By Lisa Seaman, LAc

Take a deep breath and relax. Sounds familiar, yet how many of us really know how to relax – or even take a deep breath? Over the past 25 years there has been an explosion in the use of ancient breathing techniques to benefit health and to awaken spiritual awareness. By cultivating the breath, we balance our physiological and psychological states, laying the foundation for our highest potential.

Breath awareness leads to self-awareness. The ability to remain aware of the breath and yet not control it is at the heart of meditation. Virtually all systems of meditation begin with simple breathing exercises or with a technique to make one aware of the breath. The breath makes a perfect focus for meditation: it is immediate and always there; whether we're awake or sleeping, running or relaxing. Registering our reaction to internal and external events, the breath, is a constant background mantra reminding us of our connection to the universe. Breathwork by its very nature induces altered states of consciousness and increases awareness of the mind-body-spirit connection.

Body balancing with the breath. The act of relaxed, full breathing moves the function of the autonomic nervous system towards balance or homeostasis. Working on multiple levels, the breath can adjust and regulate the biological systems of the body. Deep breathing improves digestion, relieves pain, and clears and smoothes the skin. Conscious breathing creates a feeling of being more energized and alive, more centered and balanced, more relaxed and focused. Whatever the issues or challenges, there is a way of breathing that can trigger symptoms and make them worse, or a way of breathing that will reduce or eliminate them.

Learn how to relax. Cultivating the breath is essential to peak performance, optimum health, and realizing your ultimate potential. There are even ways of breathing that can produce profound peace, insight, enlightenment, and ecstasy. To begin connecting with the universe, begin with the breath that unites us.

Deep Breathing Practice

• Begin by wearing loose clothing
• Sit with your spine straight or lie flat on your back without a pillow under your head; you may place a small pillow under your knees to relax your lower back
• Exhale completely and then place one hand on your abdomen and one hand in the center of your chest over your heart
• Slowly draw air in through your nose
• Feel your diaphragm expand as your breath enters the lower part of your lungs, raising the abdomen, the belly, instead of the upper chest
• Exhale slowly through your nose, contracting your navel area back toward the spine
• There should be no hesitation between the inhale and exhale
• Strive for 6 breaths per minute; 5 second inhale with 5 second exhale
• Repeat 3 to 5 times, with an emphasis on expanding and lengthening the breath each time
  

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