In pregnancy, as well as in certain mental health conditions, it is useful to visualise your breath. Visualising the breath either in linear or spiral lines helps with controlling the length of your breath but it also helps focus your mind to the actual breath and perhaps taking it away from something else (birth, the cause of anxiety etc). Each condition will have its own variation (for example during delivery/labour the punctuated corkscrew with several loops may work well, whereas during the anxiety/panic attach, visualising the corkscrew as one huge loop will work better)

This is another very useful variation and visualisation of your breath. In my classes,  I often teach ‘Golden Thread Breath’ (for full instructions, please join one of my online classes). 

Instructions for Corkscrew Exhalations:

  1.  Follow instructions for Golden Thread Breath. Notice the natural poses between inhalation and exhalation.
  2. Visualise exhalations passing out in the shape of corkscrew, spiralling round after every pause.
  3. You can choose the length of the corkscrew as long as you’d like it to be. Start with just one spiral, and then extend the number of spirals as you increase the number of pauses along the length of your breath. 
  4. Exhale around every loop, pause in between, take a breath in if you need to just enough to keep you going, until you reach the end of the corkscrew. 
  5. Your visualisation will work best for you – the length and the width of the loops, as well as it the loops get smaller towards the end. 
  6. Keep your breath coming in through the nose and out through the mouth.

This practice promotes relaxation and focus.