The Breath of Life : coping with covid-19
Coronovirus attacks our respiratory system so keeping this as healthy as possible is really important right now. Spend a few minutes every day doing conscious breathing. Breath is life and as soon as we bring our attention to it our breathing naturally becomes deeper and slower. Each inhalation brings oxygen and life force energy (prana or chi) into our body to nourish every cell. Each exhalation is a cleansing process getting rid of toxins like carbon dioxide and other waste products that our body doesn’t want.
Every breath also massages our internal organs helping them to keep healthy as the diaphragm moves downwards creating more space in the rib cage for the lungs to expand. This is why it is important to relax our belly as we inhale allowing this natural movement to occur. The movement of breath in our body is like a wave that rises on the inhale and falls on the exhale, with expansion beginning in the belly then moving up to the rib cage (which expands in all directions) and finally to the top of the chest beneath the collar bones - where the top of our lungs are. Becoming conscious of our breathing also helps to let go of unnecessary muscle tension which so often restricts not just our respiration but also our circulation and digestion.
We have 20,000 opportunities everyday to become aware of our breath - one conscious breath often leads to another one and so on until it becomes a beneficial habit. Any time you are feeling anxious bring your attention to your breath to help break the cycle of stress creating tension that restricts breathing which in turn creates more anxiety & stress hormones (see my blog on How Yoga Relieves Stress). Yoga has many breathing exercises (pranayama) but conscious full yogic breathing is the simplest and most profound.
Meditation is simply being with the breath and noticing what is happening - physical sensations, thoughts or emotions, without making any value judgements and without trying to change anything. Accepting whatever arises with a kind curiosity and gently bringing the attention back to the breath - again and again. Give yourself love and compassion for whatever difficulty you are experiencing. It is this mindfulness practice that builds resilience to life’s challenges and becomes the basis for health and happiness. Life is not what happens to us but how we respond to it.
Becoming conscious of our breath links our mind to our body and naturally brings us into the present moment - where all life happens. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but the present is a gift. Our breath is the anchor to being fully alive and present - moment by moment and breath by breath. It is all we have. Who knows what the future will bring? We know that one day we will die - as will every other living being on this planet. Until then let us truly LIVE.
Namaste Om Shanti
