Many of my students and
clients project an image of me that I rather like – one where I spend my days
sitting on lush mountain tops with legs contorted around my head, enjoying
peaceful states of blissful meditation while contemplating life's deepest and most
meaningful questions, "Who am I?" and "Why are we here?".
While I like to believe
there is a small grain of truth in all projections, including this one, I
have to admit that a large portion of my day consist of running around (sans
the leg wrapping, constant state of bliss and complete concentration). I bounce
between my new office, Mission’s Integrative Health Department and Cancer
Center, numerous classes in the area and various clients' homes. Like many
successful women in Asheville, daily “running” has the potential to make me
feel like a headless chicken and a more that a little frazzled.
Luckily, long ago I was
gifted a trusted set of wheels that makes this activity a bit more spacious.
No, it’s not Sylvie - my reliable, albeit boring Toyota Sedan. No, my ride is
much more subtle and close-at-hand.
This ride has three
wheels - the wheel of the moon, the wheel of the sun, and most importantly the
wheel of the breath - and it’s a set of wheels we all share.
The wheel of the breath
is the one I am most apt to call upon when I’m rushing around my day. It is a vehicle that has been present forever,
from the moment we are born to the moment we die. We come out of our mama’s
womb, get a smack on the back and draw that first life-sustaining sip. It
continues to circle around and around every single moment of our lives,
sometimes like a hot-rod, fast with excitement and anticipation, sometimes like
a cruiser, slow with awe and wonder. Then one day, hopefully in the far-off distant
future, we sputter out the final exhale with no inhale on the other side - off
to the next adventure.
The wheel of the breath
is my closest companion and dearest beloved. Working with it skillfully has
saved my life more than once – in the midst of a terrible break up, on really
“bad” days when I’m confused and am not sure where to turn, when I have to
speak my truth even though my voice is shaking, and even at those times when
the excitement is killing me. Focusing on the evenness of my breath always
has the ability to return me to a state of balance.
It is also my most
powerful anchor to life. We can go as long as 40 days without food, three days
without water, but only two minutes without a breath.
The Upanishads, a group
of ancient texts, has a brilliant story I like to tell in classes (hopefully I'm getting it right). It’s about
the senses, which in this case included the mind and the breath. The senses
start fighting, as they do. This time it’s over which one is the most
important. After heated discussions that go on for way too long, they decide to
solve the argument by each leaving the body for a year. At the end of several
years, so the story goes, they would know which one was king (or queen as the case may be). One by one they
take their turns, and while there are certain challenges with each absence,
including blindness, deafness, and coma, the body still lives. Finally, the
breath takes its turn and within minutes the other senses begin to fade away.
“Wait” they call out in unison. “Come back! You are indeed the ruler of us
all.”
We cannot live without
the breath, and the practice of shaping it for greater ease is an ancient
practice. The Yoga Sutras, a 2000 years old text, states, “The mind can be made
stable and tranquil by regulating the breath” (Sutra 1.34).
Most of the time the breath
is unconscious. We breathe in and out without being aware of it. If we’re
stressed, the breath will become shallow and rapid. If we’re relaxed, the
breath becomes slow and long. If the mind is quiet, the breath is quiet. If the
mind is agitated, the breath is agitated. The breath reflects the mind
Yet, luckily, we can take
conscious control of this vehicle
of breath. Instead of the breath
simply reflecting the mind, it can shape it. This is a profoundly simple and
powerful piece of knowledge, and by employing it skillfully; we become the
conscious drivers of our own experience. With this knowledge, on our headless
chicken days, we can shift our experience to start one that feels a bit more
like an expansive, hawk-flying day.
As a wellness coach and
yoga therapist, the first thing I teach clients and students is the “natural
breath”, which is the tool to create this smooth, spacious ride. The "natural breath" (excerpts from Yoga Basics published by the Himalayan Institute) includes :
1. Breathing in and out of the nostrils. This warms and
moistens the air, which creates less stress on the body and therefore calms the
mind.
2.
Breathing from the
diaphragm. The lungs, unlike the heart, are not made of
muscle fibers and for this reason they can’t breathe by themselves. We must, in
fact, breathe the lungs. The choice of muscles we use and our ability to use
them skillfully makes all of the difference. Using the diaphragm – the
dome-shaped muscle lying below the lungs and above the organs – instead of the
intercostal or thoracic muscles will create a deeper sense of ease in body and
mind. When breathing from the diaphragm the lowest ribs will move in and out in
all directions and the low, mid and upper belly will expands and gently fall.
3.
Breath that is smooth.
Often there are little jerks and catches in the breath that reflect tensions
held largely outside our awareness. As we relax the body and simply watch the
breath, these jerks and catches - as well as some of the tensions - will naturally
melt away. Don’t worry about any that may remain, over time they too will begin
to disappear.
4.
Breath that is even.
To create stability in the mind, the inhale needs to be equal in length to the
exhale. For example, if you inhale a slow, steady count of four, then you can shape
the exhale to be the same, slow, steady count of four. In this way, you release
the same amount that you receive.
5. Breath that is without pause. Often,
we unconsciously hold the breath, either at the top of the inhale or the bottom
of the exhale. Both of these create stress on the system and can contribute to
a sense of constriction in the mind and emotions. Ideally, our inhale melts
into our exhale and our exhale melts into our inhale.
(An important side note
for those of you who have taken a yoga class! Some teachers, as well as some
parts of yoga therapy, will stress holding or suspending the breath at certain
points. While this kind of conscious shaping and breath control can cultivate
different energetic effects – for example relaxing or invigorating depending on
where the hold is inserted – they must be employed only after developing the
"natural breath" and with great awareness of an individual’s specific needs.)
Visualizing this smooth,
even, steady, unbroken breath, it will begin to look and feel a lot like an
oblong circle. The inhale comes up one side of the oval, transitions smoothly
into the exhale, which moves down the other side of the oval, until it
transitions smoothly into the next inhale. The breath becomes a wheel, and its
character (though strangely oval) creates a smoother, more expansive ride.
We are all born with a
natural breath, so why would we need to learn it? Simple. Over time postural
habits, stress, emotional responses, birth and life traumas, regular dietary
habits, cultural conditioning and much more will conspire to resist the natural
breath in our own unique and awkward way. Part of yoga therapy is to find
exactly where a client’s breath is tense, and then develop the skills to unwind
it and breathe more effortlessly.
The breath is a powerful vehicle
and everyone has it. So, when my mind and emotions are running away with me,
when the list of to-do seems too big to be done, when the running around seems
just a little too hectic, or the fight with a loved one won’t quite fall into
its proper place, it is the “natural breath” that I turn
to over and over again. When all else fails, I “let the inhale equal the exhale
and pray for grace”.
It has been said that we
only get so many breaths in a lifetime. Perhaps this is akin to a vehicle
getting only so many miles. Or maybe it comes from observing nature - a
hummingbird breathes up to 40 times a second and lives to the age of five, a
tortoise take a very, very, slow, long breath and can live up to 190 years.
Regardless of the number of breaths, I endeavor for all of them - both yours
and mine - to be free and full. I hope to skillfully and authentically ride
this ride, as literally, the ride of my life.
