Category: Breathing For Health

Cherish Yourself Within The Breath


“As you breathe in cherish yourself. As you breathe out cherish all beings.”

H.H. The Dalai Lama

As 2013 begins we may take a look at our lives to see and feel where we can be more of our authentic selves, increase our happiness, love more, achieve more, create more…..and it goes on.  It there was one intention for the year, only one mind you, what would that be?

For me I ask to be mindful of my breath.  The full, natural optimal breath that was given to me at birth.  Breathing fully is perhaps the best way to value yourself and your overall health.

Dr. Andrew Weil, father of Integrative Medicine says it this way, “If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.  From my own experience and from working with patients, I have come to believe that proper breathing is the master key to good health.”

Many of us find ourselves breathing from a very shallow place when we even notice our breath.  This shallow breathing is an integral part of what I call the anxiety cycle.  Shallow breathing tells the body to protect and be on guard.  What unseen forces are out there to get me?  …and it takes us into the future or the past, forgetting the precious moment we have right now.

On the other hand a full breath activated via the diaphragm with soft belly and full ribcage expansion tells our body and our 377365_284005775041434_1705234306_npsyche that all is well.  Ahhh….looking forward to the next full breath, the next life moment.  Do you want to live a full, healthy and expanded life?

DID YOU KNOW…The average person reaches peak respiratory function and lung capacity in their mid 20′s? As they continue to age they lose between 9% and 25% of respiratory capacity for every decade of their life! The findings resulting from a 5,200-person clinical study group observed over a 30-year span showed that the way a person breathes is the primary measure of potential life span. (From Framingham study) Do As One

The breath practice above suggested by the Dalai Lama is simple and effective, or the simple words of “I am breathing in” and “I am breathing out” for 10 breaths, with eyes open or closed, and in a posture of comfort is one way of breaking the anxiety cycle….and putting your focus on enhancing the way in which you are presently breathing and living!

Begin 2013 with cherishing your breath, yourself….and all beings.

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WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Breath-Book-coverW2(3)Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:
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Barefoot Breathing

“Many of us are blind to the ways that the earth supports us. We seldom even feel our feet on the ground. Take your shoes and socks off, massage your feet, pull your toes apart, play with them. Then simply stand with bare feet on the earth. Sense the earth’s energy rising up through your feet. Let the earth help energize you. And let it breathe you.”—Dennis Lewis

Over a week ago now I took a mid-week journey to a place in nature outside of Austin that I had never been to before.  Pedernales State Park turned out to be an amazing sanctuary for me and reminded me of the sacredness of our connection with the Earth and the natural elements.  Dennis Lewis in his quote above is right on when he says that we seldom even feel our feet on the ground….essentially our connection with the earth.

Stepping barefoot from rock to rock in the shallow part of the river the destination of a large flat rock was reached.  For over an hour, lying face up to the sun with feet dangling onto smooth rocks beneath the running rivers surface, I breathed in the sound of running river water overlaying the deep quiet of nature without man made sounds.  My feet, heart and soul found peace….found home.

Having grown up in San Diego with it’s wonderful beaches I naturally was a barefoot girl and morphed into a barefoot woman that actually hates for her feet to be confined in closed shoes.  Thank goodness for the warm weather of Austin where I can wear the simplest of footwear most of the time!  What has the seldom felt barefoot against the earth done to our natural connection with nature and even the way in which we breathe?

Our senses diminish, we forget how to breathe from our very toes, and our feet forget how joyful it is to be fancy free to explore what we are walking upon or touching.

The many acupuncture and pressure points in the feet are a key to our health.  If they are hardly ever stimulated by remembering the feel of earth, rock, sand, meadow or even the bark of a tree then we forget….we forget how intimately connected we are.  Without this connection and stimulation we forget who we are, and we forget how to breathe from the roots of our being.

This week try the practice that Dennis speaks of above in the quote.  Pay attention to your feet with love and patient attention.  Stand barefoot upon the earth surface of your choice, close your eyes, and allow the earth to breathe you!

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview, Reviews and purchase links can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

Exhale and Relax…..

Here we are in the last month of summer and Fall is looming ever more closely.  Here in Austin it remains in the 100’s and will stay quite warm through most of September.  Summer for many often means taking time off for rest, recreation and travel, but there is a frenetic quality to this warmest season of the year that leaves a lot of people “burnt out” and over stimulated.

Being able to relax your body at will is a life skill that adds not only to in the moment joy, richness and satisfaction, but also to overall health, well being and longevity.  What if there was a tool that you had at your disposal every single moment to inhabit a calmer place even in the midst of stress and life challenges?

Rick Hanson Ph.D. author of Buddha’s Brain (which is an excellent book by the way!) gives some ways in which to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) – rest and digest – that calms down the fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system in his book Just One Thing(27-28). Three out of five tips listed are all about the breath!

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*”Do several long exhalations, since the PNS handles exhaling.  For example, inhale for a count of 3, and exhale for a count of 6.”

*”For a minute or more, breathe in such a way that your inhalation and exhalation are equally long; count mentally up to 5 for each inhalation and each exhalation.  This creates small but smooth changes in the interval between heartbeats – since the heart speeds up slightly with inhalation and slows down slowly with exhalation which is associated with relaxation and well being. (Kristal-Boneh, et al 1995)”

*”Relax your diaphragm – the muscle underneath your lungs that helps suck air into them – by putting your hand on your stomach, just below your ribcage, and then trying to breathe in a way that pushes your hand half an inch or so away from your backbone. (This is especially helpful if you are feeling anxious).”

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As you attempt to fit in a few more summer activities and find them more stressful than enjoyable remember that your exhale will stimulate the rest and relaxation response in your body and mind.  It doesn’t take long to simply take a few conscious breaths with an intention of lengthening the exhale and relaxing the diaphragm.

You might be surprised at how easy it is to simply exhale and relax….

WEBSITE:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com
www.NaturalWealthJournal.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/

The Feminine Breath

NOTE:  THIS POST IS FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN!!!

This past week I have watched 2 movies that have moved me greatly and have served as a reminder of what I have often left carefully hidden away from the world – the very roots of my being.  This post is entitled “The Feminine Breath” as it is a way of breathing for all of us that has been lost, decimated, and yes hidden from our awareness for way too long.  A resurgence is riding on the back of our planet that is daily reminding us of the havoc and imbalance we have created.

Jane’s Journey is about the astounding life and actions of Jane Goodall transitioning from a young girl with no college degree boldly following her childhood dreams into an internationally recognized woman living her passion and truth through daily actions and deep dedication to bring peace, compassion, and ecological health to all life.

The film Desert Flower, is a National Geographic stunningly filmed movie about Waris Dirie from Somalia who faces life challenges that are way beyond what any of us could imagine.  Yet she chooses to step into her strength and truth exposing a mutilation practice that, due to her efforts, is finally being eradicated.

Both women demonstrate what it is to bring back the feminine way of breathing and to embody that breath in each moment of life.

Clare Daikin of Tree Sisters says:

When we say ‘feminine’ most people think, Woman, but Feminine is one side of the whole that is all of us. We all have the receptive and expressive sides, the passive and active, the intuitive and logical, the flow and the structure. The feminine is like the in breath or the roots where we connect, receive and resource. She is the source of our deeper knowing and the deep lake of our pleasure. The masculine is like the out breath or the branches, where we make manifest, build, create, grow and structure. He is informed by the feminine and takes action to serve the whole system into optimal form to function effectively. He is replenished by her, so is served by her as he also serves her.
For more of this excellent blog post click here: http://www.treesisters.org/news/86/81/Reinstating-the-Queen
It is this very “feminine breath” way of being that is crucial to our vital health – that of self, relationships, community, countries….and the planet which sustains our life.  Without connecting, receiving and resourcing from our roots we cannot manifest, build, create and grow new ways of being that live in harmony with the earth.
We are the new life form on the block!  Let’s deeply learn from that which not only has come before us but is our greatest teacher.
Find your favorite tree this week, sit down beneath it, listen, and receive the wisdom as you breathe from the roots of your being…
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This Is The Way, Breathe Within It

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”  – Isaiah 30:21

What if within the passage below you added the word “Breath” in companionship with “Me”?   There is great inspiration to be found out in the world – within nature, our Spiritual beliefs, and within others.  But what if we realized for just a moment that we also carry something with us that can provide not only a means towards a healthy, vital life – but also guidance as we step forward.  Not a voice behind us…..but the simple breath taken in and given back out.

I AM LEADING YOU along a way that is uniquely right for you.  The closer to Me you grow, the more fully you become your true self–the one I designed you to be.  Because you are one of a kind, the path you are traveling with Me diverges increasingly from that of other people.  In My mysterious wisdom and ways, I enable you to follow this solitary path while staying in close contact with others.  In fact, the more completely you devote yourself to Me, the more freely you can love people.

Marvel at the beauty of a life intertwined with My Presence.  Rejoice as we journey together in intimate communion.  Enjoy the adventure of finding yourself through losing yourself in Me.

Take some moments this week to be present to what your breath is telling you and be willing to listen.

*A tight and contracted breath when interacting with another may be telling you to let go and be present within the moment in the fullest sense.  An entire relationship can change as it is breathed into.

*A held breath might provide wisdom as to what is making you afraid.  Awareness of this can be transforming.

* A rapid and shallow breath may take you into understanding what you may be running away from as you slow the breath down.

*A full embodied breath can lead you to a deeper enjoyment of the delicious moment before you and an anticipation of the next.

The quality of our breath and the sound it makes travels with us wherever we may go.  Might it not be a wise idea to pay attention?

www.ResonanceWithLife.com

OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

www.NaturalWealthJournal.com
www.WildlyFreeWoman.com

Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath Preview and Reviews can be found here:
http://resonancewithlife.com/daily-breath-book/