Breathwork is a meditation technique that can heal trauma and release old patterns bringing us into presence. Join us April 2024 as we explore breathwork to heal and become more centered at Osho Leela Meditation Center, Boulder.
On breathwork: We are born – and the first thing we do is to inhale, and when we die, the last thing we do is to exhale. Breath is life itself.
“Breath and life have become synonymous. Breathing is the mechanism of life, and life is deeply related with breathing. That is why in India we call it prana. We have given one word for both – prana means the vitality, the aliveness. Your life is your breath.”
“Your breath is a bridge between you and your body. Constantly, breath is bridging you to your body, connecting you, relating you to your body. Not only is the breath a bridge to your body, it is also a bridge between you and the universe. The body is just the universe which has come to you, which is nearer to you.” —Osho
Breath is literally the bridge connecting us to existence. If we are only able to take in shallow breaths our breathing is blocked and our sense of aliveness and well-being are also blocked. Our inner world follows our breath and our outer world is deeply impacted by our breathing patterns. Our shallow breathing allows us to avoid, the uncomfortable feelings and emotions that we need to feel to process and release. As we continually suppress these sensations they become embedded in our bodies and cause disease. Breathing them into awareness and releasing them through breath is a powerful way to let go and heal.
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Indeed, our breath patterns are a mirror of our mental and emotional well-being. Breath work has the power to access our subconscious without mind interfering and thus transform and release old energies that no longer serve us.
“Breathing and thinking are deeply connected, as if they are two poles of one thing. You also sometimes become aware, if you are a little mindful, that whenever the mind changes, the breathing changes. For example, you are angry: immediately the breathing changes, the rhythm is gone. The breathing has a different quality. It is non-rhythmic.
“When you have passion, lust, sex takes over, the breathing changes; it becomes feverish, mad. When you are silent, just not doing anything, just feeling very relaxed, the breathing has a different rhythm. —Osho
Our breath links us to our body/mind/spirit and can connect us directly to the very center of our being where we find our resilience and inner truth. Thus, breathwork is a very accessible and natural way to access and practice meditation. Breathwork is a doorway into the cultivation of presence and belonging, It directly influences our physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual states. Shallow breathing reinforces old patterns of fear or not belonging. Deep breathing can release these nontruths and bring us into a state of relaxation and joy.
Bringing awareness to how we actually breathe is the key. Our breath not only brings needed oxygen to the body, but it can also bring prana (energy of life), which is needed to help nourish our body/mind/spirit.
Breathwork can also be used to energize and cleanse the body, such as with the technique known as breath of fire from the kundalini yoga tradition. The movement of the abdominal muscles powers this technique. Old energies are released and the breathwork allows a connection to the naval center where our determination and resilience can be accessed. Other breathwork techniques, such as alternate nostril breathing, can help us stay centered and less reactive. Long-slow-deep breathing can calm our nervous system and help with anxiety and depression.
“A child breathes naturally, and of course breathes more prana in, more chi in, and accumulates it in his belly. The belly is the accumulating place, the reservoir. Watch a child; that is the right way to breathe. When a child breathes, his chest is completely unaffected. His belly goes up and down. He breathes as if from the belly….That is the right way to breathe; remember not to use your chest too much….And one thing to be remembered: the chest is meant only for emergency situations because it is difficult in an emergency situation to breathe naturally, because if you breathe naturally you remain so calm and quiet you cannot run, you cannot fight. You are so calm and collected you are Buddha like.” — Osho
© deva arani