“To overcome life’s anxieties, stay in the moment and focus on your breath.” ~Amit Ray
I can’t remember the exact moment I chose to truly embrace life again, but I distinctly recall the breath that facilitated it.
Three weeks earlier, I found myself in a hospital bed, my liver failing after years of alcohol misuse. Aware that another relapse could end my life, I still rushed to the store for alcohol once I was released. It was no shock when I landed in rehab, completely exhausted. I wasn’t searching for hope—just striving to endure each hour.
When I heard about a yoga session, I nearly skipped it. However, driven by desperation, I attended. Trembling and detoxing, I struggled to breathe when asked to take a deep breath.
That instance transformed everything. The first breath on that rehab floor led to the breath that ultimately rescued me.
Entering that final treatment program, my body was on the verge of collapse, and I couldn’t stop drinking. I had gone through rehab multiple times, including a ninety-day program and trauma-specific therapy. I had lost my job because I was too sick to work. Eviction loomed.
The hardest blow was the court documentation: the potential loss of custody of my daughter. Holding that letter constricted my chest. That marked my lowest point, yet from that low, I discovered fertile ground.
The rehab yoga classes became the most anticipated moments of my week. They provided a welcome escape from feeling ensnared. I finally experienced my body and breath coming together instead of clashing.
In yoga, “root to rise” signifies establishing stability via your foundation before reaching upward. I understood that it involved not just balance, but healing.
I could not rise without first rooting down.
For years, I attempted to think my way to sobriety—making promises, devising plans, counting days. However, mere thought did not heal; it was essential to rebuild from my nervous system outward. Yoga became the first environment where my body could truly find ease.
Security emerged slowly, evident in subtle indications—steady hands while pouring coffee, relaxed shoulders at the sound of my name, sleeping soundly through the night without anxiety. Perfection was not the aim; being present was.
There exists a term for this: somatic healing.
“Somatic” pertains to the body, acknowledging that our experiences, memories, and emotions reside in our tissues, not just in our minds. Every reflex, tensed muscle, and held breath signifies the body recalling what it has endured.
During yin yoga, as my fascia loosened, memories unexpectedly resurfaced. Occasionally, I wept in class—deep, cathartic tears. Yet, the mat became a sacred space—a moment to confront what I had bypassed. Afterwards, I felt lighter, free from past burdens.
Each slow stretch and intentional breath established a conversation between body and nervous system. Remaining present in discomfort taught me that healing wasn’t about mending what was damaged; it was about feeling secure enough to let go of what I had been carrying.
Science validates what somatic practitioners and yogis have known: breath serves as the connection between body and brain, conscious and subconscious. Deep, purposeful breathing activates the vagus nerve, bringing calm to the body and transitioning from survival to serenity.
Breathwork connected body tension with heart tranquility. These practices rewired my response to stress:
1. **Anulom Vilom (Alternate Nostril Breathing)**
– Harmonizes brain hemispheres and soothes the nervous system.
– **Try it:** Sit upright, shoulders relaxed. Close the right nostril, inhale through the left for four counts, hold both nostrils for four, exhale through the right for eight. Inhale through the right, hold, exhale through the left. Repeat five times, breathing gently.
2. **Sama Vritti (Box Breathing)**
– Referred to as “equal breath,” it harmonizes and stabilizes, often employed for anxiety relief.
– **Try it:** Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold empty for four. Proceed for several minutes, gradually extending the counts.
3. **Dirgha Pranayama (Three-Part Breath)**
– This calming breath