The Breath: A Resource for Healing
by Sandi Anders, M.Div., R.Y.T.
Prominent in the study of yoga and meditation is a focus on the
breath. It seems that I am continually reminding my yoga students
to take conscious, mindful breaths as they stretch and move.
Often, a student will say to me, "I am forgetting to breathe!"
Obviously they're not forgetting to breathe -- they're just not
fully conscious of each breath as they take it in.
Breathing is the only function in our bodies that we do
both consciously and unconsciously, Without this ability, our
lives would be more complicated. Felicity Green, one of my
favorite master Iyengar yoga teachers, says that dolphins must
always think about each breath that they take. When it is time
for rest, they put one half of their brain to sleep and swim in a
circle. Later they put the other half of their brain to sleep
and swim in the opposite direction!
Since we do not have to think about our breath in order
for our bodies to function, what are some of the advantages of
making our breathing a more conscious process?
1. Improved health.
Many illnesses such as irregular heart rhythms,
hypertension and disorders of circulation and digestion
can be caused or worsened by sustained stress. The body's
mobilization to fight, flight or freeze can become a
chronic condition in our fast-paced culture.
Spending some time each day in consciously breathing can
actually reprogram our bodies, reduce the experience of
stress, improve health, and be a powerful intervention
for certain illnesses. Because the function of breathing
is something we do both voluntarily and involuntarily, it
allows us to directly affect the autonomic (involuntary)
nervous system.
Slow, sustained, conscious breathing produces different
brain wave activity than is present under normal
conditions. Herbert Benson, M.D., who first researched
this phenomenon, called it the Relaxation Response.
When we focus awareness on our breath and do deep,
diaphragmatic or soft-belly breathing, we allow an
internal transformation to begin. We become more alive
in the present moment and more quiet and tranquil on the
inside. In short, we learn to relax, to become the
master of our stress.
Try it right now. Begin to be aware of the gentle inflow
and outflow of air in your body. Relax your eyes, your
shoulders, and let your tongue drop away from the roof of
your mouth. Really notice the feeling of the breath, the
physical experience of the breath in your body. See if
you can imagine a small balloon in your belly. As you
breathe in, imagine that balloon gently expanding. As
you breathe out, allow the balloon to retract. Stay with
this soft-belly breathing for a few breaths. Then, as
you breathe in, say to yourself the word "Be." As you
breathe out, say to yourself the word, "Calm."
What do you notice as a result of your few moments of
breath awareness? |
2. Deepened experience of the Divine.
In many ancient languages, the word for breath has
multiple meanings. Prana - the Sanskrit word for breath -
also means spirit, life energy, or universal energy.
Likewise in Hebrew and in Greek the words for spirit and
breath are the same - ruach in Hebrew, pneuma in Greek.
In Latin, anima means both breath and soul; spiritus has
the dual meaning of breath and spirit. Our English word
inspiration also refers to this duality, denoting the act
of breathing in as well as becoming inhabited by Spirit.
This lesson in language points to the belief that breath
is more than just an exchange of oxygen and carbon
dioxide in our bodies - it is in fact the stirring of the
nonphysical essence within us, the movement of spirit in
matter. It is my belief that when we consciously
breathe, we are also inviting in more of Spirit and
expanding our experience and understanding of the Divine. |
3. Enhanced self-awareness and self-understanding.
In the yogic breathing practice called pranayama we learn
to control and harness the patterns of breathing and thus
the flow of life energy in the body. By doing so, we can
affect the nervous system in powerful and health-giving
ways. Through this practice, we can also learn to direct
the breath into particular areas of the lungs and expand
their capacity to take in more oxygen with each breath.
Patanjali, the teacher and scribe who first codified the
teachings of yoga, said that when one begins the practice
of learning to control the breath through pranayama, "it
removes the veils." The breath is normally under
subconscious control; when we begin to bring it under our
conscious control, we gradually become more aware of
other parts of ourselves which have been unconscious. We
become more aware of ourselves in new ways. We begin to
know ourselves more deeply. |
The breath can be a powerful ally in our lives. It is always
present to receive our conscious focus and guide us to deeper
mindfulness. If we only allow it, the breath can link body,
mind, heart and soul together -- improving our health, connecting
us to our spiritual nature and deepening our understanding of
ourselves in new and fresh ways.
Be with your breath!
More relevant resources are listed in The Guide to Self-Help Books. Useful sections of the Guide include Health and Wellness, Meditation, Stress Management and Relaxation, and Yoga and Pilates.
(c) 2005 Permission is granted to reprint this article, "The Power of the Breath - Bridge between Mind and Body " in print or on your website as long as the paragraph below is included:
Sandi Anders, M.Div., R.Y.T., http://www.SandiAnders.com,is a contributor to The Guide to Self-Help Books,http://www.Books4SelfHelp.com, and co-author of Self-Help Central, an ezine to help you build a better life with self-help resources. She teaches stress mastery skills through psycho-spiritual life coaching, and yoga and meditation instruction.
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