Calm Mind & Body With The Cylinder Breath Technique With A Maryland Therapist
Steady the mind & calm the body with the cylinder breath technique, guided by a skilled Maryland therapist.
When our minds and bodies are agitated, antsy and unfocused, wouldn’t it be nice to have some tools to help them become more calm & steady? We can do that! If you haven’t yet read the Mindfulness Skills Parts 1-3 in the blog, check them out for more options for your inner toolbox.
Breathing, again?!?!
If you are thinking, “Hey, wait a minute! Didn’t we already go over breathing?”, you should pat yourself on the back for your memory skills. Yes, Part 1 in the Mindfulness Skills blog series was all about breathing and how to get started on helping your body be able to use a natural relaxed breath at will to help the nervous system smooth out and regulate.
Today I want to offer you a different breathing technique to use. This one is often a fan favorite with my clients and the technique that many of them say really helps them feel more settled and relaxed within just a few minutes, when practiced regularly.
The Cylinder Breath
I wish that I could remember where I first came across this breathing technique. With a long history of yoga and meditation practice, I had been introduced to a lot of different breathing techniques—ones for relaxation, ones for energy, ones for clarity & balance, and even breath work for inducing altered states of consciousness. But there was something uniquely engaging and appealing to me about the cylinder breath, and I’ve been happy to find that so many clients find it to be that way as well. So, even though I can’t remember where I first found it, I offer my sincere gratitude for whoever came up with it and freely offer it along in the spirit of that generosity.
Start with some relaxed belly breathing
You can do this breathing practice sitting, standing or laying down. Try to make yourself as comfortable as possible and you can either close your eyes or just keep them gently gazing at something that won’t be moving for the duration of your practice. Allow the belly to be soft and relaxed as you start a gentle breath in and out—allowing the belly to rise and fall on the inhale and exhale. Don’t worry about trying to take big, deep breaths. Smooth and steady is the name of the game here.
Imagine that your body is an open cylinder—like an empty paper towel tube, or that colorful Slinky toy at the top of the page—with the openings at the very top of your head and the soles of your feet. The rest of your body is a hollow cylinder. You’re going to imagine that you can breathe in through the soles of the feet, and then exhale through the top of the head. Then, inhaling through the top of the head, and exhaling through the soles of the feet. That back and forth wave is one round. Repeat: In through the soles of the feet, out through the top of the head. In through the top of the head, out through the soles of the feet. Do this whole pattern a handful of times before gently letting the pattern go, returning to a gentle belly breath, and opening your eyes. Check in with yourself—how are you feeling? Do you want to do a few more rounds? Is there something else your body and mind need that you can provide for yourself?
Follow along—Guided practice with a maryland therapist
If you want to be guided through this practice, I’ve made a voice recording of it here. You are welcome to listen along to this any time that you’d like some support, encouragement and guidance in stopping and taking time for yourself to try this out. It can help to listen along to have someone pace you at first. Once you get the hang of it, give it a try on your own as well.
Just Enough Engagement for a Busy Mind
I think that one of the things that makes this technique so appealing to a lot of folks is that it gives just enough engagement of the mind to keep it reasonably occupied but also allows it to settle. Just focusing on the breath itself can be hard for a lot of people as they notice their mind jumping around from thing to thing. The imagery of the cylinder and having to keep track of which direction the breath is being imagined to move gives the brain something to chew on that’s not too stimulating but not so easy that it can be running around trying to do 5 other things at the same time. There’s a lot of things that can fall into that kind of category (honestly I think that was part of the appeal of the rise in interest in adult coloring books a few years ago). Enjoy as many of these kinds of activities as you’d like, and know that the cylinder breath exercise is a great option to keep in mind because it is 100% free and portable.
A free consultation With A Skilled Maryland Therapist
I hope this is useful to you and inspires you to try this out for yourself. If you want to explore more about how I work with clients to find more ease in their minds and bodies, feel free to contact me for a free 15 minute phone consultation. You can also find out more about how I help with anxiety treatment, mindfulness-based therapy, and other services throughout my website.
