I'm Not An Expert

I’m not an expert, but I truly believe what I know can help people.

What I know about playing the guitar and how it can be used as a meditative tool has helped me heal from emotional trauma, increase my focus, and enhance my creativity. The meditative practice and the instrument itself has been essential to my growth.

Now we’ve all dealt with trauma in some form or another. Like running or journaling, we have to get into our flow state to face our inner thoughts head on. When I had to get myself out of my own emotional bottom, I picked up the guitar and didn’t realize I had the perfect healing tool right in my lap. As I began to practice fun and hypnotic chord progressions, I would begin to breathe with my guitar, acknowledge how I was feeling, and then let it go. Just like when you pluck a string, the string vibrates, and then it gracefully fades away. I became in sync with my guitar.

As I learned to breathe with my guitar, I became more aware of my inhales & exhales. I learned to breathe with intention and control. When you talk to someone who is new to breathwork, they might tell you that they already know how to breathe and that everyone does. Truth is, they are just surviving. Breathing to survive and breathing to live are two different things. Inhale slowly through the nose, hold… then exhale slowly through the mouth. This is control. This is focus. This is meditation.

Now, my favorite thing about guitar meditation so far is the way it enhances my creativity and song writing. While I breathe with simple chord progressions I will often find inspiration inside a combination of chords that I have been playing over and over. It’s as if there are songs already inside the guitar just waiting to come out and meditation is like putting a magnifying glass to the creative chords and finding a song awaiting to show itself.

The point is, I’m not an expert at all these different types of breathwork exercises, but I do know that keeping it simple and consistent, especially when I’m practicing my instrument, can heal trauma from the past, increase focus, and enhance creativity. Most importantly, I want to share it and help musicians like you the way it has helped me.

Breathing to survive and breathing to live are two different things.

Inhale slowly through the nose... hold… then exhale slowly through the mouth...

This is control. This is focus. This is meditation.

Come with me.

~Marco