17/11/2025
Those who attend sessions at Eltham Valley Equine know we always do outbreaths before entering the paddock (& often during a session). Kids love the "pony breaths" during session. Love this description of outbreaths by We Al-li.
Most people say “take a deep breath in”…
But when we’re scared, we already do that.
Fear pulls the breath up and in,
we gasp, we hold, we brace.
The body prepares for impact.
It’s the slow breath out that tells the nervous system the danger has passed.
A long exhale lowers the heart rate.
It presses gently on the vagus nerve.
It whispers upward to the brain....
You can settle now.
This is why sighing feels like relief.
Why singing, humming, smoking ceremony, wind on Country and ocean breathing calm the whole body,
they all stretch the out-breath.
So today, try this small shift:
In softly.
Out longer.
Let the breath fall out of you like water leaving the shore.
The body remembers safety through the exhale.
