Using the Breath to Feel More Present. With Nigel Lack.
Most of us are good at getting through the day while staying disconnected—from our bodies, our emotions, and sometimes even from what we really want or need.
As a Gestalt therapist I don’t try to fix or analyse people. I help them notice what’s happening right now—inside them and around them. One powerful way to do this is by tuning in to your breath.
You don’t have to believe in anything spiritual or mystical. You just have to be willing to pause and pay attention.
Breathing as a bridge connecting mind and body
When you’re stressed or overwhelmed, it’s easy to get stuck in your head—replaying thoughts, worrying about the future, or going numb. The breath can be a way back. It’s simple, it’s always available, and it brings you into contact with your body—right here, right now.
Breathing consciously helps you feel more grounded. It shifts your attention from thinking to sensing, and from reacting to just being.
Try This Gentle Practice:
• Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4.
• Hold it for a count of 4.
• Exhale gently through your mouth for a count of 6.
• Repeat for a minute or two.
Notice what changes, even slightly. Maybe your shoulders drop. Maybe you feel more centred. Maybe not—and that’s fine too. The point isn’t to get it “right.” It’s to make contact—with yourself.
You don’t need to become someone else. You don’t need to be fixed. You’re already whole. The breath just helps you remember.
If you’re curious about exploring this kind of work more deeply, I offer Gestalt therapy sessions where we can slow down, tune in, and make space for what’s really alive in you.
Nigel is available at Muswell Health on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Offering a free fifteen-minute phone consultation to discuss your needs.
Nigel Lack BACP accredited Gestalt counselling psychotherapist, working clinically since 2013. “I will journey with you to discover your potential, build emotional support and navigate change effectively, to increase personal growth and satisfaction. I will endeavour to work with all of your intersections: culture, origins, as well as gender and sexual creativity. I will embrace you as a whole, all of you, with a sex positive approach however you identify, including gender queer, trans and pansexual. Working in my trauma informed practice I offer a wide perspective gleaned from a varied and creative background, often tackling depression and anxiety amongst other issues. I will tailor our therapy to your unique needs drawing on current mind/body thinking. Working with present experience I will utilise your own agency to form a safe space to explore creatively how you interpret and organise your life”
