Let’s talk about prayer.
Wait! Don’t go!
Ok, let’s talk about breathing. Slow breathing, to be precise.
Seven books of the Chinese Tao written around 400 BCE focused entirely on breathing. How it could kill or heal us, depending on how we did it. There were detailed instructions on how to regulate the breath, slow it down, hold it, and swallow it.
Even earlier, Hindus, who considered breath and spirit the same thing, described elaborate practices to balance breathing and preserve both physical and mental health.
There were Buddhists who used breathing to lengthen their lives and to reach higher planes of consciousness.
Slow breathing goes by another name, prayer.
When Buddhists chant their most popular mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, each phrase lasts six seconds, with six seconds to inhale before starting again.
The chant Om, the “sacred sound of the universe” takes six seconds to sing with a pause of six seconds to inhale.
The best-known chant of Kundalini yoga is also done for six seconds with six seconds to inhale.
Japanese, Native American, Hawaiian, African, Taoist, and even Christian religions all developed the same prayer technique requiring the same breathing pattern.
The original Latin version of the rosary, the Ave Maria, is just a fraction shorter with a 5.5 second rhythm. This is the version with half being said by the priest and the other half by the congregation.
We can reap the benefits without the chanting or praying if we like, by deliberately slowing our breathing. If 5.5 seconds in and 5.5 seconds out is too long, start with three seconds in and out and work up to 5.5 seconds.
This differs from 5-5-5 breathing in two ways. First, there is no holding of the breath. And second, the inhalation and exhalation are each slightly longer.
Doing this for five to ten minutes a day can be transformative. Scientific studies have shown that slow breathing (also called resonant breathing or coherent breathing) offers the same benefits as meditating. It’s like a touch of prayer for people who don’t pray.
This week, give slow breathing a try. See if you don’t feel calmer, restored. Next week we’re going to talk about actual prayer. You won’t want to miss it.