The Woman's Belly Book: Centering Breath

from chapter 1:
Core Practice: Centering the Breath

The Centering Breath is a pattern of breathing fully and deeply from our bellies, similar to the way we naturally breathed as babies. Since those early days, most of us have been scared and schooled out of this refreshing respiration. Still, our bodies retain the memory and the talent. We can retrain ourselves to breathe as we did at the beginning.

Choose your breathing, choose your mood. Here's an opportunity to discover how the Centering Breath affects your own experience of body and mind.

(If you have a serious medical condition, consult with your physician to ensure the suitability of even this gentle breathing pattern for you. Abdominal breathing may not be appropriate, for example, if you have hypoglycemia, diabetes, or kidney disease.)

Centering Breath

Set the stage for this deep abdominal breathing by giving yourself room to breathe. Adjust your clothes and your posture to allow your belly to move out and in easily with your breath. Unhitch your waistband, loosen your belt, unzip your zipper. Sit or stand comfortably, adjusting your posture to allow your belly to move freely. Place your palms on your lower abdomen.
Notice what's happening underneath your hands. You might already sense a wavelike motion, your belly expanding away from your spine as you inhale and then sinking back toward your spine as you exhale.
If you don't see or sense any movement, that's okay. You can jump-start the process by actively pulling your belly in toward your spine as you exhale. Then release the contraction and allow your belly to relax. As it expands naturally — you don’t need to push it outward — your belly draws the breath in, beginning the inhalation.
Continue, keeping your mouth closed and allowing the breath to move evenly in and out through your nose.
Feel the gentle rhythm, allowing your belly to expand and draw the breath in, and then to sink back toward your spine and send the breath out. You might imagine that your belly contains a beautiful balloon. With each inhalation, the balloon fills with breath, and your hands ride with your belly away from your spine. With each exhalation, the balloon empties; your hands ride with your belly back in toward your spine.
Continue observing your belly and your breathing for ten or more cycles of breath.
Gradually return your attention to your whole body and to the present moment.

• • •

What did you notice and feel? What images and sensations entered your awareness?

You can also practice the Centering Breath lying down, with your feet flat on the ground and your knees bent. Support your knees by placing pillows underneath them, or let them flop inward and rest against each other.

Another option is to place a substantial weight over your lower abdomen. A smooth, round river rock is my favorite; a hefty dictionary will do.

Carefully and gently place the weight so that its center of gravity is directly over your body's center, about two inches below your navel.

Appreciate the sensation of your strength as your belly rises, filled by the breath, carrying the weight away from your spine and up toward the sky.

Enjoy the sense of release as your belly yields, the breath emptying, allowing the weight to sink down toward your spine and the Earth.

"What did you notice?" "What did you feel?" You'll be encountering these questions often as you experiment with the exercises in this book.