LEARN TO BREATHE
Spiritual Illumination of the Importance of Proper Breathing
Sri Sudarshan, Founder, SKYLIGHT YOGA™
Sri Sudarshan, Founder, SKYLIGHT YOGA™
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 work on muscles that unconsciously control breathing. This is the way that human beings are able to change their own wiring and evolve.
When you learn to breathe, you are also letting go of tension. This practice of releasing tension through breathing is the first step in moving toward who we really are. You cannot move forward until you release what is stopping you. 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 do not learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you cannot let go of fear, anxiety, pain and stress. If you do not learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you are unable to control your own mind and thoughts, to which you seem chained. However, if you do learn how to breathe and let go of fear, then you will learn how to release tension, anxiety and stress; and you will be surprised at what else you can learn to let go of.
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 is here to serve us in these major ways, if only we would learn how to 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 mentally organizes and harmonizes itself when you understand the importance and develop the practice of proper breathing.
When you learn to breathe, you are also letting go of tension. This practice of releasing tension through breathing is the first step in moving toward who we really are. You cannot move forward until you release what is stopping you. 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 do not learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you cannot let go of fear, anxiety, pain and stress. If you do not learn how to breathe, do not be surprised if you are unable to control your own mind and thoughts, to which you seem chained. However, if you do learn how to breathe and let go of fear, then you will learn how to release tension, anxiety and stress; and you will be surprised at what else you can learn to let go of.
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 is here to serve us in these major ways, if only we would learn how to 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 mentally organizes and harmonizes itself when you understand the importance and develop the practice of proper breathing.
Sri Sudarshan Jyotirmayananda
Published June 6, 2020. Written May 3, 2020.
Copyright 2023 © SKYLIGHT YOGA™
Feel free to cite and share, Om!
Published June 6, 2020. Written May 3, 2020.
Copyright 2023 © SKYLIGHT YOGA™
Feel free to cite and share, Om!
