halcyon house

a worker owned cooperative holistic wellness center

Tag: breath

Our bodies are truly amazing
Ready for some massage education?
Every time I do a deep dive into a system I thought I knew well, I am reminded of the subtleties of how everything works together in a beautiful symphony. This is especially true of the pericardium. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it is sometimes referred to as the Heart Protector and indeed it does that job well.
Recently, when Jakki needled my PC-6 acupuncture point, I felt a surge of energy shoot out of my middle finger, right where the meridian is mapped in the acupuncture charts.
But my practice is all about the fascia, so I started studying more about how the pericardium works, and how it is designed.
The pericardium is:
- a ball of dense fascia,
- a thin layer of fluid,
- and a soft inner ball with the heart suspended inside the soft inner ball.
The outer ball has a facial connection into the top of the diaphragm. Both the diaphragm and the pericardium are innervated with vagus nerve attachments, further pointing to their importance in nervous system regulation.
Visualize:
Every inhale is by design tugging on pericardium and pulling it gently downward. Every exhale releases it back to its neutral position. When we bypass primary diaphragmatic breathing for secondary thoracic breathing, we are stalling this natural rhythmic pulsing of the fluid surrounding the heart. If this function was not very important, the pericardium would not be connected to the diaphragm, as there are plenty of other anchor points available inside of the rib cage.
I have been imagining my pericardium is a jellyfish, with every downward movement of my diaphragm on the inhale gently tugging the jellyfish downward. Each exhale releases the diaphragm and allows the jellyfish to float upwards. Every breath soft and gentle moves my imaginary jellyfish up and down in my internal ocean. Just a few minutes of this breath imagery can really calm my spirit.
The more I learn about the body, the better I understand the systems within, and the better I can provide massage education to my clients or anyone who will listen!
More Physiology Posts
2026-04-10
Change
The only constant is change. Even in stillness there is much movement happening within. Every breath is a new beginning, a chance at starting over. Following the breath through the body to discover what holds you back from making real change in your life can be daunting. Sometimes the shame, self loathing, and inner critic wins, but with each new breath comes a new opportunity to move that stagnant prana. Take a walk with the woods and become one with the breath that is one with the forest. Inhale the exhale of these Northern woods. Exhale the inhaled breath of the trees. In this way you become part of the forest, not just an observer. Life becomes more vibrant one breath at a time.
2026-01-07
Pursed Lips Breathing
When we are relaxed and comfortable (parasympathetic), we optimally use diaphragmatic breathing (see previous post). However, there are important breathing practices that we can use to calm a heightened nervous system. You might experience a heightened (sympathetic) nervous system with any of the following: anxiety, agitation, racing heart rate, rapid/shallow breathing, distracted mind, tense muscles, digestive issues, and many more.
Try pursed lip or extended exhale breathing.
This involves breathing comfortably in through the nose then slowly breathing out through pursed lips. You might imagine that you are blowing a candle flame but not blowing it out. Another option is to blow out through a straw. The long slow exhale calms your nervous system. Do this until you feel a shift in the area that you noticed. Also, discontinue this practice if you notice light headedness or increase in symptoms.
More about Robin
2025-09-03
Breath
Well-being begins and ends with the breath. That may sound esoteric to some, but it is the driving force behind how your parasympathetic nervous system works to relax you after a period of stress. Relaxed, deep breathing with a focus on an extended and soft exhalation will help you regain control of what is known as the Deep Front Myofascial Meridian (I also refer to is as the fight, flight line, the pregnancy line, and the skeleton stabilizer line) in which the diaphragm plays a major role in regulating. Disfunction in this structural foundation of the body can lead to the secondary breathing muscles in the neck get turned into the primary breathers, leading to and/or caused by: chronic stress, chronic pain, anxiety, PTSD, head/neck injuries, digestive issues, carpal tunnel, headaches, migraines, and more. When the diaphragm gets stuck the brain gets worried and sends all sorts of signals and hormones out to try to win the real or perceived battle for survival.
Try this breathing exercise to help regain control of your natural breathing cycle.
- Lay on the floor with your knees bent and hip width apart. Tuck the tail bone slightly moving it away from your head to flatten the lower back then send it up toward you to arch the low back. Now find the middle space and relax into that position.
- Next imagine, but don’t actually move, that someone has placed a flower on both shoulders from behind and to smell them you would need to turn your head to the side with your inhale, and return to center on the exhale. Imagine “smelling” the flower on each shoulder with your inhale, returning to center on your exhale. Don’t try to change anything, just focus on the visualization of smelling the flower, first on one side, then on the other side, resting in the center after each exhale brings your awareness back to neutral.
- After a few breaths stop the visualization and just follow your natural breath in and out, not forcing anything just breathing in to the first natural stopping point, pausing briefly and letting the breath fall back out as your diaphragm relaxes and pushes the air out. If you are able to get here and it feels good, revel it the simplistic beauty of your breath and enjoy this practice to help recenter yourself, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
- If this practice is hard, makes you uncomfortable, you notice that one side isn’t working no matter how hard you try, or causes nausea, pain, or panic then you might need some help to restore balance and return the breath to its natural rhythm. Robin and/or Jennifer can help with bodywork techniques at Halcyon House or schedule an acupuncture session with Jakkie for a Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to rebalance the lungs and breath.
2025-09-03