Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Kate Osborne, author of the new Goddess Resolution.
A lesson in survival works on the principle of “three,” which states we should not go more than three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Air carries the first taste of life we receive when we are born. Learning to master or manage our breath can also be one of the greatest coping mechanisms we will ever have. For balance and power, from martial artists to opera singers for control and clarity, magic can be made when we breathe correctly. The charm of respite and serenity can be found upon the sacred night air when you answer the call to sit and breathe with the Greek Goddess Nyx. She is the primordial Goddess of the Night, of such exceptional power and beauty that even Zeus himself feared her. As the Mother of all the creatures of the night, they can go to her and draw breath by her side. So if you too feel like you are running out of room to breathe or your cortisol levels are firing under the stress of the ever-increasing demands of this life, the following breath exercise with Nyx may prove most beneficial.
Undertake this at dusk or at night. You will need a quiet space, where you will be undisturbed for 10-15 minutes, standing comfortably with at least 3 feet clearance around you. With both feet planted shoulder-width apart, relax into your stance, allowing all strain or tension in the muscles to ease. Sometimes it can help to “rock” a little side to side or back and forth with arms resting by your side. Now with eyes closed, bring your hands gently in front of your body till they meet. Then take a deep, slow breath through the nose, allow your arms to bend at the elbow, and bring your hands up to your chest. Next, continuing in the same movement, straighten the arms up above your head and gently exhale through the mouth. And at the same time, allow both arms to separate and still outstretched, forming an arc as they come back to your side. Repeat again. For the third time, use your mind’s eye to imagine the beautiful Goddess Nyx mirroring you. Her pale skin shining, slim black-winged arms reaching up above her onyx crown, bedecked in moonstones, and for a brief moment, she cuts the figure of a full, dark moon before her arms part and slowly fall to her side. With each part of the movement, her breath matches yours, making the in-breath deeper and the out-breath slower, so your lungs and stomach fully expand and expel. This now helps pump oxygen-rich blood through your body and bring relief to your hard-working adrenal glands. Gently open your eyes and go about your evening. Little and often is best here; though it may be tempting to repeat the exercise many times over, you will get light-headed. So choose instead to do it a few nights in a row, whenever you need to take a breather.
Our thanks to Kate for her guest post! For more from Kate Osborn, read her article, “Children of a Lesser Goddess: 5 Ways to Embrace the Dark Mother.”
