Inhale, Exhale, Inhale, Exhale, …
August 31, 2010
When Ysabelle (my 16 year-old daughter) was just a child, I would sometimes bring her to class with me if I had not been able to arrange a sitter. Although you would most likely not see this today, ten years ago this was absolutely acceptable.
After class, she would often give me feedback about my teachings. One day, she said “You say inhale and exhale way too much because people breathe all day without your assistance”. Cute. True, and yet false.
How often do we catch ourselves holding our breath or breathing shallow breaths? Anyone who has studied the breath (and by “studying the breath”, I don’t mean reading a book about it – I mean really exploring how you breathe) knows from experience that the breath controls the mind. It’s simple: if the breath is short, shallow, and fragmented, our thoughts are often short, shallow, and fragmented too. This manifests in the body with all sorts of unnecessary discomforts.
Breathe, breathe, breathe. The breath is one of the most powerful tools you have to feel more physical ease and energy, to have mental clarity, and flow with life.
David Suzuki has a great piece on CBC about breath and oxygen. Enjoy!
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