|
Didgeridoos: Circular Breathing and Meditation
By Jim Blue
Breathing is to life as meditation is to transcendence. Breathing is to meditation as sunrise is to the day. Deep, belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing), an innate ability from birth, is essential for advanced grounding and meditation. When you breathe properly, your
belly (not your chest) expands and contracts with each breath. Although many of us have forgotten our instinctive ability to belly breathe, with practice, patience and perseverance, relearning can be easy and fun. How? One way is through the use of an ancient Australian aboriginal woodwind instrument known as a didgeridoo and a technique used to play it called circular breathing.
The Didgeridoo
Australian aborigines, the world's oldest continuous culture, have handed down dreamtime revelations regarding the ancient didgeridoo from generation to generation for hundreds of centuries. The instrument is believed to
 have been first seen in Australia's Northern Territory, the Outback; and aboriginal elders support native legends that trace the didgeridoo back to creation stories. Today, didgeridoos are popular worldwide and are used in many genres of modern music as well as movie soundtracks.
The didgeridoo, a long tubular instrument, produces a deep, breathy, reverberating tone called the "drone." One end of the instrument has a small opening for blowing into; the other end has a large opening where the sound comes out. Didgeridoos average two to four inches in diameter, four to five feet in length, and are available in most keys. The key typically is determined by
length.....the longer the didgeridoo, the lower the key. The keys of C, D and E are recommended for beginners because lower keys, such as A or B, require more lung power making it more challenging for a novice to produce a quality drone.
The extremely low-frequency sounds produced by the didgeridoo are strongest in the 50-200 hertz range. Frequencies hovering within the range of alpha brainwaves also are produced. This creates a highly favorable vibratory environment for grounding, relaxation, and meditation. When playing the didgeridoo while meditating, the mesmerizing sound of the drone becomes a mantra akin to the sound of “om” commonly used in meditation.
Didgeridoos are fashioned from both natural and synthetic materials. Natural materials include bamboo, yucca,
agave, gourd or termite-hollowed eucalyptus tree trunks and beeswax mouthpieces. Synthetic materials include plastic and fiberglass.
A starter didgeridoo can be purchased at a local music store for around $30. These less-expensive models are typically made of bamboo and are perfect for beginners. The more expensive, handmade eucalyptus didgeridoos range in price from around $200 on up to into the thousands. Many aborigines make their living crafting such instruments and often adorn their masterpieces with hand-painted art depicting scenes of their lives, native villages, and countryside.
Circular Breathing
Circular breathing is not a prerequisite to playing the didgeridoo, although it is a technique well worth pursuing.
It enables the didgeridoo player to maintain a continuous tone. From an observer's perspective, this technique creates the illusion that the player never takes a breath. The secret is to store air in the cheeks, like a balloon, releasing that air while inhaling through the nose to replenish the lungs.
Try the following exercise. Remember to use belly breathing whenever inhaling or exhaling air in and out of your lungs:
1) While holding your breath, fill your cheeks with air and hold it by pressing your lips together. You may temporarily resemble a chipmunk but that is okay! Now, as you continue to hold the breath in your lungs, use the muscles in your cheeks to squeeze some of the air out of your mouth causing your closed lips to loosely vibrate. This should produce a buzzing sound.
2) Next, repeat the above exercise with one variation. While you squeeze your cheeks together to push the air out through your loosely-vibrating lips, inhale through your nose.
3) Lastly, exhale the air in your lungs through your closed, loosely vibrating lips, producing a buzzing sound.
It takes time to master this, so be patient. Once you can repeat these steps several times in a row, try it on your didgeridoo.
Playing Your Didgeridoo
Circular breathing is an advanced technique, so, for now we will focus on a beginner's technique so you can start playing right away. Press your lips against and slightly into the didgeridoo mouthpiece, and blow air through your lips to make them loosely vibrate. This will produce the drone. You might produce some strange sounds, and it might tickle your lips at first, but with practice, you will produce a smooth, steady note that is uniquely yours.
When your lungs become empty, keep your lips pressed against the mouthpiece, inhale through your nose and
then blow out again, through your vibrating lips to produce your drone. Once you are comfortable with this beginner's technique, you will be ready to meditate with your didgeridoo.
Didgeridoo Meditation: Putting It All Together
Sit comfortably in your favorite meditative space and quiet your mind with some deep breathing. Place the didgeridoo mouthpiece against your lips and begin blowing into it, vibrating your lips to produce your drone. Relax into your drone. It is your mantra. Continue your drone with each exhale for as long as is comfortable. Each time you meditate with your didgeridoo, your drone will last longer, and the rhythmic breathing required to produce it soon will become effortless.
Playing your didgeridoo and circular breathing are new tools that you can add to your relaxation toolbox. The healthy diaphragmatic breathing techniques you perfect while meditating with your new instrument will benefit you for life. Even in the midst of today's frenetic society, by using calm-inducing deep breathing you can retreat inward to your personal sanctuary of inner peace.
|
