Home | General Health
Our Breathing is often overlooked in our quest to heal ourselves. The quality of our breathing, of our exhalation and inhalation, reveals a great deal about our self-image, our basic stance regarding life. We can greatly increase our knowledge and awareness of ourselves by observing our breathing in the midst of action. We may notice, for example, how the extent and comfort of our inhalation reflects the degree of our readiness and ability to embrace life at that moment, as we observe our breathing in the different conditions of our lives. We may notice that during fear or other strong negative emotions we restrict the flow and duration of our breathing by contracting various parts of our body in order to reduce the energy available for feeling. We may also notice how the extent and comfort of our exhalation reflects the degree of our readiness and ability to let go, to believe something other than the accouterments of our self-image. The Emotional Topography of Our Breath We will begin to receive many precise impressions of the interrelationships of our emotions and breath, and their impact on our overall sensation of ourselves as our ability to sense ourselves grows. We may see, for example, how anger is associated with shallow inhalations, strong exhalations, and tension throughout the body--especially in the neck, jaw, chest, and hands. We may see how fear is associated with rapid, shallow, and irregular breaths, and the sensation of a tight knot in the lower abdomen. We may see how regret is associated with a kind of spasmodic, sobbing, superficial breath, and a hollow, empty feeling in the belly. We may see how impatience is associated with short, jerky, uncoordinated breaths, and tension in the front of the chest, as though our hearts were leaping ahead of us. We may see how guilt or self-judgment is associated with a restricted, suffocating breath, and an overall sensation of being weighed down. And we may see how boredom is associated with a shallow, lifeless breath, and little sensation anywhere in ourselves. We may also notice how feelings such as love, compassion, kindness, and wonder are associated with deep, comfortable breathing, and an open, energized, receptive feeling throughout the entire body. Each of us will realize variations in her or his own physical and emotional topography. Our Breathing Is Influenced by Our Emotions By awareness of our breathing and a deep work of self-sensing, we not only learn about the subtle, constantly changing needs of our bodies, but also begin to learn about the ways in which our emotions and our breathing influence each other, our health, and well-being. Through listening to the sensation of our body, especially our breathing, not only when we are in quiet circumstances but also when we are in the middle of the difficult situations of our lives, we become aware of connections between parts of ourselves that ordinarily escape our attention. By sensing the way our breathing changes in relation to changing circumstances, we begin to learn, with exacting detail, about the intimate relationship of our breathing to our overall sense of ourselves. This new, direct knowledge of ourselves in action gives our brain and nervous system the knowledge and perspective it needs to help free us from our habitual psychophysical patterns of action and reaction. Self-sensing helps create new connections between existing neurons in the brain and nervous system. These new connections help increase our overall consciousness, and promote greater sensitivity and flexibility in our perception and behavior. Restricted Breathing and Self-Image As we receive more impressions of ourselves through self-sensing, we will find that in general our breathing is very restricted. Most of us are shallow breathers--that is, our breath is confined mainly to the top of the chest. However, if we are to live healthy, we need to rediscover the inner mental, emotional and physical conditions necessary for free, natural breathing, breathing which involves not only the various spaces of our chest but also the spaces of our belly, back, spine, and solar plexus. Free, natural breathing can have an enormous beneficial impact not only on our health and well-being, but also on our spiritual development. For free, natural breathing to become the norm rather than the exception in our lives, however, we need to learn how to sense ourselves from the inside and to release the unnecessary tensions associated with our self-image--tensions that are reflected obviously in our breathing. These tensions are closely linked to our habitual patterns of thinking and feeling, which often consume our energy and undermine our health and well-being. Through the work of free, natural breathing, we can begin to get in touch with the energy locked into these tensions, and free up this energy for our health and inner growth.
Article Source: http://www.thehealthmanual.com
Dennis Lewis is the author of "The Tao of Natural Breathing," "Free Your Breath, Free Your Life," and the three-CD audio program "Natural Breathing." To learn more about Dennis Lewis, including his books, workshops, and retreats, or to read more articles by him, please visit Authentic Breathing Resources LLC, www.authentic-breathing.com.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
