Rhythmical breathing: Four-part breathing and tapping

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(Also called breathing and tapping, or four-part breathing.)

Introduction

This series is useful for cutting across all our thought patterns, ending ruminations on the spot with the demand of counting and tapping, while monitoring the phases of the breath.

The first lesson, welding the breath, does not have tapping, but all the others do. The tapping grows increasingly complex, and it’s okay to be confused and flummoxed. Just enjoy the end when the movement returns to something totally simple, and you wonder why that first movement was ever hard!

Don’t try to be perfect in these lessons. They are designed to be neurologically challenging, to unhook old habits and let new ones emerge. The breath is caught up with how we are in the world. Its rhythm tells us how we feel, we rely on it, both consciously and unconsciously, for an immense amount of feedback about our existence, whether we’re safe, happy, tense, tired, energized, fearful, and more. It can be jarring to contrive the breath into a different rhythm, so be patient and kind as you explore these lessons. They are wonderful for resetting your state and letting go of tension and anxiety.

At the end I’ve included an eight-minute short version of this “breathing and tapping,” which you can do any time.

A note on anxiety from my workshop on resilience.

This lesson helps you let go of muscular habits that interfere with the breathing apparatus. As you imagine the lung expanding and widening the muscles become more and more responsive to the demands of your shape, your position, and your emotional needs.

This lesson starts by lifting the pelvis and breathing into the upper chest, then slowly moves to press each part of the ribs into the floor in various positions. You practice meeting the external pressure with the internal pressure, discovering that the whole surface area of the ribs can widen, expand, and release.

AY179

Continuing the theme of breaking up the codependent relationship of the diaphragm and the muscles of the trunk, this lessons introduces the cycle of four-part breathing: inhale, pause, exhale, pause.

Then you link the four parts with various rhythmical activities, like rolling the hands and tapping the fingers. It’s quite a brain challenge to monitor the sequences, but we do this so we can cut across mental rumination and emotional states. Once the breathing changes, the emotions change with it. The rhythm of the tapping calms the system, creating a reverie state. You’ll be surprised by how full and easy your breathing is by the end, as well as regaining upright posture and ease in the low belly, where we hold so much tension when we’re stressed.

AY180

This lesson focuses breathing and tapping on the left side, adding some seesaw breathing (moving the chest and belly up and down) to really, really let go of old tension.

The increasing contrast between the left and right sides shows just how much we can improve support and gain strength—yes, strength—because this whole lesson is about letting go of the muscular tension that interferes with our movement.

When we let go of unnecessary holding, our muscles are actually available for use! You’d be surprised how much muscle tension is below the level of conscious awareness.

 AY186

This lesson brings more seesaw breathing into the mix of counting and tapping. As you hold one variation fixed, you are asked to continue with other variations of tapping and breathing. Yes, it’s complicated and confusing and challenging. That’s why we’re doing it: To retrain our system to make use of our full potential, not just the narrow range of habits we’ve settled on as “useful.”

Play with this lesson and don’t strive for perfection, just approximate the patterns as best you can. It will improve over time as you gain more and more volitional and precise control over the muscles of the abdomen and chest. As you continue to practice this process, your balance, posture, digestion, and comfort will dramatically improve.

Plus, have a good laugh over how jumbled up you get, then restart and try again.

AY187

Another rhythmical breathing lesson. This is not quite on the front and not quite on the side, more balanced between the two. Try it and see what I mean.

This lesson has more shapes in which you challenge the diaphragm to find smooth, easy movement. Sometimes you’re tilted, sometimes you’re rotated, sometimes you’re folded and rotated. The idea is to continually create space for your breath no matter what shape you’re in.

As you return to neutral after all these funny shapes, you’ll find the ease of breathing greatly increased.

(Note that when you’re on the side, one arm will be long overhead. If that’s not comfortable, get a towel for your head and simply bring the arm in front of you.)

AY188

Here we do not have tapping, just an exploratory process to define the inner boundary of the lung. You imagine a little white dot of light moving around the inner boundary that represents the lung. It's remarkable how awareness of your shape changes the musculature. Don't listen to me, test it out.

This lesson helps let go of tension in the neck, shoulder, and jaw. I have seen people make remarkable improvements in their breathing with this experiment. Note that it is one-sided so that your brain can sense a clear contrast between the two sides. If, for some reason, you need to do the left side, you can, but stay within the constraint of the lesson and do only one side.

AY189

I love this lesson for the sheer quantity of feedback you get when you press different parts of yourself into the floor while doing the four-part breathing.

The idea is to challenge the breath while you press and lift many ways. Notice when a quick, harsh contraction stops the breath. Then, run the experiment to strategize how to use your muscles without stopping the breath. Using the breath as a barometer like this changes how you move through space. It’s a way to notice when you’re unconsciously tensing, holding, or moving in a way that causes stress. It’s a wonderful skill to have.

AY191