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| The Subtle Art Of Breathing; Our Birthright!Our very first breath as we entered this planet, brought us into life. Most os us take breath for granted; I know I do. But what if you couldn’t find your breath? Panic. When I was a young girl, I loved to swim. I would stay out in the cold water until my fingers and toes turned blue, and only then begrudgingly come out. In college I found some really remote swimming holes, and would get up right at dawn so the first light was the only glimmer of sun to show the way in the early morning dew. I felt so free, so received by life. i do remember, though, how I would test my strength by swimming long distances under water without coming up for breath, and then HAVE to get to the surface or pass out. Like an altered state of consciousness, I had tested fate just a little bit by letting myself get so light-headed. Fast forward to my dancing career in NYC. Upon arrival at the ripe of age of 21, I had decided that for some reason, I had to cross the entire floor without taking a breath in order to fulfill the choreography that either I or a teacher had constructed. Ridiculous! But actually, i couldn’t figure out how to move and breathe at the same time! Not until I started to take the art of breathing very seriously, that is. This was a matter of coordination, and I just didn’t get it. Now, having taught body-mind awareness and mindfulness practices for many years, I do see the over arching effect that NOT BREATHING WELL has on all of us. Seriously, I would say MOST of my students interfere with their breath simply standing up. And, from my perspective, the very many breathing techniques out there, whether doing a yoga practice, running, or just walking around, breathing well is a mystery that most of us have not solved. Breathing well is a subtle, beautiful process that “does itself” if we leave ourselves alone and don’t interfere. Even the idea of “stand up straight” creates the problem of interfering with our breathing. Imagine having that idea or attitude constantly pulling down on your back muscles while thinking you are doing something good for yourself! Not fair. But back to my first thought for today; that breathing is our birthright…we are meant for fluid, beautiful poised movement but a lifetime of habit has left us tense, tight, and exhausted. So what to do about it? Here are a few suggestions: 🔸 Spend some time every day lying on the floor with your knees bent and about 14 inches apart from one another. Make sure you have a few softbound books under your head to manage your free neck, and just breathe quietly and deeply for about 10 minutes. We call this “Active Rest” in The Alexander Technique. 🔶 Stand quietly with your arms down at your sides and your shoulders balancing without pressing down or pulling back, and feel into your body. Is one side different from the other? Does one foot turn out, or is it behind the other foot? Breathe quietly in and out for a few minutes and see if you can let your head ease upward from the top of your spine while the legs stay grounded. 🔸 Put on some music and swing your arms up and down like you were a big bird lifting off the ground. Get your whole body into it. Shake, rattle and roll for a few minutes, then see if your breathing got freer. I have a lot of movement ideas that are simple and fun to do, that can get you out of the patterns of holding your breath that you may have not even realized. For today, though, I want to take you to an educational video that I did that teaches some of the basics of the art of breathing. I hope you take the time to watch!! Sending so much love,Diane |
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