MY SECOND WIND
Learning to Breathe Again
When our son was three, an audiologist and dear friend expressed concern about his language skills. We didn’t exactly agree. He produced words. He wasn’t hearing impaired. He even made-up words that only family and close friends understood. In hindsight, he taught us his language! But I have learned something: when people who love you tell you something, listen. We did. An evaluation revealed delays, and for the next year, he had a weekly thirty-minute playdate with a child speech therapist.
My son is now an adult. Guess who is seeing a speech therapist? Me! I am learning to breathe properly again. For forty-five minutes every Tuesday, I blow bubbles through a straw into a cup of water. I trill my lips. I make the sound someone makes when surprised—and other weird noises. My therapist and I engage in silly play, and my husband finds my practice comical. All these years later, it is my turn to learn through play.
It turns out that most of us lose what we instinctively knew how to do at birth—breathe through the nose and use the diaphragm (belly breathing). We begin to practice shallow upper-chest and mouth breathing instead. Over time, breathing improperly can have a negative effect on some of us. Me, for one.
I pay attention to me so that I may live the healthiest, happiest, and strongest life possible. When I noticed a change in my voice and breath control over the last couple of years, I mentioned it to my doctor. That road of discovery led to a diagnosis of weakened muscles associated with my voice box and, ultimately, to speech therapy, the first-line treatment. Paying attention gave me a place to begin.
Relearning to breathe using my diaphragm after years of shallow and mouth breathing is not just about technique. It is about paying attention to my intentions.
So, what am I learning as I retrain my diaphragm to help fill and empty my lungs? Change takes work. Patience and practice are a necessity. And when I pay attention to my intentions, something else happens, I slow down. Improper breathing can negatively affect blood pressure, oxygen levels, and heart rate, and contribute to anxiety and stress. That gives me hope for my maladies associated with these. I am practicing, paying attention, and making room for that hope.
It is too early to know the physical outcome of this work (play), on my own and with my therapist. But I know this: I am more aware of where I place my breath in my body. When I pay attention, each breath is deeper, longer, and fuller. I am paying closer attention to what sustains my life—physically and otherwise. I look forward to the day when belly breathing feels as natural as shallow breathing does now. Until then, I will keep practicing, keep playing, and keep paying attention. One breath at a time.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT---Thich Nhat Hanh, “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
Comments