“We are all much larger, and more mysterious. Once we know this, our possibilities for creativity expand enormously, because we understand something about how we get in our own way and are diminished through our obsessive self-involvement and self-centeredness, our preoccupation with what we think is important but really isn’t fundamental. ”
May we always remember the interconnection with the many sacred gifts around us. We are the stuff of which all of this is made… in the breathing space of the planet we call earth. Let us collaborate with, and support creativity in each other – sustaining this life, our lives – the future generations of all living things!
Here you will find the symbols of Inhale and Exhale. There is an ancient practice called Qi Gong, or Chi Kung, which relies on the breath as an integral piece of the practice. Qi Gong is described as: “the philosophy and practice of aligning breath, physical activity and awareness for mental, spiritual and corporeal health, as well as the development of human potential. It includes certain forms of martial arts and the spiritual awakening to one’s true nature.”
Like Dan Brule of BreathMastery (who’s website offers 5 core breath practices) you might see in these symbols the following:
“I see in the symbol for the exhale a bold vertical stroke that reminds me of the spine. It has what appears to be a serpent rising and coiling upward around the spine. (depicting what in Yogic literature is called the “Kundalini Serpent”). That same vertical stoke appears on the inhale too. But on the inhale, I see a downward diagonal stroke shooting thru what looks like a rounded belly. This reminds me to send the breath deep into the abdomen. Directing the breath energy into the “dan tien” is a basic practice in Chi Kung.”
It is within this movement of inhale and exhale that we live and thrive. In the rising like a serpent up the spine, and the softening of the rounded belly, we move the life energy/chi that is necessary for our vital health and aliveness.
In our often sedentary lifestyles in the Western culture that natural breath is squelched and contracted into a shallow chest effort that often never, ever gets down to our bellies, let alone front, back and sides. Stagnation and dis-ease converge on our already stimulus overloaded bodies and we lose our zest for life – or perhaps life itself.
This on the other hand is what we aim for: “For the most part, when the breathing mechanism is uninhibited, it will reflect and express your moment to moment natural state. A healthy breathing mechanism will automatically adjust itself to your energy. It will respond naturally to chemical or metabolic changes, to the intensity of your emotional experience or physical activity. And, it should respond easily effortlessly to your conscious will.” Dan Brule
Continually seeking practices that enhance the practice of breathing consciously, shake us lose from our inhibited and habitual breath patterns, and that increase life energy there appeared on my Facebook page today a very fun video with Dr. George Love (http://www.freewebs.com/4doorstohealth/) of Baton Roca, Florida. Dr. Love is an acupuncturist, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, and a Master of Blue Dragon Qigong. I don’t think that he will be able to make his living doing rap….but what he does have to offer here is a way to move that chi around and BREATHE! Have fun!!
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JUST LAUNCHED! www.DivineWeathJournal.com Recent Post: “What Is Divine Wealth?” with The Brit & American
“Don’t cut your trees, because the trees are the lungs of the earth. ” -Milda Sebris , a resident at Ellen Memorial Health Care Center, turned 100 on 1/26/11.
To breathe is to live embodied. Without this exquisite process going on day after day, year after year, moment after moment we would not be functional – we would not be alive! Trees help the planet breathe by turning carbon dioxide into clean, pure oxygen. Plants are considered the lungs of the earth because plants produce oxygen, which is necessary for all life, so in essence, since our lungs keep us alive and trees keep our lungs alive we can consider trees to be a part of our lungs existence. This is all part of the deep interconnectedness of all life.
Our lungs are quite amazing actually. Did you know that there are about 300 million alveoli in the adult lung. The alveolar sacs consist of many alveoli and are composed of a single layer of epithelial tissue. If these alveoli were pressed flat and spread out they would take up the space of a football field. That is, a football field (including the two end zones) is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide for a total of 57,600 square feet!
Alveoli in the Lungs
The alveoli are considered the functional or foundational unit of the lung. In the spaces between the alveoli of the lungs is elastic connective tissue which is important for exhalation. It is here, surrounded by pulmonary capillaries, that gases are exchanged and we are enlivened with every inhale and exhale that we take.
“Each alveolus is lined with a thin layer of tissue fluid, which is essential for the diffusion of gases, because a gas must dissolve in a liquid in order to enter or leave a cell. This is called the “earthworm principle”. An earthworm will breathe through it’s moist skin and suffocate if it’s skin dries out.
The inner walls of the alveoli are covered with a lipid material known as surfactant. This surfactant helps to stabilize the alveoli preventing their collapse. Absence of surfactant would be similar to a plastic bag that is wet on the inside. It’s walls would stick together and not allow for complete expansion.”
This biological process goes on moment after moment for the entirety of our lives, yet in order to breathe fully we need the support of the natural world around us. As this world is tampered with by humans, the planet lets us know we are off balance with global climate change and other dramatic signs of imbalance. Just as if we tampered with the alveoli of our lungs by unhealthy practices that caused disease and imbalance in our systems.
Our Earth is like the alveoli of the lungs – if she dries out she will suffocate. Without the stabilization of the natural order of things there will be no expansion, no breath, no life – no Breathing Spaces.
Could it be that we need to pay closer attention to the smallest and most foundational parts of our Earth’s processes, and our own, before we tackle the larger things? Take yourself out into Nature this week and breathe.
Sergey Melnikoff – Breathing Nature – Selective Shots
Music by Zaza Marjanishvili, Produced by MediaGrail
OTHER BLOGS BY GAYE ABBOTT: www.WildlyFreeWoman.com Most Recent Post: Falling In Love With The Journey – Being Utterly Alive!
Have you ever thought about your living space and how much of a difference it makes on how you breathe and express in your life?
Rachel Ross of Mandala Custom Homes states that if what Plotinus said is true then – “Hence, our lives do not proceed in straight lines, but reverberate and reflect around and around like a beautifully patterned mandala. Perhaps this is why it feels so good to be in a round space.”
It also feels right and good to be in connection with nature within our homes from the materials that we build our homes with, to the way that they interface with nature. Having just spent a couple of weeks in my friends home at Dreaming Forest Farm housesitting with the sound of a stream nearby, and the presence of trees all around, calmed my being and allowed breathing spaces inside of me to expand and be nurtured.
Whether you are in the city, the country, on the coast, in the desert, or in the mountains the opportunity to create breathing room for all that live within is at your fingertips. Clear, clean, and sustainable spaces contribute to your well being and the environments.
“Our dwelling is our interface with nature. The average person spends 90-95% of their time indoors. In order to enjoy optimum health and well being, we depend on this envelope not just to moderate our climate but also to embrace nature in its majesty and vitality. ….living in harmony with nature is essential to our physical, mental, and spiritual well being.” –
Sustainable homes that support the ecology of the environment that they are in, as well as our own inner ecology – and the creation of beauty and sanctuary in our home – makes certain that the environment one spends a great deal of time in is a true “breathing space”.
Our living spaces are vitally important for our vibrancy, well being and relationships to each other and the earth. I invite you to go to both Mandala Custom Homes page through Facebook, and EcoNest (links above) to start dreaming into expanding your breathing room and that of our planets!
After listening to the recent interview with Dewitt done by Sheila Finkelstein of Picture to Ponder I was brought back again to what an important tool and a metaphor for life the breath is. You fill yourself up and then the biological imperative is that you must give it back out. We, at times, attempt to hold our breaths thinking that it will make us “safe”and nothing bad will happen. Amelia Earhart said “Who wants a life imprisoned in safety?”
That is what holding our breath is about. You can’t not breathe – but you can, if you choose to do so, contract away from your own life experience and the calling and relationships that may be asking you out to play, create, and experience life fully, by shallow breathing or holding the breath.
You have to breathe! Taking in a full breath fills you, gives energy, stimulates natural biological processes, and expands your potential for excitement about life and the contribution that you naturally have to bring.
Your contribution is then present in the exhale. A giving out of the fullness that you have just taken in from a place of enough – to sustain, support, and create new life. For within the exhale a space is created to bring in more.
There is always enough, and for most living things this process is on automatic. It is something that we can trust and relax into, especially during particularly difficult or stressful times. Can we use the breath as a tool for recognizing the wealth and potential that is our life now?
Soft belly, relaxed shoulders, face and mind at peace – take time NOW to enter a Breathing Space of fullness.
Take that full breath and move, breathe and listen to Words From The Hopi Elders:
( from the album Songs of the Earth – Majbritte Ulrikkeholm & Søren Frieboe) The music video was filmed by Majbritte Ulrikkeholm & Søren Frieboe . Listen to the album on www.majbritteulrikkeholm.dk)
BREATHING SPACES 