Meditation and Relaxation: Relaxation thru breathing techniques

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Meditation and Relaxation: Relaxation thru breathing techniques

Breathing

In the true sense, cosmic consciousness and the life force emanating from it through the medium of the will is the source of life. But in creation, breath is the chord that ties the soul to the body. When breath stops, the body is just an inanimate corpse; the nervous system no longer works, the mind is extinguished, and life (as we understand it) comes to an end.

Life in the ordinary man is preserved by breath which links the mind to the body, but great saints and sages through their divine practices have always been able to enter the state of no-breath and still continue to sustain the body in total consciousness.

Each of us keeps breathing, day in and day out , without ever being bothered about it or even serenading a thoughtful "thanks" to the One who lets us live and experience, courtesy this automatic medium. Yet, it is not the breath, but the life force ( prana ) that keeps us alive. In the average individual so identified with the breath, it is seemingly the breath that keeps him or her alive; it is the very breath of their lives!

On the physical level, the breath is the manifestation of more subtle energies of the subtle bodies of the being. The breath itself is not cosmic energy. The cosmic energy in fact breaks up the breath into the force that can be used by the body to sustain it, and it is the same same energy that forces out of our body, the unwanted residue of unedible mass that has accumulated therein.

Just as our physical bodies breathe in air, so too, do our subtle bodies (the etheric, emotional, mental, causal, and higher bodies) also breathe in energy in various forms and frequency levels, viz., influences, magnetism, thoughts, etc. And if it is vital to breathe in pure, refreshing air, then it is also essential that we take in only pure, positive, and loving thoughts and emotions into our beings.

Just as breath comes in and goes, thoughts, emotions, feelings also come in and go. All these are simply manifestation of the One same energy at different levels of being, broken down into more and more subtle or gross levels, whichever way you see it. Each level, and their manifestations are connected.

This is why, when we regulate our breathing, we automatically also regulate our thoughts and vice-versa. A correspondence exists between each level. No wonder then, that the Yogis ask us to commence any typical meditation schedule with a few moments on calming and regulating the breath.

The breathing exercises called Pranayama (life force control) induce regulation of the breathing and rhythmic action of the Prana. When the Prana is working rhythmically, everything works properly. When Yogis get control over their bodies, if there is any disease in any part, they realize that the Prana there is not rhythmic and they direct the Prana to the affected part until the rhythm is re-established.

Breathing correctly helps regulate your entire psychophysical structure. Calm breath calms the mind, and heavy, rapid breathing accelerates the tempo of your thoughts and leads to tension of the body. The function of the breath is to supply oxygen to the body and to cleanse and purify the dark impure blood into vitalising red blood.

The breath indirectly supplies energy to the body by the explosion of oxygen into atoms of life force. Through habit, our bodies have become accustomed to food and air, but if we de-condition ourselves and train ourselves to life more by the life force, the less will we need to depend on secondary sources of sustenance, such as, food, oxygen, water, and sunshine.

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See also: Meditation and Relaxation, Meditation, Meditation for Beginners, Meditation Techniques)