Last week, I awoke in the late middle of the night with shortness of breath, and a pain in my shoulder. There was no pressure in my chest when I rolled on my back. I got up and did a bathroom stop, and returned to the bed. I couldn’t fall asleep, even though I was very tired. Even with my CPAP on, my breathing was rapid and shallow, and I would have to mouth breathe every 3rd or 4th breath. So I laid there. There is only one thing that I forgot to do, or I forgot to persist in doing, I don’t remember. I was a combination of pretty tired, and pretty scared, and they seemed to be at war with each other for quite some time. Finally, I got up, and went and got my son up to drive me into the Hospital a little before sunrise.
When I was there, they did all sorts of tests, and a CAT scan. I had a terrific doctor, who was tatooed, and spoke with kind directness. He said what he was looking for, and why, and what he found and didn’t find. He didn’t find any evidence of heart attack.
On my way home, my son said that he wasn’t surprised or all that concerned, as he believed that I was going through a panic attack, which explained the shallow breathing. He couldn’t explain the shoulder pain, but neither could the doctors. He talked to me about box breathing.
I was familiar with it from ThriveToday’s habit builder on Skill 2 Quieting (They have a couple of YouTube videos out “Finding my Calm“, and “S1 E8 The Importance of Quieting“) I first became familiar with Box breathing from the book published by Life Model Works authors - Jim Wilder, Phd, and Ray Woolridge “Escaping Enemy Mode: How Our Brains Unite or Divide Us” . They have website dedicated to escaping enemy mode. There is also a YouTube video where Goeff Holsclaw interviews Jim Wilder on Enemy Mode.
And, I should say, that in this experience of a panic attack, all of that learning went completely out the window. It took my son, who loves me, speaking/confirming what Jesus was trying to say to me to really get my attention. Jesus also used the no nonsense doctor as well to start considering the question of “what was that!”
So I came home, exhausted physically and mentally. I rested for the day.
That night when I laid down, I had a very brief episode of the shallow breathing and the need to mouth breathe. I had noticed on other nights that one thing could cut this short, and that was praying in the Spirit also called praying in tongues. I could take a side trip into how I was given the gift of tongues without anyone praying for me, though I had seen other people desiring the gift, and receiving it after they prayed with someone for it. But, I will just leave it at that, as scripture doesn’t say much one way or the other about it, other than the choice really belongs to Holy Spirit, who knows our hearts, as well as, what the timing and means suits His purpose.
In any case, praying in tongues shortens the time that I am anxious. Though I hadn’t connected anxiety with it prior to last week. I was worried (anxious), that I was just so overweight and so out of shape, and so old that I was breathing hard. Ironic isn’t it. That doesn’t mean that being overweight and out of shape, and old don’t contribute to it.
So I go through the week, and in a men’s group, I ask people to listen to Jesus on my behalf, because I am anxious about all of the loose ends that I needed to tie up. One man mentions watching Disney/Marvel’s “Loki” series where Loki is trying to get all divergent timelines back together, tying up loose ends. He said that Jesus showed him that was what I was trying to do. And what I needed to do instead was to bring all the loose ends to Him, and not bother with tying them up. I just need to listen and have fellowship with Him. That spoke to me, down deep. And it also fell into place with what the Lord Jesus has been working on in my life, Prov 3:5-6, trusting Him, and not leaning on my own understanding.
A former teacher at the church where I first began to know people who knew Jesus (and Holy Spirit, and The Father) as persons spoke warmly about how praying in tongues does help with not leaning on our own understanding. So, there was something there too, on this path.
Then I was led to some understanding. It was a kind of understanding that I have a particular delight in. It is when people who don’t appear to know Jesus, or don’t acknowledge Him, spot something of His. In this case it was Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, PhD.
He has a great podcast on stopping the stress response in real time. ”Respire” produced a YouTube video is called “Neuroscientist: You Will NEVER Feel Stressed Again | Andrew Huberman” which is an extraction of discussion of the “Physiological Sigh”. Respire credits a 90 minute YouTube video produced by Andrew Huberman Tools for Managing Stress & Anxiety (the discussion of the “Physiological Sigh” begins about 34 minutes and 53 seconds in).
The best way to understand it is to watch one of the YouTube videos. Dr Huberman explains that we do it naturally some times. But, it lowers our heart rate quickly, but not too quickly. There is a physilogical (design) reason for why it happens. It has to do when you inhale quickly, inhale a little burst more, and then exhale slowly. The mechanics are amazing about what each step does (it is almost like a kind, intelligent design put it there 😉 )
So I don’t know how other people pray in tongues, but I usually draw a deep breath, and then listen to Holy Spirit, and allow Him to form the words that I don’t understand. But that listening means that the words I speak are really slow. I may do them as a whisper, or even silently. But, because I am listening, and not practiced at it, I am slow. So it is a slow exhale. When I heard about the physiological sigh, the lightbulb went on. That is why I can stop mouth breathing so quickly. I open myself to a place of trusting Him, and not leaning on my own understanding, and the pattern of breathing during prayer is the physiological sigh. Double barrels baby!
Plus praying in tongues also activates a special area in the brain. Neuroscientist Josh Walter summarizes some of his research ( structural research ) of praying in tongues on YouTube in a short video. From his channel, it seems that he enjoys worshiping God in song.
Jesus Day by Day 