Gazing in the Mirror

February 9 - The Importance of Breathing

When the breath is calmed
the mind too will be still,
and the yogi achieves long life.
~ Svatmarama, Hatha Yoga Pradipika

When we associate our breathing
With the very Life and Light of
God, nothing can retard the flow
of life through us.
~ Ernest Holmes

I was reading the Daily Guide in the 2013 Science of Mind Magazine for Feb 8th and I was reminded of the importance of breathing. I had not been home for even 24 hours when I hurried off to resume my weekly yoga class. I wanted to thank my yoga instructor for the value I had discovered of my consistent practice and her instructions as I had come to realize them during our travels.

Our 4 mile hike down the Bright Angel Trail into the Grand Canyon in Arizona was my 3rd trek there in a decade. If it were not so astoundingly beautiful, it would be nothing more than an exercise in endurance. It is a seriously difficult and strenuous hike. It is very steep and the descent/ascent quite rapid in elevation change. It takes twice as long to come back up out of there as it does to go down into the canyon. Our hike took 6 hours and we arrived back at our lodging with only a little bit of daylight left in our day.

In my yoga classes, my instructor repeatedly draws our attention to our breath. In the last year I have also used breath work consciously and intentionally to clear and strengthen my heart. I have focused on my solar plexus and with my various dietary challenges have sought to discover a balanced, appropriate weight. With the last 2 hikes into the Grand Canyon (going approx as far and lasting almost the same amount of time as the most recent), I have found going uphill out of the canyon to be a serious challenge and while I have paced myself according to my own capabilities, I have found myself quite out of breath and breathing rapidly but was unaware that I was breathing in a shallow way. It seems that a majority of the living and breathing people on this planet are shallow breathers.

So it was that year I was actually happy to begin the ascent. For one thing, I did something to my knees on a day we were celebrating my oldest son's 11th birthday. We were at this marvelous place called Elephant Rocks here in Missouri and I jumped down upon solid rock from about 4 feet up or so increasing the force of impact on my knees.  Within 24 hours I knew I had made a grave error. The pain in my knees is not constant nor is it acute – that part lasted only for a few weeks – but my knees have been a challenge me for me ever since and in January 2019, I had a stem cell treatment and reduced the length of my hikes and can still do yoga poses but limit how much I go down stairs. Aging requires adjustments and modification.  So that last time, I found the descent into the canyon to be very difficult because the movement was like stepping down stairs. It seems that going up stairs does not cause such pain. I suppose it comes with an aging body now approaching 66 years with much wear upon it.

I did thank my yoga teacher that year for the joy of discovering that my breathing was easy during my 4 hour ascent out of the Grand Canyon. My breathing was effective and deep and energizing for my muscles. It was quite a joy to discover that. I also consciously use my breath to lower my blood pressure or to slow my heartrate, if I find it beating a bit too vigorously. I am fully aware of the blessing of being able to breathe freely and easily and understand that not all human beings enjoy such ease and healthy support.

What I was not fully appreciative of until I read that Daily Guide yesterday was how much a breath interconnects us. Of course on some mental level I realized that we all share the same oxygen in the Earthly atmosphere and that it is continually recycled including with the wondrous assistance of the plants of our planet. What I didn't know was about the gas Argon. It seems that we exhale this gas when we breathe out and that it is a heavy gas and therefore remains quite close to the planet's surface but it does circulate. And so it has been calculated that each breath remains in your neighborhood for a few hours. Within a week it has circulated throughout your country and throughout the planet within a month. Each day we breathe in about 15 Argon atoms. With each breath we revisit the entire past and participate fully in all future moments.

~ perspective

I am grateful for the ease
and depth of my breathing.
I realize that breathing is
the most important activity
that I do each day.
I feel a deep sense of
compassion for any person
whose experience is difficulty
in breathing.
I am aware of how my breath
connects me with all of Life.
I appreciate the Love that gave
me Lungs to process nutrients.

#aging #argon #breath #endurance #health #heart #hiking #injury #knees #yoga