LEARN TO BREATHE

Spiritual Illumination of the Importance of Proper Breathing
Sri Sudarshan, Founder & Leader at SKYLIGHT YOGA™

Published June 6, 2020
May 13, 2020 | Planet Earth | Milky Way

PROPER BREATHING
Why is it important to learn how to breathe?

One of the basic skills that we practice in Yoga is learning how to breathe. We learn to slowly deepen the inhale and fully release the exhale. In advanced practice, there is also the prolonged and controlled retention of breath. As we learn to breathe consciously, we begin working on the muscles that control breathing unconsciously.

When you learn to breathe, you are also learning to let go of tension. This practice of releasing tension through breathing is the first step in moving towards who we really are. You cannot move forward until you release what is stopping you now. And so this ability to breathe in order to let go of stress and anxiety is the first step in the process of transformation, of awakening.

If you cannot learn to breathe, do not be surprised if you cannot learn to let go of tension and physical pains. But if you can learn how to breathe and let go of tension, then you will be surprised at what else you can learn and let go of.

If you are unable to make time to learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you are unable to let go of fear, anxiety or stress. If you cannot learn proper breathing, do not be surprised if you cannot control your own thoughts, which you cannot seem to get free of. But if you do learn how to breathe, then you will learn to release fear, anxiety and stress.

With practice you find that, in learning how to breathe, the breath seems to take with it that which you want to release or get free of. The breath serves us in major ways, if only we would relax and allow the breath to do its job. Things that we struggle with, things that we are trying to figure out how to fix, how to change, all of this falls away by itself when you develop an understanding of the importance of learning how to breathe.