Dear Yogis / Dear Yoginis,

Breathing Through Tough Times

Learning to breathe consciously is a gift you can give to yourself at any time.

Apart from flooding your tissues and cells with a rich supply of oxygen, training yourself to breathe with awareness also trains your brain to shift its attention away from negative thoughts and stimuli and towards the positive aspects inherent in any situation.

You begin to realize that even though you cannot control some situations or people, you can release yourself from heavy states such as anxiety, depression or anger simply by choosing to breathe with awareness.

The ancient Yogis may have been the first to discover the close connection between breathing and emotional/
mental states but all of us, whether we know it or not, acknowledge this close relationship. So our breath and our emotional states are absolutely linked.

When our emotional and mental states change, it is inevitably reflected in our breathing patterns. If we are startled, we gasp by rapidly expanding the chest and tensing the abdomen as well as other muscles in preparation for the primitive reactions of 'fight' or 'flight.'

If we are in a state of fear, our breathing is rapid and shallow - we literally pant with fear - and if we grow angry, it tends be characterized by quick rapid inhalations and stronger rapid exhalations.

When we're in pain (or anticipating it) we tend to hold our breath. And if we are grieving intensely, we sob and find it hard to find our breath. When sadness passes, most people sigh deeply with relief.

Many people are not aware of the breath-body-mind connection. By ignoring the breath altogether or by consistently breathing as if under pressure, they actually create a state of tension, which becomes self-perpetuating and self-fulfilling.

It's a vicious circle- consistently breathing as if in a state of stress, anxiety or depression actually creates and sustains that pervasive negative state, which only reinforces unhealthy breathing patterns. In tough times, think of the breath as the first tool you can reach for.

Develop the habit of breathing smoothly, gently and steadily whenever you notice your thoughts and emotions beginning to dive, reel and lurch like a badly flown kite.

Notice, with pleasure and a sense of curiosity, how, just by changing your breath, you can change your emotional state to one of steadiness, happiness and confidence.

Control your inner state through your breath and marvel at how tough times become transformed by learning to fly gracefully above them.

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