Breathing In, Breathing
Out Breathing In, Breathing Out
Like a wave the breath arises from and dissolves
back into the source,
Guiding us into the Stillness, We remember
who we are
Radiant, luminous, eternal, energy
Arising at birth, Dissolving at death
Back into the Source.
We are birthed into this world on the inbreath
and released from this world on the outbreath.
As long as we live, the breath breathes
our body creating a beautiful dance of expansion
and contraction. Yet, we pay little attention
to this miracle - this gift of life.
On the inhalation, we receive oxygen and
nutrients to nourish the cells of our body.
On the exhalation, we rid the body of toxins
and tension. The exchange of oxygen and
carbon dioxide is miraculous in and of itself
but the breath is much more than this process.
The breath is a great teacher and powerful
resource for health and healing.
Through time, the connection of the breath
to health, healing, consciousness and spirit
has been reflected in various cultures through
their language. In Japanese, ki air/spirit.
In Latin, anima spiritus breath/soul.
The Chinese characters for breath, hsi,
is made up of three characters that translate
"of the conscious self or heart".
In Sanskrit, prana is the life force
energy within the air we breathe that pulses
through and animates our being.
Our breath is a barometer that reflects
our state of mind, our well-being and our
experience in any given moment. Our thoughts
and emotions affect our breath. When we
have negative thoughts; are frightened;
anxious or excited, our breath is rapid
and shallow. When we are sad, we sigh often
breathing out through the mouth, instead
of the nostrils. This type of breathing
occurs mostly in the upper chest. During
this type of breathing, we are not using
the primary and secondary muscles of respiration.
Consequently, we are not taking in the capacity
of oxygen we are capable of and are not
ridding the lower regions of the lungs of
stagnant air. When we breathe this way chronically,
we feel lethargic, low energy and often
depressed.
Conversely, when we bring conscious awareness
to the breath and apply diaphragmatic, abdominal
breathing, the breath lengthens and deepens.
Over time this type of breathing becomes
natural for it is actually how we breathe
when we first come in to the world as newborns.
Unfortunately due to poor posture and bad
habits, we often forget how to breathe in
this way and have to go through the process
of relearning. Diaphragmatic breathing calms
and soothes the nervous system and can counteract
the stress reactivity cycle before we begin
to experience its negative effects. The
adage "Take a deep breath!' when under
stress is sound, wise advice.
In yoga, the breath and the life force
energy within the breath can be controlled
and directed in certain ways affecting mind,
body and spirit. The science of breath is
called pranayama - prana "vital
life force energy" and yama "to
control." We can use the breath to
bring heat and energy into the body and
focus the mind through ujjayi breathing.
Sitali breathing has a cooling effect on
the body. Bhastrika energizes and Nadi Shodhana
calms and creates balance. Kapalabhati helps
to prepare the body and mind for meditation.
The breath can be directed to different
parts of our body and energy centers that
are closed, tense or in discomfort and pain.
We breathe into those spaces and often the
tension begins to dissipate, whole areas
can begin to open and discomfort can lessen
in intensity.
The breath is the bridge connecting the
mind and body. When we pay attention to
our breath and the sensations of our body
breathing, our awareness is drawn into the
body and the mind shifts from focusing on
its usual distractions to focusing on the
breath. As this happens the mind and body
move into integration and balance. We become
embodied and experience a sense of
our intrinsic wholeness and unity as opposed
to feeling fragmented.
In yoga, we learn the art of synchronizing
the movements of the body and the breath.
Take a moment to close your eyes. As you
breathe in, open your hands and as you breathe
out, close your hands making a loose fist.
Do this for one minute. Focus on your breath
and the movement of your hands. As your
mind and body come into balance, notice
how you feel.
Focusing on the breath as we practice the
asanas allows us be present with our experience
in our body from one moment to the next
and to access and listen to our bodies'
wisdom. The body will give us feedback as
to how deeply to go into the posture, what
subtle shifts we need to make and when to
come out of the pose. The breath is a good
indicator of when our body is beginning
to fatigue as it will become strained and
uneven as well as the muscles beginning
to tremble. If we listen, the breath and
our body will guide us through our practice
and our life.
Patanjali wrote in the Yoga Sutras, Yogas
citta vrtti nirodhah which translates
to yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations
of the mind or the restraint of the modifications
of the mind-stuff. This second sutra
reflects the true aim of yoga. The more
we can focus our minds on one point, the
breath, and allow our thoughts to arise
and dissolve like waves without reacting
to them but just letting them flow, the
more the mind becomes calm and clear and
moves into stillness like a vast spacious
open sky.
In Full Catastrophe Living, Jon
Kabat-Zinn writes that the most powerful
resource for cultivating moment to moment
awareness, mindfulness, is right
under our noses. He reminds us that the
reason we want to cultivate present moment
awareness is that the present is truly the
only real time we have to learn, to grow
and to heal. We learn to cultivate meditative
awareness by the continual focusing and
refocusing on the breath. We pay attention
to the breath as it arises and as it dissolves.
We feel the pauses at the end of the inhalation
and the slightly longer one at the end of
the exhalation and we pay attention to the
sensations of our body breathing. When we
practice breath meditation, what we discover
is that the breath is always changing- sometimes
long, sometimes short, sometimes deep, sometimes
shallow, smooth and then uneven. We notice
that just as each wave of the sea is different
than the next although at first glance they
seem the same, the breath is always in flux.
As we get comfortable with the continual
change of this very basic process, it sets
the ground for becoming more comfortable
with change in our life from the small changes
to major life transitions, loss, chronic
pain, illness, etc.
As we begin to ride the waves of the breath
we allow each moment to unfold just as it
is and we begin to accept ourselves just
as we are in each moment already complete
and whole. Whether it is calm or stormy,
we remain centered in our own being.
When we begin to focus within and quiet
inside, we often experience calm, insight
and clarity as the usual distractions of
the mind fade away. We also learn that we
don't need to react to every thought, feeling,
body sensation or situation that arises
but we can sit with our experience, breathe
with it and then choose to respond more appropriately or not to respond. As Lao-Tzu writes in
the Tao-te-Ching:
Do you have the patience
to wait
Till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?
The breath is a navigational guide on a
journey inward so that we may connect with
the stillness deep inside. We are able to
access through the breath deep realms of
relaxation, inner peace and joy. Within
that rich vibrant stillness, we experience
our innate wholeness and we begin to remember
who we really are.
As the breath takes us through all the
layers of our being from the most dense
- the physical body to the most subtle -
the energy body, we realize our true Self
as a radiant, eternal luminous, energy being.
We experience our deep interconnection and
interbeing with all that is, recognizing
we are all a part of the same source of
divine energy. As we drop into the vast
spaciousness, we feel the possibilities
within us and all around us. Guided by the
breath, we enter into the stillness and
open to our unlimited potential as human
beings.
Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat.
When you really look for me, you will find
me instantly-
You will find me in the tiniest house of
time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
{S}he is the breath inside the breath.
--KABIR
Copyright ©
2005 by Stephanie Kristal
PAST YOGA
DIALOGUES COLUMNS:
Other articles by Stephanie
Kristal:
Advertising Assault: Women Awaken From Media Induced Slumber
Yoga
and the Menopausal Journey
SEE ALSO: STEPHANIE'S
SUGGESTED BOOKS AND VIDEOS LIST
Stephanie Kristal is the founder and director of The Birch Street Wellness Center. Stephanie is a certified yoga teacher, transpersonal hypnotherapist and Integrative Yoga Therapist. Stephanie has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 25 years. For the past 20 years, Stephanie has been teaching yoga classes in a variety of settings. She has a private practice in therapeutic yoga, life coaching and transpersonal hypnotherapy in West Hurley, NY. She also facilitates workshops in stress management, visioning and yoga and mindfulness meditation as healing modalities related to specific conditions. In the community, Stephanie has worked as a yoga therapist at the wellness centers of Northern Duchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, NY and at Benedictine Hospital in Kingston, NY. She established a not-for profit yoga class for people living with HIV/AIDS. Her private clients include people living with back problems, scoliosis, postural imbalances, cancer, heart disease, hypertension, depression, anxiety, multiple sclerosis and asthma. You can e-mail Stephanie at spiritwolfwomyn@yahoo.com.
