The link between Health and our breath is easy for me to see. We can’t live without the breath. Breathing is inspiration, the breathing in of the spirit. So, breath is necessary for the body and the mind.
The Breath Influences our Lives.
Breathing moves energy. Watching your breath is one way to control the movement of energy and watch it as it moves. When you align your breath with energy, you can direct the energy to follow the movement of your breath. You give it a direction and then you are controlling the flow of your energy. When you control the flow of energy in your life, you control the substance in your life because energy precedes substance. Influence your breath. Influence your energy and influence your life
There are lots of yogic breathing techniques out there, many of which I have practiced over the years. I’ve also offered the 7 seconds of breathing as a practice in a few of my blogs and my books. The 7 seconds of breathing is good for anxiety and good for centering. And it also has many health benefits.
“Western mystics, Indian yogis, Taoist sages—have known for millennia that breathing is a pathway to higher levels of consciousness. Most people don’t realize that not breathing optimally limits our physical energy and quality of life but also our ability to access those deepest spiritual levels of our being.” –The Transformational Breath Foundation
Science has shown us that there are psychological functions like cognition, performance, wellbeing, and physical disorders that can be enhanced or improved through various breathwork practices. So why not breathe? You have to breathe anyway. Conscious breathing takes you a step further.
“The Breath facilitates movement.” –Zach Rehder
Conscious Breathing
Conscious breathing is breathing in the flow of awareness. It is an emotional detox. It is also sometimes called transformational breathwork, shamanic breathwork, or holotropic breathwork.
Transformational breathwork, according to the Transformational Breath Foundation, can bring a significant increase in wellbeing, raising cognition, and reducing performance anxiety. Transformational Breath is clearly experienced on the physical, mental, and emotional levels. It also operates on the level of causality—spirit, where real healing takes place, which ultimately makes it a Spiritual modality.
Conscious breathing is a technique I have practiced for a few years. It involves a circular breath. That means no stopping at the top and bottom of the breath. One pulls the breath in and lets it drop out very quickly. You don’t push it out. That would lead to hyper ventilation. This practice can be done with a group and an instructor or alone for a few minutes. You could do 10 breaths this way and then journal about it. Particularly if you set yourself up with a question before you get started. Like what is going on with your body in this part, your knee, your stomach, foot, or eye? Ask the question. Do the breathing and then listen for the answer.
Asking the question in and of itself is also a good practice. What is going on in this part of my body? (Name that part) and then listen. You can journal about it or not depending on where you are or what you are doing. If you like to journal, then journal. If you like to meditate, then do that. Tying the breath to this practice only deepens it.
Find a conscious breathing expert near you. There are now many breathing experts that will practice online. You can try one of those.
Breath Practitioners:
- Zach Rehder: www.zachrehder.com
- Rosanna Lo Meo Peachy: www.NewBeginningsWithRosanna.com
- Fiorella Garibaldi: www.fiorellagaribaldi.com
Techniques for Health through the Breath
- Connect Health to breath. Breath in slowly and out slowly as you count to 7 seconds. Do this 7 times. Feel the energy of perfect health as you inhale and feel the letting go of dis-ease as you exhale.
- Yogic breathing: Try breathing in through your nose for a count of 8, hold for 6 seconds and breath out through you nose for a count of 6. Hold out for a count of 4. Repeat 10 times.
- Do conscious breathing (the circular breath) Pull the breath in through your mouth and let it drop out very quickly. Don’t push it out. There is no pause at the top or bottom of the breath. Do this for 15 breaths or for 10 minutes. Ask a question about your health? Listen for the answer. Journal or meditate about it.
- Breathing expert. Find a conscious breathing expert near you. There are now many breathing experts that will practice online. You can try one of those.
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