Tag: Mindfulness

Breath Technique or Practice Breath Awareness?

In January of this year, with full joy, I launched a book on the breath entitled, Give Us This Day Our Daily Breath: Weekly Breathing Spaces to Delight, Rest and Reflect In“.  It was a birth that had been in gestation for quite a long while…and the actual delivery left me filled with grace and a joyful satisfaction that I had courageously said YES to what I am passionate about without holding back.

For me, it was an action of awareness.  Awareness that I had something to share with the world that every single person could benefit from.  This action of awareness has taken me into the joys of writing and sharing with essentially abandon to the process of creation.  Mining the depths of something that continually fascinates and feeds me – the breath – and expanding that passion to other areas of interest is a “practice of awareness in the moment”.

Just today I received an e-mail from a dear friend which moved me to write this post.  Below is an excerpted part of what she wrote to me and a portion of my response.

“I don’t know if I told you but I carried your book in my bag for a long time.  I would read it at work or in the evenings when I was home and had more time to savor the delightful passages.  My issue is that I get started on a breathing/meditation program but the enthusiasm only lasts for a couple of weeks or months;  then I taper off and before long I have stopped my practice. “ R.B.

“I have a bias R.  To me any “breathing exercise” or “technique” is really only beneficial if it creates a state of being consciously aware of a full embodied breath from moment to moment.  There are many breath techniques that can be immensely beneficial, however are they sustainable and do they shift our awareness to be present in our daily moments of living?

I have learned to simply take 5 minute (or less) “breath breaks” scattered throughout the day to check in. Scanning the body brings awareness to any tension in the body, holding of the breath, or shallow breathing….. without judgement.  Taking a few fully engaged breaths expanding and releasing all of the primary breathing muscles – diaphragm, intercostal (between the ribs) and abdominal, reminds me of being present NOW no matter what is happening,  and allows me to feel alive not just in my mind! The body loves this attention!!

This breath practice of awareness has now become a “habit” in my tool bag that I carry with me everywhere.  I say, if the breath allows us to be more present in the moment to what is happening, and deepens our participation and awareness in that moment, then it has done it’s job (more than merely keeping us alive that is..:-) What a great tool to enliven our life moments!” G. A.

FOR BREATH IS LIFE, AND IF YOU BREATHE WELL YOU WILL LIVE LONG ON EARTH  –  Sanskrit Proverb

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

Website:  www.ResonanceWithLife.com

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

A Silence That Is A Fountain of Action and Joy

“There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fountain of action and joy.  It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out from unseen roots of all created being.”  Thomas Merton

Sometimes I ask myself the question, “What am I doing with this one wild and precious life?”  My mind rushes into the past and conjures up what I have done…pretty extraordinary, and ordinary, all at the same time…or it rushes into the future – into those precious few days that I have left of this lifetime.  And then, like the wild child that it is, mind comes to a complete halt stubbornly refusing to budge….and then realizes that this is the place that it was seeking all along and plops down to rest in the stillness of the moment.

The silence where all is born, the creative well of possibility which delivers the clarity that reveals the next action to be taken.   And at the same time complete and absolute peace, well being, and yes – joy.  There is a saying “if not now, when?”  Over and over we rush headlong into our days forgetting that all around us there is a continuous fountain flowing from unseen roots feeding us from source

There are many roots we can choose from in order to drink from this fountain.  The breath is one of these.  Opportunities to connect in intimacy abound. G. I. Gurdjieff in “Views From the Real World” says:

“Our mind is like a cabby who sits in a pub and drives passengers to different places in his dreams. Trying to work with the mind alone will lead nowhere. The power of changing oneself lies not in the mind but in the body and feelings.”

What if, as in my yoga class today, you chose to root yourself in the breath, the souls of the feet,  the openness of your heart, or any single point of focus and allow the sediment of your day to drift down to the bottom of your being and clear the way for the experience of now.  No pretense.  No defenses.  Simply sharing internal worlds from an open heart and willingness to connect intimately with yourself, others, nature….. the world.

How would your life be then?

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Gratitude to Keith Kachtick of Dharma Yoga, Austin, TX for once again an extraordinary class!

GAYE’s 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/

Pure Spacious Presence

Between the head and feet of any given person is a billion miles of unexplored wilderness. ~Gabrielle Roth

Both Dennis Lewis and Gabrielle Roth speak of spaciousness to explore in the quotes above.  Using the breath as a vehicle for exploring this spaciousness is a practice that is well worth your time and attention.  Have you ever spent a day, or even a moment, exploring the spaciousness that is opened up within the presence of your breath?

Let’s take this and ground it right now.  We can talk esoterically or spiritually….but what is it really like to do something no one – including yourself – ever imagined that you could achieve.  That would take a full embrace of everything you are – this spacious Presence Dennis Lewis speaks of and the “wilderness” that Gabrielle Roth suggests.

Purpose and capability is part of this exploration.  Wander through the video below about Kyle Maynard.  His journey speaks to the pure spacious presence that can be found when you say yes to, and embrace, the full present life that you have been given.  No room for anything less than this after seeing what Kyle has embraced!

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/

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/

Our Earth Breathes – We Can Help Her!

“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.  Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out”, is a beloved saying of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn.  As the video shows above, we are not alone in the act of respiration.  Our Earth that sustains and feeds us is breathing as well.  The question could be asked, what are we feeding her??

The Institute of Hearth Math who has done many years of scientific research on the power of the heart to inform our actions, feelings and thoughts believes that we should ask this question.  The passage below from their most recent newsletter addresses this question:

What Are You Feeding the Field?
This Earth Day, we all can pause to assess what our emotions are contributing to our environment, how we are feeding the field environment. This goes beyond conserving and respecting Earth’s resources. Everyone must ask, “What am I feeding the field?”Personal experience tells us when we are angry, inhospitable and uncaring, we affect not only ourselves, but also those around us. Consider how one unkind, thoughtless or angry person affects a roomful of people; the feeling of discomfort and negative energy is noticeable. Conversely, have you ever felt the change a room’s atmosphere undergoes upon the entrance of a vibrant, cheerful or positive person?What if people around the world intentionally experienced sincere love, care, compassion and other positive emotions simultaneously and fed this positive energy into the global field environment?This question led to an experiment, and after nearly five years, more than 40,000 members of the resulting Global Coherence Initiative, with members in 87 countries, regularly feed positive energy and heart-focused care and intention into the planetary field environment.Collectively, we create a field that interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field and energetic systems. As people intentionally send coherent love and care to the world, a more powerful heart-filled environment is created. This helps to build a reservoir of positive energy that benefits the planet. This reservoir can then be utilized to help bring balance and stabilization to people, thereby making it easier to find solutions to problems like climate change, the destruction of the rain forests and other global issues.There is more to this phenomenon than the feeling you get. HeartMath researchers repeatedly have categorized real mental and physical changes study participants undergo when they experience positive and negative emotions. HeartMath and other research shows that focusing on core heart-felt emotions can enhance one’s connection with others, and that this connection extends far beyond the individual.The research article Coherence: Bridging Personal, Social, and Global Health concludes that being responsible for and increasing our personal coherence are not only reflected in improved personal health and happiness but also feed into and are reflected in a global field environment. ” Institute of Heart Math**************************************

As we breathe from a place informed by our heart our breath opens and becomes more fluid and easeful.  We then change the environment of this “global field”….thus making better decisions for the health of our planet, which is essentially intimately connected to our own health.  Remember on this 2012 Earth Day celebration………EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY!

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/

See new review by Richard Miller, Ph.D!!!