Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment
—Thich Nhat Hanh
Breath is the only medium which connects us to the Now, this present moment.
In Hindu it's called prana, one of the concepts of yoga (Pranayama). In Tao its called Qi and in Tibetan Buddhism its termed as lhung.
In this modern age, most of us are focused on our busy schedule whether it's our job, family, or juggling both. In this busyness, we loose our connection with our prana or Qi, when we are detached from the vital energy (breath). We become vulnerable to ailments, illnesses or mental instability. We often go through a day without breathing even a single cycle of deep inhalation and long exhalation.
Pranayama is one of the key component of yoga. Without the proper breath technique, we will not gain the benefits of yoga postures. So an aspiring yogi is first taught the methods of breathing and then the yoga postures. In yoga, we inhale the breath through our nose inflating our lower abdomen and exhaling from the nose, drawing the navel inward. The breath must be slow, long and deep.
Proper breathing helps with stress reduction, emotions, insomnia—enhancing our mental and physical health.
When I first started learning yoga and mindful breathing methods, I was surprised to know that I tended to hold breaths or rapid breaths during tedious yoga postures. This affected me from gently flowing into the yoga asanas.
It was the same too, off my yoga mat. I became aware that during occasional episodes of anger, fear, anxiety or stress, I tend to hold my breath or take quick short breaths, which has a direct impact on my compulsive reactions to these episodes. When I am calm, safe and in pleasant scenarios, my breathing slows and deepens.
The yogic nostrils breathing techniques not only helped me to calm myself during my occasional episodes of distress but it also helped me with my meditation practice. When I am on my meditation mat, I use the full capacity of my lungs to breathe properly and the concentration on my breath helps me to connect to the present and distracts me from having a conversation with my thoughts. I am here in the now on my meditation mat.
My favorite sentence to repeat for smooth deep inhales and long exhales is one of Thich Nath’s mindful breathing, “breathing in I am aware of my heart (inhaling) and breathing out, I smile my heart (exhaling).”
I make it a practice to concentrate on my breath while I water my pothos, when I am walking in nature, or even on a side path in the city when my sight lays upon a green friend. I inhale deeply and gently repeat non verbally, “I am inhaling what you are exhaling and exhaling what you are inhaling” to my dear natural green friends, whether they are a small pothos, or an old giant oak tree, a tree by the side road or creeping vines on my neighbor’s balcony. Personally, this practice has awakened a sense of my interconnectedness with nature.
In most of Thich Nhat’s teaching he teaches us the connection with the universe, we are all one, interconnectedness, non-dualism. For example, in one of his teachings at Plum Village, a chair is used an example. He asks you visualize that the chair is not just a chair, but you will see the sunlight, the rainbow, the rain, the soil, the small microbes, the breeze, the tree, the woodcutter, the carpenter all in the chair. Without each of these elements the chair would not be this tangible chair.
Once you discover the flow of your very own breath, you are giving yourself the greatest gifts ever. You are giving yourself the awareness of interconnectedness, the gift of vitality of life.
xx