Breath is Life
BREATH IS LIFE
Why is your breath so important?
Your breath is vital…that may seem obvious. It is our very connection to life. Both at the time of your birth and just before you pass on you take a big deep breath. This is symbolically known as the beginning and the end. The breath than governs everything between those two points. For this reason, it is VITAL that we learn to breathe correctly.
The quality of your breath most certainly can enhance the quality of your health, well-being and life. The proper use of your breath will raise the vibrational quality of your physical, mental, emotional and energetic bodies, increasing the quality of the output from these bodies/spaces.
While most of us are conscious of breathing, we rely quite heavily on its automatic nature. We are not educated at any age on how to direct the attention of this process and its importance.
Through proper breathing you will:
Eliminate and prevent overall tension build up
Increase your energy and vitality
Learn to command and direct the mind with more purpose and positivity
Calm and hear the inner emotional dialogue
Increase the vitality of your blood chemistry
Be more responsive versus reactive
When we change the way we breathe we change the way we think, feel, speak and act. Thus our habits, choices, health and lives slowly but surely begin to transform into a radiant expression.
At a very basic level: when you increase the amount of breath your draw in and release you are increasing the oxygen supply to the body and its various organs and supporting your ability to eliminate waste and toxins from your body. Oxygen is one of the most significant nutrients for our bodies. It is essential for the integrity of the brain, nerves, glands and internal organs.
The limitless benefits that proper breathing can offer are simply that, limitless. The following are some of the more practical and immediate things to remember and with attention will serve you endlessly in your daily life.
THE MIND:
The rate of our breath directly affects the vibrational rate and attitude of our mind and like a pebble dropped in a pool of water ripples out into our every other cell and action. Our mind's job is to control and direct all other faculties; the mind is referred to as the command center.
The quickest and most effective way to strengthen the ability and direction of your mind is through the rate and rhythm of your breathing. As you deepen and slow down the flow of your breath you will ground the focus of your mind into a calmer state. The mind follows the depth and rate of your breathing. As the mind is the command center we definitely want it to be sending out its messages and signals with a clear and confident frequency.
Due to the quickness or demands of our modern lives our breath has become shallow and insufficient. Thus we are not taking in sufficient oxygen and we are not eliminating sufficient carbon dioxide, in turn our bodies are oxygen starved, and a toxic build-up occurs. Leading to short attention, tiredness, heaviness, lack of inspired thought and reactiveness, to name a few.
THE BODY:
Proper breathing cleans the blood, relieves muscular tension and supports the natural restoration function of our entire physical space. Most of us, most of the time, are only breathing into the upper portion of our lungs, and over time this does not serve us, but depletes us. Life is dependent on the element air, so we must consider its value.
The oxygen from proper breathing balances the ratio of carbon dioxide in the blood, when the blood increase vibrational quality it can most easily rejuvenate any imbalance or stagnant build up we are unaware of in the body. As the blood is purified the metabolism and circulations are strengthened.
Proper breathing is also like food for the nervous system. So that in times of stress when you default breath habit is longer and deeper, you will move towards solution with more grace and ease.
THE EMOTIONS:
Human beings are a large percentage emotion. Every experience in life has an emotional response and quality. How we breathe throughout our experiences will give us the capacity to either process or resist our emotional responses.
Our emotional responses have the ability to make every situation we are in rewarding or troubling. Even the most challenging experiences can be rewarding when one learns how to apply proper breathing.Our ability to breathe through our experiences rather than resist them is what allows us to: process the difficult and challenging emotional responses with more grace, and deepen the way we receive the positive and more joyous moments. The gifts of life truly start too open up when we are able to equally embrace both the challenging and wonderful moments with the same amount of love and sincerity. Learning to breathe with more fluidity will most certainly help you increase your capacity to do this.
Within us all is an inner voice and this is directly connected to our emotional space. Proper breathing as a habit will strengthen your connection to this inner voice, or as some say, your connection to yourself.
THE ENERGETICS:
Breath rhythm and rate can be viewed as energy management. The quality of your breath has the capacity to strengthen or weaken your energetic field. The energetic field also known as the auric or electro-magnetic field is a protective and psychic field of energy that surrounds the body. Its task is to attract positivity and repel negativity. It is a container for your life force as well as a protector/shield for the physical, mental and emotional bodies.
Proper breathing supports the energetic field to be strong and do its job effectively, so that we are not so impacted by day-to-day stresses, negativity and challenging environmental surrounds and experiences that are simply a part of life.
Breathing with more attention & intention gives you:
Increased vitality and overall health and well-being
More proficiency in your chosen physical activities - running, yoga, gym activities etc.
Increased periods of mental clarity and concentration
A more calm responsiveness
A stronger and louder inner voice
A deeper connection to your overall experience of yourself, others and life
THE EVERYDAY ACTION:
It is no mistake that our lungs are the biggest organ in our body and that the quality of our breath is key to success in every area of our life.
Becoming more aware of how you are breathing in the very simple moments of life. From resting state or while you are walking, waiting in a queue to washing your dishes. Where is your breath? How does it feel: shallow, deep, relaxed, tense, generous or constricted?
Proper breathing or diaphragmatic breathing is akin to filling up a glass with water, it fills into the bottom first. On your inhale the abdomen expands with a majority of your breath, then the chest gently expands and finally the breath reaches into the clavicle area/collar bones. On the exhale your reverse this process: with the clavicle and chest area softly releasing and the abdomen pulling in towards the spine and up towards the rib cage to help squeeze all the breath out. This does not need to be forced, over time the capacity for a deeper and longer inhalation and exhalation will organically open up. This breath can be applied at any point in time. After 3 breaths like this you will automatically start a shift in every area of yourself.
You may breathe with this rhythm for any lengthen of time. When practiced regularly in your everyday moments this will becomes your default habit and your entire being will thank you.
While the quality of the oxygen you are breathing in is not always known nor changeable, it is worth making a regular effort to get into nature, large parks or by the ocean, to breathe in deeply, the obviously better quality air.
Quality of Breath = Quality of Life
So please give yourself the biggest and most valuable and pricesless gift ever! The gift of quality breathing in every moment. As a result you will radiate a serenity and harmony and live with a connection and confidence that has its roots in the force that gives us life, BREATH.
Now I would really love to hear from you: Where is your breath right now? How does it feel? What happens when you bring more attention to your breath for even a few deep breaths?
Share with me in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Your comment might be the one thing someone needs to hear today. Remember in any moment of your day you can re-oragnise the quality of your breath.
Wishing you an amazing day.
Sending you all LOVE and LIGHT
Anastasia