awaken breath – Page 4 – BREATHING SPACES

The Path of Opening

Angel Oak Tree in Angel Oak Park, on Johns Island, Southern Carolina.

“The person who breathes deep and easy, who holds minimal tension in the shoulders, who lifts the heart and chest – she/he has a very different experience of life. The root of the word courage means heart. When we collapse the chest, we become easily dis-couraged, dis-heartened. When we fill our space and widen our chest, there is suddenly room for connection, purpose and passion. ” Victoria Castle in The Trance Of Scarcity – Hey Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life, pg 64

Reading this passage from Victoria’s book this morning I was inspired to write this blog post and also made painfully aware of my own bodies tension and contraction. As I sat to meditate it became very clear that I was clenching my mouth and jaw for no particular reason. When checking with my breath it was contracted as well! This most likely represents many years of muscular armoring in perceived unsafe situations along the way.

The “story” that went along with this contraction spoke to me quite clearly – “Hold tight! You don’t know what is coming at you next!” What a terrible story to live by, yet I am willing to bet that many of us hold this type of story in our bodies and psyche – most often unconsciously. I know that when I live in contraction the tension keeps me disturbed, off balance and attending to what is wrong – or in Victoria’s words “holds us in the Trance of Scarcity”….. and I say perpetuates “struggle mode”.

The amazing tree above spoke to me of the OPEN way in which we are meant to be. This Angel Oak is wide open, spreading, begging to be connected with (as there are so many lovely branches to sit upon), and completely available to you, I or anyone/anything. She has learned surrender, openness, trust, and wisdom from her years of being present to the moment of nature. She is completely embodied in her tree elderhood.

We too can be in that flow by coming out of the daily creation of separation and into the natural state of belonging. When we are out of this flow our breath is shallow, or we stop breathing for periods of time; our shoulders are slumped; brows furrowed; tense necks; clenched jaws; and a collapsed chest. When we release these contractions and the stories that have created them, our world opens up and we naturally “belong” without any effort on our part.

So, I leave you with some identifying markers for the state of OPENNESS. Remember that this state comes with a full embodiment of sensation and breath. What we embody, we become!

OPEN is: (from The Trance of Scarcity)

Ease…Prevailing trust….relaxed body….effortless breathing….”can do” attitude….collaborative….curious, asking questions….see opportunities…..generous……willing to take risks…….laugh easily at self…….energized……fighting FOR (not against)…..resilient….grateful…..releasing things easily…..make clear requests and agreements…..generative, accountable……wholehearted – and coming from your wholeness.

When we each inhabit this place of openness it not only affects others, but inspires them to open as well! I extend my hand to each of you on this path of opening. Though the body memory may want to go back into a contracted survival mode – your willingness to be aware of sensation and breath will give you a choice. The way in which we breathe and embody is the way in which we live our lives. How do you want to live yours?? Create and live by a different story!!

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

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Breathing Room

These three things that matter can most often be found within another three states: Silence, Stillness and Spaciousness. How our ego puts up a fight against even dipping one single toe into a space large enough to hold a full inhale and exhale in this very moment.

Try this simple exercise and see what happens – stand with feet planted on the floor about a hip distance apart, arms at your side with palms facing forward. Watch as a full breath starts from the belly, expands the ribcage and back, then cascades like a waterfall on the exhale pausing in the pool of breath at the bottom. Take several breaths this way.

Now close your eyes and lean forward as far as you can without tipping over. Watch what happens to the breath. Now come back to center and root down. Watch what happens to the breath and be aware of all the micro-movements and adjustments the body must make in order to simply stand upright.

For most of us this simple exercise reflects what happens constantly all day long. We lean into the future and our breath is literally held as our mind takes us to the next thing on the agenda. There is no breathing room.

I experienced that today in a conscious exercise in yoga class. As we moved very slowly from one pose to the next the mind wanted to revolt, to run, to judge, to do anything but be quiet to the burning muscle or the reflex thought about tomorrow. Instead we were instructed to place our mind on gentleness within the silence, stillness and spaciousness that grew as each breath passed.

To gracefully let go of the ego’s urging to move out of the pose, run to the bathroom, or chant the mantra – this is too hard! Watch the breath, love the body, let go gracefully of what is not meant for you. How much more do we suffer if we don’t give enough breathing room to expand the moment that we are in right now?

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

Just Breathe

How many moments in our day are we not present? How many times do we think of where we want to be instead of where we are right now?

Valuing the moment puts us in touch with our bodies, our heart, and the present experience we are having. Sometimes there are events and situations in our life that create a desire not to be present….to do anything but be present…to actually rush headlong into something else, somewhere else, or to someone else in order to avoid the richness (or pain) of the experience we are currently having.

Could it be if we truly did believe that “we are where we need to be” in any given moment that the unfolding of our lives would teach us that there is a wisdom to the progression of these very moments.

Clarity and awareness often are elusive if we don’t allow the natural unfolding of things. That could mean a very painful, fearful or emotionally charged life event. You know, the one where you want to be anywhere but there! Or it could even be a fallow period where nothing seems to be happening and boredom sets in.

The simple act of breathing consciously allows anchoring in these moments.

It forces us to be true to ourselves and to take a look at exactly what is happening without overt reaction. It is in the power of witnessing, followed by an acceptance that we have a major role in creating our present set of life circumstances. Some call that accountability.

We are where we need to be for our growth, and awareness of the next step to take. It is not always pleasant – but it is almost always enlightening and can often be transforming.

It all started coming down the birth canal and embodiment here and now won’t stop until you take that last breath.

How simple to accept that we are where we need to be….and just breathe.

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

WEBSITE: www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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

Change Is Possibility

Gazing at the water drops on this leaf there is a sense of capturing an exquisite moment. Yet our experience tells us that in the next moment this will change as everything is always in motion. Riding the inevitable movement of change is what this life of ours is all about. What do we do with change – resist it, or choose to see and be open to possibility.

This past week during a class I was teaching on the breath at our local University here in Austin, Texas there was a moment that asked for a different awareness. Participants were paired up to practice opening breathing spaces with each other by simply laying hands on shoulders, backs and sides of body. At the end of the exercise the giver was to give a gentle shoulder massage and simply be present in the moment. Coming over to one pairing I saw and felt the possibility for a shift and believed that it was there to emerge.

Placing my hands lightly on the person’s mid-back and fingertips mid-chest I simply encouraged the breath to release. In that moment the person who was receiving was filled with breath as if she was being breathed. She became taller and expanded her breathing spaces to such an extent that it felt like a miracle to her. The amazed expression on her face was enough to validate that within change there is always possibility for yet something else to evolve if we are open.

The person responsible for the photo above, Dewitt Jones, says that we “won’t see it until we believe it”. That can be said for feeling it as well….a sixth sense if you will that something else is about to emerge that is even more extraordinary than what is presenting in the moment. Do we have the patience and the trust to simply wait and be directed from a deeper place than our minds. Do we have the wisdom to look at what is right with our lives, our relationships, our breath, our world.

It is always right there within the framework of change… Please take time to watch this 22 minute video by Dewitt Jones on celebrating what is right with the world and staying open to change. As we enter into the holiday season it may offer an entirely different perspective to live and be grateful from.

http://www.celebratewhatsright.com/film

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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/

The Two Breaths – Foundation of Being

“This reflection comes from a conversation with a gifted photographer I met. His story helped confirm for me that we live a life in every breath. In truth, each heart-breath is an atom of life-force being born one more time. We as human beings have the incredible burden of sensitivity, but the incomparable reward of being awakened over and over again.

At a gathering in San Francisco, I met Marco, a careful and patient photographer from Santa Clara. When asked what surprised him during the last year, his voice began to quiver. He’d witnessed two breaths that had changed his life. His daughter’s first breath. Then his mother’s last breath. As his daughter inhaled the world, it seemed to awaken her soul on Earth. As his mother exhaled her years, it seemed to free her soul of the world. These two breaths jarred Marco to live more openly and honestly. He took these two breaths into his own daily breathing and quickly saw their common presence in everyone’s breathing. Is it possible that with each inhalation, we take in the world and awaken our soul? And with each exhalation, do we free ourselves of the world, which inevitably entangles us? Is this how we fill up and empty a hundred times a day, always seeking the gift of the two breaths? Perhaps this is the work of being.”

—excerpt from Seven Thousand Ways to Listen by Mark Nepo

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WEBSITE: www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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

BOOKS BY GAYE ABBOTT:

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

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