The breath of life

Being conscious of our breath enhances self-awareness. It allows an individual to come into their body more and tune into it’s inner world,  energy and feelings. It is an exercise in self care when we consciously take space, sit for a while with ourselves and tune into our feelings. The quality of our responses to the world around us can be greatly enhanced, through mindful breath work, as far too often our reactions do not reflect our truest desire or nature if coming from an anxious place of stress or shallow breathing.

Mindful breathing opens up a deeper connection to what one wants to experience and what one does not want to experience in their life, giving the opportunity to sit into a more empowered position of choice. True adaptability and empowerment in life is found when we choose according to individual desire. Mindful breathing facilitates the clarity needed to make truthful decisions about oneself.

In Chinese medicine the lungs represent our inspiration and contact with life. How open or closed we are to experience and what borders we hold up in any give situation. We could call this a ‘control’ mechanism or self defence. I prefer to promote the concept or idea of ‘receptivity’.

Receptivity is coming from a far more accountable and adaptable space, as one is not stuck in any kind of interpersonal exchange and is empowered by acknowledgement! Something is either: beneficial or non beneficial without placing any judgement as either good or bad. We can be receptive and act accordingly. Receptivity is allowance without judgement and empowers choice. One can then move forward in any challenge or situation.

Far too often we hold the judgement of an experience in our lungs as a grief, expressions like that ‘person is causing me grief!’ is an obvious example of how we hold onto experience in judgement. If we are receptive we are open to the process and open to our exchange in that. life is always moving towards harmony, our bodies do this naturally through breath, that is why when we sigh or yawn we release either a control or tiredness from the body. Rejecting anything in life is where the problems arise in flow. We find that our energy and body become stuck in all the feelings, desires and movements we have supressed. As children we moved in spontaneity naturally and from a space of body flow and awareness.

The lungs are ultimately the space of exchange and contact with life. When we breathe mindfully we give ourselves the time to engage with our process and the valuable time to process our feelings and move our energy  in that. Receptivity is not always an easy action to engage with as it requires a shift in mind-set and as human beings we are often stuck in the groundhog of our habitual responses and reactions. Breathing mindfully each day opens up a deeper recognition of ourselves and relaxes the body. A relaxed body is capable of waking up and healing itself. The body innately knows what to do so that life-harmony balance is restored to a natural state of flow and energy movement. A very simple technique to practice is the art of mindful breathing and to yawn for five minutes each day without stopping before bedtime and while stretching the arms out simultaneously.

If you wish to learn the mindful art of Japanese life-harmony balance please come visit our page Seiki Soho International from Ireland to Japan or visit: www.soulwaystherapy.ie to book in for an appointment or workshop experience.

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