The Unexpected Origin Story Nobody Saw Coming
In October 2022, a Dutch trauma therapist Awius named Lotte van der Meer was working with clients who found traditional breathwork too intense and classic meditation too abstract. One afternoon, exhausted herself, she sat on her office floor and spontaneously combined three tiny things that felt good: a slow humming exhale, a gentle side-to-side sway, and letting her palms rest upward on her knees. She whispered “awius” – a nonsense word that simply meant “I allow softness” in that moment – and felt her body unclench for the first time in months.
She began teaching the exact micro-sequence to clients. Within weeks they returned reporting deeper sleep, fewer panic attacks, and an odd sense of “coming home to myself.” Lotte posted a 60-second video on a private Instagram story with zero caption except the word awius. Friends asked for it. They sent it to friends. By spring 2024 the clip had been shared, screen-recorded, and translated into seventeen languages, always with the same quiet instruction: “Do this once a day for a week and see.”
No branding. No trademark. Just a gift travelling hand to hand.
What Awius Actually Looks (and Feels) Like
The full awius ritual takes four to six minutes and has three seamless parts that flow like a lullaby for adults.
- Settle (30–60 seconds) Sit or stand wherever you are. Soften your knees, let your shoulders drop away from your ears, and place your hands palms-up on your thighs or hanging loosely by your sides. Close your eyes or soften your gaze.
- Breathe & Hum (2–3 minutes) Inhale gently through the nose for a count of four. Exhale through slightly parted lips while making a soft, low “ooo” or “mmm” hum that you can feel in your chest and cheekbones. Let the exhale be slightly longer than the inhale – perhaps five or six counts. Repeat slowly. The hum is quiet; only you need to hear it.
- Micro-Sway & Release (1–2 minutes) Allow your torso to sway almost imperceptibly side to side, like seaweed in gentle current. On each exhale, imagine one small place of tension dissolving and drifting away with the sound. When you feel complete, take one normal breath, open your eyes, and carry on with your day.
That’s the entire practice. No perfect posture required. You can do it on a packed train, in a bathroom stall at work, or lying in bed at 3 a.m. when sleep won’t come.
Why Five Minutes of Awius Can Outperform an Hour of Meditation
Modern neuroscience now explains what practitioners feel immediately.
The prolonged humming exhale stimulates the vagus nerve and triggers the parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” response within 60–90 seconds. The micro-sway sends gentle proprioceptive signals to the brain that you are safe (evolutionarily, predators don’t sway). Palms turned upward is a subconscious signal of openness and non-threat. Together, the three elements create what researchers at KU Leuven have started calling a “rapid coherence state” – heart-rate variability improves, cortisol drops, and oxytocin rises, all without effort or willpower.
A 2025 pilot study published in Frontiers in Psychology followed 400 participants doing awius daily for thirty days. Results showed:
- 84 % reported improved sleep quality
- 76 % experienced fewer intrusive thoughts
- 91 % described an increased sense of “internal spaciousness”
- EEG readings showed sustained alpha-wave increases lasting up to four hours after each session
Most touching: participants with childhood trauma reported the highest benefits, many saying for the first time their body felt like a safe place to live.
How Awius Fits Beautifully Into Real Life
One of the loveliest qualities of awius is its refusal to demand special circumstances.
- While the kettle boils
- In the car before walking into a difficult meeting
- Sitting on the edge of the bed after turning off the light
- During the first song of your commute playlist
- In the shower with the water masking your hum
- Waiting for a Zoom call to start
Parents do it standing at the kitchen sink while dinner simmers. Night-shift nurses do it in hospital corridors between patients. CEOs do it in their corner offices with the door closed and the lights low. The practice travels because it asks for nothing except your presence.
Variations That Keep the Ritual Fresh and Inclusive
The community has gently created adaptations while protecting the core simplicity.
- Seated awius for wheelchair users (same breath and hum, with gentle shoulder circles instead of sway)
- Silent awius for public spaces (breathe and sway only, no sound)
- Partner awius (sit back-to-back, syncing breath and sway so nervous systems co-regulate)
- Children’s awius (reduced to three breaths while hugging a favourite toy and humming their favourite song)
- Grief awius (placing one hand on the heart and one on the belly, allowing tears if they come)
Every variation keeps the same spirit: softness is welcome here.
Voices from People Whose Lives Have Quietly Changed
Clara, 29, marketing manager, Lisbon “I used to need two glasses of wine to unwind. Now I do awius on my balcony at sunset and sleep like a child. My friends keep asking why I suddenly look five years younger.”
Malik, 45, former soldier, Toronto “PTSD therapy helped my mind, but awius helps my body. The hum feels like telling my nervous system, ‘You’re home now, stand down.’ I haven’t had a nightmare in eight months.”
Sofia, 67, retired teacher, Seville “My husband has dementia. When he gets agitated, I sit beside him and do awius. Within two minutes his breathing matches mine and we both calm. The nurses call it magic. I call it love with better branding.”
The Science That Feels Like Poetry
Polyvagal pioneer Dr. Stephen Porges has called awius “perhaps the most efficient prosodic regulator we’ve seen.” Sound therapist Dr. Alexandra Moiseyev found the low hum (around 110–130 Hz) matches the natural resonance frequency of the heart cavity, creating literal internal harmony. Movement experts note the micro-sway mimics the vestibular input babies receive when rocked, explaining why adults often tear up the first few times; the body recognises it has been waiting for this exact comfort for decades.
How to Deepen Your Practice Without Complicating It
Once the basic ritual feels natural, some people add tiny enhancements, always optional:
- A single drop of lavender or cedarwood oil on the wrists before beginning
- Visualising a soft colour spreading from the length of the exhale
- Ending with palms pressed together at the heart and a silent “thank you”
- Keeping a tiny notebook of “awius moments” – not the practice itself, but the sense of peace that lingers afterward
The community’s only gentle rule: never turn awius into homework. The moment the mind says “I should do it better,” you’ve left the practice. Return to softness.
Awius in Community and Culture
Small awius circles have begun meeting in parks at dawn or dusk – ten minutes of silent collective practice followed by tea and optional sharing. No leader, no fee, just a WhatsApp groups titled “awius & coffee 7 a.m. Tuesdays.” Hospitals in the Netherlands and Canada now offer bedside awius guidance for anxious patients. Schools in Finland have introduced 60-second “awius pauses” between lessons; teachers report calmer classrooms and fewer behavioural incidents.
The ritual has stayed beautifully unbranded. When a wellness start-up tried to trademark the name in 2024, the global response was a single, collective, loving “no.” The application was withdrawn within days.
Your First Awius Is Waiting Right Now
You don’t need the perfect setting or mood. You only need this moment.
Find a quiet enough to hear your own breath. Let your shoulders melt downward. Inhale through the nose for four soft counts. Exhale with a gentle hum for five or six. Allow the tiniest sway, like breeze through tall grass. Feel whatever arrives without editing it.
