The grounding and transformative powers of pranayama breathwork
When I was first introduced to Breathwork (Pranayama) a few years ago at my yoga teachers training, my ego initially stood up and said, “man how hard can it be to just breath”. Well let me tell you, it’s harder than you think!
Yes, we breath all the time while not even thinking about it. But this type of breathing is totally different from the breathwork that I experienced during my recent Pranayama teacher training in Bali. This breath is deep, really deep! 500 hours of training over a month, that’s a lot of breathing right! Day 1 of my pranayama training, I remember so clearly the sensations that I went through, physically and emotionally. It was the most incredible feeling I have ever had. That day I dove so deep into myself that all I wrote down afterwards in my journal was, WOW!
Stilling our busy minds through the breath
Day to day we live with constantly busy minds, thoughts going through our minds, then feelings coming from those thoughts which lead to emotions and actions. Breathwork gets you out of your busy mind and into your body; somewhere we don’t navigate enough! It is a place where there is only truth, honesty and vulnerability. Sure, you might cry during breathwork, you may also laugh hysterically, but the greatest change comes when we just let go and be aware of what is happening in the body in the present moment.
Throughout the 30 day training, I went on what felt like an emotional rollercoaster. Some days you questioned why you were there, but most days you came out knowing something new about yourself. How often do we spend time actually getting to know the person we truly are, and being aware of it?
Breathwork has been the answer to a lot of the questions I was asking about myself and about life itself. It has given me an avenue to centre myself every day and has allowed me to dive deeper into my awareness. This awareness helps me face up to the challenges I have had in the past or now encounter in my day to day. It has unlocked confidence in myself that I knew I had but was hiding, and taught me to trust where I am at in my life. It has shown me that everything I need is inside me.
Go to Pranayama Sadhana to enquire about breathwork training courses in Bali.
Breathwork as a journey of the self
Breathwork is a journey of the self, not of anything else, but you need to be willing to seek and to accept whatever comes up. Although it is an active meditation, you still need to keep the mind chilled-out and listen to the messages your body wants to tell you. We will all experience different things through conscious breathing, depending on where we want to take the practice and the time we want to commit to it.
I have now brought breathwork into my daily routine, knowing what it will bring me throughout the day and in the long term for my health, mindset and most importantly, my confidence. This training has given me the skills to teach others and that is what I am going to do. From one-on-ones, group classes to retreats, I want more people in the world to be able to experience the incredible sensations of what I went through, and most importantly to see deeper within themselves and to explore what they find.
Hamish is an awesome international yogi currently based in his country of origin, Australia. Check out Hamish Dowell’s Facebook page for more information on his online pranayama coaching and courses.
