I've gained some intuitive understanding of the importance of free-flowing breathing.
Somehow, for some reason, breathing is a very important symbol for BEING. Just being there. Being *aware*. Relaxedly.
I find that when I stop breathing it seems to be mainly when I'm *holding on* to something (a thought, a feeling, a position, what do I know). And *holding on* is one of the main barriers to freedom. When we hold on, energy stops. And the energy stacks up and packs up, and become old and hard. And then we have a vicious cycle, it's very hard to start breathing free and to *let energy flow* when you're sitting in a thick, hard, complex shell of old energy.
The good news is it can be done, and it gets easier over time. And on the day when you have dissolved the last of the old hard-packed energy, you're free and basically invulnerable.
Note: I don't think, like some say, that "if we just learn to breathe correctly", then most of our problems are solved magically. I just think that monitoring your breath (especially at rest in a darkened, quiet room) is an excellent way to find the trouble spots in your energy fields, and start to let them flow.
------
Update: Carol Howe, counselor, adds this:
The reason we learn early on not to breathe is that it cuts off our experience of pain. Watch a baby or toddler who is scared or hurt hold the breath. It becomes habitual.
Then the cartilage between the ribs begins to get "glued" in place and you can't take a really deep breath if you want to because your ribs, and thus lungs, can't expand fully. Deep tissue massage therapy is great for getting "unstuck" physically, which leads to an emotional release. It's quite a process.
-
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
4 comments:
Thanks for this insight, Eolake!
Yeah, there's no question that breathing correlates to the health of mind and spirit. I've noticed when it's physically difficult for me to breathe freely my mind is discordant, I lose touch with my subtle body (or aura), and I find it difficult to concentrate, or maintain rhythm, or comprehend things that feel like they should come easily to me.
What's most interesting to me is when I clear an emotional issue and a physical problem clears up. It's happened so often that there's a clear link. My body is prone to respiratory and circulatory problems; sometimes the flow of blood and oxygen will be so uneven I'll shake, or I'll stumble over my own feet because my legs feel far heavier than they should be. The most notable of all these is when I feel like there's a film in my throat that won't go away; it makes my voice crack and it's difficult to sing clearly. It's related to issues concerning self-expression-when I freely express myself, it disappears. When I feel hesitant and let myself act (or not, as the case may be) on cowardice, it returns.
This is related to breathing inasmuch as deep breathing exercises combat the symptoms and calm my mind. Occasionally deep breathing will completely eliminate the problems for a while. It seems meditation calms and realigns the body, subtle body, and spirit whenever it's done properly.
Yes.
Ultimately everything comes from the mind.
Steve, I read a few posts on your Spiritual Threshold blog. But I couldn't get "comments" to work, neither in Safari nor Firefox. (Mac.)
Post a Comment