I will share with you some secrets about how to breathe for life, so that your life can become more fulfilling and self-directed.
Learning about the breath is sort of like following a trail of evidence which leads back to the Ultimate Source. In studying the breath, one begins by paying attention to the physical breath, and gradually, step by step discovers the glorious Divine Breath which permeates our being. ~wahiduddin
In the modern world there are so many distractions and contradictions that we become closed to a world that is much more enriching and fulfilling. We may eventually forget that we even have a choice in our lives.
But you will learn how to breathe for life if you read and contemplate this article. Let me guide you on a journey my friend.
Heart and Mind Working Together
Would you like your mind and heart to work together? Would you like to feel well every day? Would you like to be able to send out peaceful vibrations to others wherever you are? Would you like to live more intuitively and in the moment. Would you like to connect with your purpose in life? All this is possible when you learn how to breathe.
It may sound funny to think you need to learn how to breathe, and yet this is true. When we are babies, we know how to breathe. Look at a baby laying on its back sometime. Watch as its belly balloons and rises and falls in a full breath pattern. This is how we come into the world. Vibrant and full of breath.
Over time we experience life and adapt to it. We are impacted emotionally and our breathing changes in response to this. The normal change is to become a shallow breather who also breathes rapidly. This is a sign that stress has impacted you, when you start to breathe irregularly and unconsciously.
How to Breathe Consciously
Part of the response to life’s stresses is to breath unconsciously and shallowly. We react and part of the reaction is to breathe quickly and shallowly. Our heart rates spike up and down as we react to life in a fight or flight mode. Our breathing is very unconscious and we are usually deeply into the monkey mind state. Everything about this state is hard on your body, mind, and emotions.
Unconscious breathing leads to an unconscious life and conscious breathing leads to a conscious life.
It’s as simple as that. The way you breathe is the way you live.
So how should you breathe?
When we make our breathing conscious (by simply focusing on our own inhales and exhales) something very significant happens. You are breathing with your conscious mind and this now frees up part of your unconscious mind which is responsible for breathing.
Now that part of your mind begins to act as a shuttle between your conscious and unconscious and this can release a flood of creativity, energy, and a feeling of peace. You are beginning to connect with something that is much larger than your normal state of awareness.
How to Breathe for Healing
If you take 20 minutes a day and simply sit in a quiet location (preferably but not mandatory) and breathe consciously, you will be on a healing path.
Breath is one of the main ways we heal. Not breathing well is one of the ways we get sick. With a little practice you can begin to send breath to different parts of your body that need it. Just think of exhaling into the affected area and then inhale into that same area.
Think of drawing the breath into your heart. Then imagine that your heart is breathing. Feel the breath flowing in and out of your heart. This produces a very calming and centering feeling.
Now allow your breathing to become deeper and a little bit slower. Keep your breath rhythmic and fine. By fine I mean to think of your breath as a fine stream of energy that flows into and out of your heart.
This is a healing practice. As you place your awareness on your heart and breathe you are softening your heart. You are opening your heart. You let your heart become more receptive and less defensive. You let your heart express itself through you by being aware that it’s there and that it has a message for you.
You start to heal the wounds of your heart. Your mind and heart become one. You feel balanced and relaxed. You can feel who you are authentically in this state. You feel the condition of others more and feel more connected to people. You don’t feel isolated, even if you are alone.
How to Breathe for Divinity
As you connect to your authentic self you are also connecting to your divine self. The essence of who you are can be felt in your entire being, but particularly in the heart.
In heart rhythm meditation we say that the heart is the gateway to the Divine. Think of standing at the gateway of your own heart, patiently and with a conscious breath and awareness on your heart area (you may want to place a hand over the middle of your chest to bring your energy and focus there).
As you relax with your breath, your mind will settle and your emotions will calm. As you go further and deeper with the practice you may start to feel like there is a larger presence all around you. You can feel this presence and it is full of divine possibility.
As you end your practice allow yourself to sit for a bit longer as you open your eyes and feel the peace that is now in your heart. Enjoy that feeling and take that peace with you out into your day.
Many blessings to you..
Curtis