Breath is LIFE

As we come into this world and when we go out, breath IS LIFE in this human body.

I am MORE than my body, I am a body in flow with my soul. We almost tend to take breathing for granted because it is always done for us. Of course after my NDE, I did not take breathing for granted any more. I simply KNEW how important every breath I took allowed me to experience the LIFE I came to live in my present body.

Recently I have had memories about the unconditional LOVE I experienced with God. The peace that God gives us in grace is through an incredibly powerful body mechanism that provides our breath every day. I didn’t need the breath when I was OUTSIDE of my body…BUT, once back in my body I KNEW that the type of breathing we do every day can make a huge difference in the quality of our life. When we express the same unconditional love for ourselves as GOD models, we are opening ourselves to the incredible “power” that is enveloped into a body that needs quality breathing.

As most all of you know, my husband has Parkinson’s disease. Perhaps you too know of someone that is affected by this incredibly complex and difficult disease. Recently through quite a synchronistic event, I came across a book called Goodbye Parkinson’s, Hello Life by Alex Kerten with David Brinn. I of course LOVED the title, who wouldn’t! But, it’s an incredible book outlining how Gyro Kinetics  was able to make HUGE differences in his patients through breathing, music, dance and free style movement. Alex Kerten is founder and director of the Gyro-Kinetics Center in Herzliya, Israel. He has been researching anatomy and the physiology of behavior for over 30 years. He specializes in Parkinson’s Disease. David Brinn is the managing editor of The Jerusalem Post and lives their now, but he is a native of Portland, Maine!  I can tell these individuals are quite awakened individuals understanding our connection to the Universe. I LOVE this book and my husband and I are putting all their ideas to work!

The author talks about when our mind dominates and doesn’t listen to the body, we are in trouble. He has some incredible thoughts in this book that are good thoughts for ALL people.  BUT, his #1 EXERCISE that he shares is deep, quality breathing. He discusses the location of the heart in relationship to the diaphragm and how our heart is communicating messages that are making a huge difference in the quality of our breathing. There is so much more, but it got me to thinking about WHEN I learned how critical deep breathing is to our health. I knew this.

When I was so sick back in the 2006-7 era, my singing voice left. I had an incredible voice teacher that asked me if he could simply observe my breathing. Then he said, “Terry, you have to re-learn to BREATHE differently. You have to make it automatic so there is no thinking about it.” It took me awhile, but I did it, and WOW…what a difference, my voice has been strong ever since. Next I was really paying attention to breathe work taught in yoga, meditation, and QiGong. ALL types of deep breathing…but do we do this on a regular basis? OR, do we go through most of our day shallow breathing through the top of our lungs.

As I was helping my husband understand deep breathing, I sat down to meditate and my mind was on breathing and how to teach it to him. UNBELIEVABLE…I opened YouTube to find some music for yoga and there in front of me was a talk. I usually don’t want voice, but the TITLE of it really caught me and a KNOWING moved in…listen to this! WOW…may I recommend this to you to listen and watch this video for 12 minutes ~ it might change YOU. You can click on this title and you will find the one I listened to and found meaningful.

SECRET RELATION between Breath and MIND – Zen Story –  It was recorded on Nov. 24, 2023 Here are the words they used to describe this talk:

The ancient Zen masters discovered the power of working on your breath and mind. They started working on the science of reducing the  number of breaths and increasing their depth, because they discovered that the number of breaths to be taken is related to lifespan. Life can be prolonged, but this speed of slowing down and lengthening of the breath should happen naturally…( I had HEARD this before!!)

And then OF COURSE…learning from Suzanne Gieseman’s guides…from Sanaya on Jan. 3, 2024.

When trouble brews, it is because things have become a bit stirred up. Even in the midst of chaos, there is a calm center. Picture your cyclones. No matter how spun up things are, there is always a calm center. Find it through the breath. With intention, find the calm space where insights can reach awareness. When you are tense, breathing is erratic to match the energy. This is self-defeating. In a moment of lucidity, remember to breathe consciously and you will find the peace that allows sanity to reign. Sanity leads to serenity, and it is always and already here in your innate wholeness. You choose: Brewing or breathing.

You are so very loved.

For many of you, the idea of following our breathe during meditation is probably not new at all. Or, if you have taken classes in yoga, breath is talked about when a quality instructor helps you understand the TYPES of breath that are needed. I learned these lessons during yoga and from various reading materials. QiGong, which I use regularly, talks about breathing with every move. I’ve worked with instructors that teach this type of breathing.  BUT, somehow I needed to remind myself of the direct connection between quality breathing as I walk through my everyday life! The health of my body is counting on mind working together with the heart to facilitate proper breathing! Learn the technique first that your belly is initiating your breath, but move it into LIFE off the mat, away from meditation as you walk through life.

I am now reminding myself that I not only learned this type of breathing, I can USE it in a more powerful way every day. When I put an intention into my mind to “pay attention” to my breathing, it is so much easier to remember and use. It is especially useful if you find yourself awake at 3 AM…deep~long~ breaths can lull the body back to sleep! OR, if your mind is racing when you first try to sleep…breathing IS the meditation that creates the peace through unconditional love for YOU. Oh, one more huge tip…make sure your tongue is NOT glued to the top of your mouth! Pull it down and relax it along with YOU!