Breathing

Breathing, the universal ebb and flow

Man breathing

Everything breathes- trees, oceans, even stones… The earth is alive and it breathes; the stars too. Yes, they breathe in and out and the influence of their respiration is felt even here on earth…. Respiration can reveal great mysteries to you, but only when you accompany it with some mental work. As you breathe out, think that you are expanding to the very limits of the universe and then, as you breathe in again, you contract and withdraw into yourself, into your Self, that imperceptible point at the centre of an infinite circle. Again  you expand and again you contract… …

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Breathing and the mystery of life

picture of woman breathing

All the mystery of life is contained in our breathing. But life is neither to be confused with the act of breathing nor with air itself. Life has its origins in an element higher than air and for which air is a food: fire. Yes, life originates in fire. Air serves only to feed this fire, and without the presence of air the fire goes out. The lungs merely feed the fire that burns in the heart. The primary cause of life, therefore, is fire, and air, its brother, sustains and enlivens it. When man breathes his last, the fire …

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Deep breathing from the diaphragm- its spiritual benefits

Breathing head

You must realise that, in order to undertake spiritual work of any kind you must be sure that you eat and breathe harmoniously. The two processes are governed by the same laws. Just as it is bad to swallow your food without chewing it, it is bad, also, to breathe so rapidly that the air does not have time to expand your lungs and fill them right down to the bottom. You must draw deep, slow breaths and even, from time to time, hold the air in your lungs for a few seconds before breathing out again. Why? In order …

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Rhythmic breathing- the universal ebb and flow

‘Everything breathes- trees, oceans, even stones… The earth is alive and it breathes; the stars too. Yes, they breathe in and out and the influence of their respiration is felt even here on earth…. Respiration can reveal great mysteries to you, but only when you accompany it with some mental work. As you breathe out, think that you are expanding to the very limits of the universe and then, as you breathe in again, you contract and withdraw into yourself, into your Self, that imperceptible point at the centre of an infinite circle. Again  you expand and again you contract… …

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Breathe in Prana – respiration in the open air

Bench overlooking lake with trees

We should ideally do our morning gymnastic and breathing exercises every day in nature so as to benefit from the purest air possible, since it’s from the air that we can harness this precious quintessence the Indian yogis called prana. Prana is life energy that exists everywhere, in the earth, in water, air and fire, but it is mainly carried by the sun’s rays, and is most abundant in the early morning. Each particle of this prana is like a drop of crystalline water, a tiny, suspended sphere of light filled with a spiritual essence. And we can capture some …

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Yogic breathing

Breathing and its workings have been studied closely by yogis in India for many thousands of years and they have understood their importance for our vitality and also for the correct functioning of our mind. And since they researched the subject so thoroughly, they also discovered that all the rhythms in our body are related to cosmic rhythms. So, in order to make contact with certain entities or regions in the spiritual world, we need to find its specific rhythm and use it as we would a key. This is exactly what happens when we seek to tune into a …

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