The Path of Breathing

Consciously breathing to expand awareness and improve vitality has been practiced for as long as history has been recorded. Used also to tame the ego mind, harmonize emotions and energize the physical body, your breath is a powerful tool for transformation.

Overlooked as too simple by the scientifically complicated intellect, your breathing is the bridge between the physical and non-physical worlds. Popular applications include meditation and immune boosting. Yet using your breathing for enhancing the connection to the inner world and transcending the limits of ego-thinking has been almost overlooked.

Most people--an estimated 90%--breathe in ways that are detrimental to health and shut down intuition. Creativity and clear-minded thinking are blocked when the breathing is shallow, arising from the chest rather than from deep down in the body. The remedy of taking a deep breath is impossible when habits of a lifetime and stored stress in the second chakra area intervene.

Retraining your breathing, opening the intuition and freeing constrictions from childhood, is not an overnight process. It takes consistent effort over a period of a month so that your breathing becomes free-flowing. As your breathing opens, your mindbody system's natural healing abilities are enhanced. Once you have more energy to draw on by improving your breathing, you can then direct it toward the goal of embodying your higher consciousness that is always present and yet at times seemingly out of reach.

Slow breathing, in and out through the nostrils, calms the mindbody system. A quicker pace, in and out through the mouth, is energizing. Having trouble sleeping? Rather than counting sheep, count your breaths as you make your way to 100. Feeling sluggish? Engage your breathing to oxygenate.

Almost all animals except humans use connected breathing. It is also useful to anchor consciousness in present-moment awareness. Watch your dog or cat and you'll notice there is no pause between inhales and exhales. It's the same with infantsóbefore they start storing cellular stressors.

When focused on your breathing, you aren't thinking about the past or having your thoughts drift to the future in hopes of preventing a recurrence of the past. Instead, you are present. Breathe now, connecting the breaths at your own pace for a few minutes. See how much better you feel. Welcome to the path of breath. Your continuing journey will show you ways to improve every aspect of your life.

There are side effects to consider on the Path of Breathing:
• More oxygen to the brain means clearer thinking. Clearer thinking means not going along with the crowd and, instead, taking responsibility for your own health and wellbeing. • Feeling better and friendlier may expand your world. • Being healthy and not spending time with medical care or at hospitals means more time for family and recreation. • More energy enables superior job performance. • Feeling grounded and connected to Life enhances self-trust, resilience and rest.