many if not most (modern) breathwork methods. It simply means to leave out the breaks in between inhale and exhale and it is usually (but not always) also instructed to breath through nose or mouth only, relax the exhale and breathe deep into the belly and heart area. Rebirthing, Holotropic Breathwork, Transformational Breathing and Inspirational Breathing, to name a few, are different branches of the same tree. I may do an article at some point on their differences and similarities. More important maybe than the exact method is how the session will be held by the facilitator and their ability to hold space and facilitate your process. I would be happy to cater an online event and your request inspires me to find ways to arrange such a thing. Thanks!
Hi,
I am just embarking on the Presence Process which includes 15 minutes of connected breathing twice/ day. I am really struggling to do this for the full fifteen minutes but this is important in the process. I don’t want to dilute the practice or interfere with what the practice is supposed to be bringing up for me but do you have any tips on how to make it more manageable? Does listening to music help or distract? Are there guided meditations that can assist?
Thanks for your time
Dear Cathy, wonderful that you decided to do the process and good for you to be reaching out for help. I’m not sure what Michael Brown himself would answer, but here are my first thoughts: it depends on how rigorous you want to be. In general, the whole idea of the technique is to stay with your experience and with the breath, no matter what. In my approach, if this doesn’t work for you, the first thing is to find out why. What is your struggle about? Is it fatigue, intense emotions, monkey mind or something else? Each might require a different approach. In general I think it is ok to meet yourself where you are now, start with 8 minutes (or whatever works for you) and build up to the full 15 minutes. You’re welcome to get in touch again and I’ll do my best to answer sooner then. Love, Judith
Hi
I’ve tried conscious connected breathing on a number of occasions and find my mouth gets very dry, which makes me want to keep drinking water in between.
Does this interrupt the process in fully ‘landing’?
Many thanks
Hi J, the more rhythm, the more momentum, the more depth. So yeah, drinking might be a hinderance, although it doesn’t need to be. If you do drink, do it with all your heart and attention and integrate it in your flow. By the way, I find that the thirst is often as much a mental as a physical thing. Make yourself comfortable and have a glass of water nearby, then commit to the breathing and see what else there is to explore while you mildly take notice of your dry mouth. I have experienced pain and itchiness during meditation and forced myself not to move or scratch, and exactly this mental discipline has facilitated many breakthroughs. However self care is also a precious thing and it is really up to you to experiment. It is not dangerous to have a dry mouth for an hour or so, so it might be worth trying to move through. It might also help to change your breathing pattern (double the speed/slow down/breathe through the nose/breathe normally with natural pauses for a minute) and see how that affects your averall state including the dry mouth. Good luck and let us know how you fare!