This morning I woke early and decided to go to a 6.30am yoga class. Apart from really feeling awesome about showing up for Yoga for the 3^rd day in a row (NB. I’ve only managed 3 sessions all up in 2015 before this) I got the direct insightful message through me to make this session more about focusing on my breath.

This really spoke to me as my body has been exposing a little bit of inflammation lately and so to take my focus of my hurting bits was literally a breath of fresh air – pardon the pun.

Interestingly, my session was much easier than the last few  days and I moved more freely as a result of simply keeping my focus on my breath.

3 things I found by doing this:

 

One – my breath got longer and slower and deeper

Two – I felt more space in those icky tight tense places

Three – my body automatically went that little bit further without me consciously pushing it.

 

And 2 more:

 

+ an internal rhythm found me instead of me finding it

+ I sensed I was more in the flow instead of pushing against it and having an agenda. Which doesn’t mean I didn’t extend myself. I simply did but without the push.

Hmmmm…..it truly felt like I was receiving something my body had been craving.

It got me thinking on the way home:

Our Breath. The simple act of Inhale, Exhale and inhale again, without thought or action, on our part. It automatically happens. All that is required of us is to acknowledge it and thank it for being our life force.

Is it possible it could be the most natural gift we too often take for granted?

We push it, we pull it and we even hold it back at times. We contract and starve areas of our bodies of this breath that longs to seek its natural home within. We block it with our actions and reactions, our beliefs and behaviours that no longer serve us (did they ever?). This simple yet often unconscious choice feeds our fears right into the bullseye of contraction. Some of us are not even aware of these contractions until we have a massage, or find a place to relax or seek out a coach or therapist that we can give voice to our stuff and hence they can help bring us back into our body.

Yes that’s right, we leave our bodies. We leave our bodies when our nervous systems are unable to hold the tension of our direct experience or thought, etc. We lose safety within and search for a safe house on the outside. These safe houses can be people, places, things, addictions, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, junk food – whatever you choose to ease your pain.

What if we could hold this tension simple by reconnecting with our breath? By taking a moment to be with what is and breathe into that. How would life be different if we were to bring the breath back into our bodies and get back in touch with what is moving within our very being. What would it take to be able to sustain for more than a few minutes the resistance to this and to navigate through into a place of peace within.

If you can do this (it does take conscious effort at first until it doesn’t) you will find YOU again. Actually, there is nothing to find, only to remember the YOU that you have forgotten.

Ahhhh….here I am.!……..Thank you……(signed Me).

With this remembering comes access to the all of you – your intuition, your flow, your inspired actions, your peace and calm, your gratitude, your beauty, your receptivity. The simple act of surrendering to your breath will bring you into the joy that you long to be. Here, you can sit more comfortably with whatever presents itself – the happy and the sad, the light and the dark, the doubt and the knowing, the judgement and the awareness, the beginning and the end – the all of you.

Treasure the art that is breathing.

As in Breath – As in Life.

How you breathe in is how you receive life.

How you breathe out is how you give life.

Ask yourself:

 Am I rapid and shallow?

Am I slow and deep?

Do I give out more than I take in? (you will know this if your ‘out’ breath is longer than your ‘in’ breath)

Do I take big breaths in and breathe shorter breaths out?

Do I sigh a lot?

Do I hold my breathe?

 

What awareness am I receiving from noticing how I breathe?

Am I able to breathe in for longer than a count of 5?

Am I able to breathe out for longer than a count of 5?

What happens when I consciously breathe v when I allow my breath to breathe me?

What is my natural flow?

These questions will help you get intimate with your breath. After all, the relationship with your breath is the very thing that is keeping you alive. No breathe. No life.

Can you notice it, can you hear it, can you feel it?

Is it screaming to be seen and heard and felt?

What is happening in the space between your breaths?

These are all great questions to help you reflect on your breathing patterns. Your breath is the gateway to silence. Regardless of the chaos around you your breath will always take you to the silence you seek. The quiet that reveals the insights, answers, intuitive guidance is available through your breath.

The final question need not be – Is my breath serving me but how am I serving my breath?

Or even better, ask:

Dearest Breath …….. How can I serve you?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2015 at 1:27 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.