Thoughts of Breath
One of the first times I went to see my teacher, Guru Prem Singh Khalsa, he told me that he knew how I was going to die. Smiling, he said, “You’re going to die on an exhale, just like everyone else. And, by the way, you were born on an inhale, just like everyone else.” I thought about that for a moment and tried to disprove these theories in my mind. Quickly I realized they were true. There simply is no way to die on an inhale nor is it possible to be born on an exhale.
Our entire life is bookmarked by our first inhale and last exhale. In between these points, our breath is essentially continuous. In the hierarchy of needs in the Human Body, Breath is #1. We can go with out food and even water for a relatively long time, but without precious oxygen carried into our lungs upon our breath, we are ‘forced to exit’ in a matter of minutes.
It is no surprise that yoga and meditation often uses the breath as a point of focus and as a tool for transforming our awareness of self and life. For it is through the breath that we are able to master our mind. Have you ever noticed that the more we are aware of our breath throughout our daily lives, the better things seem to go. When we are angry for example, our breath becomes frequent and shallow. If we are able to expand the breath at that moment and slow it down, we will feel a shift in our emotional state almost immediately. So from that perspective the breath is an important tool, which can help us to control emotions and our reaction to them.
Breath is one of the greatest tools we have to access our endocrine system without the use of drugs, alcohol and other stimuli. Through powerful pranayama exercises, yogis have been leveraging the power of “the infinite pharmacy within” for thousands of years. There is something to be said for this kind of technology. To realize that there is something you can do to change your mood, which simultaneously strengthens your body without any deleterious effect whatsoever is pretty amazing. Once you experience it and feel the power that comes from mastery of mind and body, there is no turning back.
Breath is also the vehicle for our words. Our friend, the exhale, is the responsible party here. For it is on the exhale that our words are carried forth to express ourselves in whatever ways our consciousness dictates. Our words are the most powerful thing we have. Words can heal. Words can connect us. Words can destroy and tear us apart from each other.
By paying close attention to our breath and by practicing powerful pranayama, meditation and yoga exercises, we are able to tap the source root for inner power and personal transformation. With these thoughts in mind sit down still, close your eyes, and breath to the fullest capacity of your lungs for three minutes.
