I have been stressed out lately, with work, over committing myself and general working-mother busyness. And I have heard the phrase Take a Deep Breath or Breathe as advice almost every time I share my stressed out emotional state with another human.
But what is our breath? What does breathing really mean? You can take a deep breath. Catch your breath. Breathe it all in. You can keep secrets and not breathe a word. We remodel and breathe new life into an old house. We let our wine breathe before we enjoy a glass. I have had the wind knocked out of me. It’s possible to physically see our breath in the cold winter air. An inhale/exhale is air, gas phase of matter, it doesn’t have a shape, it expands to the volume allowed, expanding indefinitely.
Maybe I am contemplating BREATH so much because of a recent text I received. “Opy is on his way to the hospital to receive his double lung transplant.” Opy had cystic fibrosis; a genetic disease where your digestion and lungs malfunction. The donor’s loss of life literally gave the recipient life, through breath.
But sadly, Opy’s body couldn’t handle the anti-rejection medications and he passed away a few weeks after receiving the lungs.
Opy lived his whole life not being able to take a deep breath, without it ending in a coughing fit. As do all CF patients. And as I pause and take my deep breaths lately, I think of Opy, and others who have lung disease, and I am grateful for my big, deep, healthy, restorative breath.
I have witnessed miracles. I have seen my two babies take their first breath here on Earth. The first breath of my son awakened his soul. I saw life enter him. The light in his eyes shined brighter, his whole body filled with oxygen and life simultaneously.
And I have read many accounts that as someone’s last breath becomes just air, the breath releases and frees her soul from the Earth.
Breath is evidence of life.
Breath is the link between the soul and the body.
Breath is a pathway to travel inward and outward.
Is that what it’s like to be alive? Is the key to being human that simple?
We can awake and free ourselves with each breath.
We can change the speed of our breath by meditating or becoming anxious. We can consciously control our breath if we are presenting, talking, performing, singing or playing an instrument. However, as we sleep, breathing happens automatically. We always have our breath with us, what a miracle that is.
Breath is peace. Bring your breath to peace, which will bring your body to peace, which will bring the world around you to peace. My best days are when I have time and space to breathe. Filled with Space where there is room to breathe. To notice. To stop. To rest. Filled with Space is the most beautiful oxymoron. Your life needs room to breathe, just like words on the page need margins, paintings need separation of colors, and photographs need light contrast.
Technology and the fast-paced life we lead may make you feel like you have to move through time and space faster. But you do not. Rest is not a luxury. It shouldn’t be saved for only when we’re exhausted. Breathing shouldn’t be something do we do “fast and quick” like everything else in our life (finding the shortest commute, shortest workout, shortest way to cook dinner, quickest way to fall asleep or wake up…). Oxygen is more important than even food and water. Like listening opens your mind, breathing opens your lungs. The breath is nourishing, not just for calming rest. It’s necessary to breathe. Oxygen feeds every cell in your body.
Let’s relearn how to breathe, where our lungs hug and release our heart lovingly and aid in the rhythm and muscle movement of digestion. Breathing correctly and deeply can help aid in multiple problems: center of gravity, balance, immune system, blood pressure, stress, pain, energy levels, sleep quality, mood, cravings, mental clarity, memory, digestion and sports endurance.
When you are tired of carrying everyone else’s problems, the world’s issues, stop breathing life into everything else, return to YOUR breath, come back to your body and yourself for a while. Shift your energy, consciousness and breath inward. Find peace.
Make every breath matter. Make every moment matter.
Breath is like gravity … experienced by all, understood deeply by few.
I am just beginning to understand.
The Lefty Writer 