r̼e̼-s̼p̼i̼r̼i̼t̼
↦↦↦↦↦The human body is made up of parts, a complex network of non-human actants in a constant state of flux interacting with each other and the environment. Human beings are partite; we are not in and of ourselves; everything ‘we’ are is dependent on other things. Our physiology is a plethora of streams of data from different organs of electromagnetic, chemical and pressure waves. All of these signals collectively constitute our emotional state. The etymology of the word 'emotion' is movement, from the Greek root 'to stir', energy itself. Every second there is an energetic state moving through us; our heart rate is constantly beating, taking in air, pushing out air. Energy is in motion all the time.
Breathwork hacks the autonomous nervous system by balancing sympathetic and parasympathetic response. Fast and shallow breathing activates the sympathetic (Fight or Flight) response, whilst slow and deep breathing activates the parasympathetic (Relaxation and Digestion). Breathwork regulates emotion by reducing stress hormones, lowering blood pressure, which in turn enhances physical resilience, immunity and wellbeing.
It is well known now that the rate and depth of our breathing daily can positively or negatively affect our autonomous nervous system. One study discovered ‘email apnoea’, where a group of participants repeatedly and unconsciously stop breathing for short periods whilst trawling through their morning emails. When stress patterns like this become solidified, our bodies are in a constant state of stress. Last year it was reported that 80% of people experience stress that contributes to their physical health, and 70% experience stress which contributes to their mental health.
Through the practice of breathwork, we create space for the feeling of energy in motion all the time. A deep listening, breath work is a way of creating space in the body and becoming aware of the subtlety of invisible forces which constitute our being within our larger earth-body. In allowing for the state of natural balance of our nervous system, we improve our health through the practice of breathing into cellular connection with the world.
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Nervous System Series (4 of 4)
↦↦↦↦↦R-e-s-p-i-r-i-t is a vibroscape facilitating a breath-work pattern. Sound, like the breath, pulls us into presence, where we are not so much thinking, just feeling. The piece is based on the idea that energy or emotion in the body can be felt as an invisible waveform which moves through different levels of pressure. Through breathwork, the subtle movement and regulation of oxygen and carbon dioxide is experienced as an oscillation. Through the active listening-breathing, synchronisation occurs and coherence is achieved, uniting "human" (breath) and "non-human" (sound). Combining the practice of sonic deep listening experiences to harness inner stillness and connection with our environment, we move through patterns of breath and sound experiencing both as emergent forces amidst a swarm of vitalities in an animated world.
↦↦↦↦↦During listening-breathing, micro-movements of cellular actants in the electric body become in symbiosis with outer bodies of the (sonic) environment. Where we move through with these actants, increasing awareness for the subtlety of changes in sound and breath, we expand our energetic field and create balance through homeostasis.
↦↦↦↦↦Through the synchronisation of sound and breath, we can move through the subtleties of our nervous system both within and extending around us~~~
↦↦↦↦↦As an installation/embodied experience the vibroscape is designed for a reverberant room with a binaural speaker array allowing for deep relaxation. Using low frequencies which are as much felt as heard, participants are brought further into awareness of their body.
↦↦↦↦↦Online version best listened to using headphones
↦↦↦↦↦The piece uses a time signature designed to allow participants to follow the flow of the sound with their breathing. Through the synchronisation of sound and breath, we can move through the subtleties of these flow states which bring us further in connection with our environment. The following can be used as a rough guideline:
01 (1 Round)
0:00: Intro
0:30: diaphragmatic breathing pattern; 1.5 seconds breathing in, 1.5 seconds breathing out.
2:43: breath hold & release.
4:23: returning to natural breathing + deep binaural relaxation
01 Extended
0:00: Intro
0:19: diaphragmatic breathing pattern; 1.5 seconds breathing in, 1.5 seconds breathing out.
2:27: breath hold & release.
3:05: diaphragmatic breathing pattern as above
5:21: breath hold & release
5:57: diaphragmatic breathing as above
8:14: breath hold & release
10:20: returning to natural breathing + deep binaural relaxation