When the breath wanders...

Good health is key to happiness. If you’re not healthy, it’s a sure bet you’re not happy. Me, I actively seek out ways to improve my wellbeing. Yep, I’m proudly one of those people! I love nutritious food, I keep hydrated, I walk and stretch daily, and very importantly, I breathe well.

Back in March, I started Buteyko breathing techniques in order to manage a condition called Raynaud’s. I blogged about it here. What did I get out of it?

Very simply put, the techniques prevent me from over breathing which improves blood circulation. Its value lies in increasing carbon dioxide in the blood which is what brings more oxygen to muscles and organs.

Four months later, those techniques have become routine for me and my energy levels are rock steady, my mind so much clearer, my extremities are warmer and my Raynaud’s is 90% better (I’ll know more for sure come winter).

It’s a simple switch we all can make: calm, nasal breathing most of the time. Especially for people with asthma and allergies, it’s life-changing. When I read this quote today, I felt that I had to share it:

“When the breath wanders, the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed, the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.” --Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Hatha Yoga Pradipika is an ancient spiritual text. This quote struck me because too often mediums neglect their breathing, or are in the practice of taking deep mouth breaths which diminishes their oxygen levels.

If you think about it, deep breaths are akin to labored breathing, the over-breathing displayed by sick people,

Controlled nasal breathing is how people were designed to take in oxygen, and improving this one aspect can help focus the mind. The mind and the breath are intertwined, when your breath is “still”, that is calm nasal breathing without a heaving, sighing chest, your mind benefits from the increased oxygenation of your blood.  

Mediums who have better concentration are best able to discern spirit communication, the subtle changes in perception that occur when we are aware of spirit energies. Nasal breathing is natural, and Buteyko can teach us how to clear our nostrils, how to improve our intake of oxygen and hold it longer as being able to hold our breath for longer is an indicator of good health.

Having effortless breathing releases us to explore more subtle energies.