Breathing

The above illustration can be found at the following link. You will find more information there on breathing. http://www.geocities.com/flutepower55/breathing.html


I had hoped to do today's blog on the mind and emotions but no. I feel I must add one more thing about breathing and muscle tension.

Learning about the importance of proper breathing and releasing unnecessary muscle tension throughout the day is easy to learn intellectually. Internalizing this important knowledge into our day to day life is not easy. The human mind can only remember consciously so much for so long. Then the knowledge or awareness fades away and old habits resume their dominate place in our lives. For instance, we learn diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing in a class that deals with any number of disciplines like singing or playing the flute. Perhaps we learn it in a yoga or chi kung class. Or we are taught belly breathing as a form of stress reduction or for meditation.

We learn belly or diaphragmatic breathing and we are very conscious about doing it. Then we are done with the class or we put down the instrument and we go on with our lives. Within seconds to minutes most people are back to breathing from and to their upper chest. This type of breathing is often called neurosis because it can help to produce neurosis. So the reality for the vast majority of people who know about diaphragmatic breathing is that they do not do it enough to really impact their mental/physical/emotional/social health. There is a saying in the Christian Bible, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." That is very true about diaphragmatic breathing and muscle awareness.

It is only by making a clear and consistent intentional commitment to do diaphragmatic breathing all through the day in all kinds of circumstances especially stressful ones, that you have any chance to really change your breathing pattern. It is only by committing to noticing your breathing throughout the day that you can be aware of when you have slipped back into neurosis breathing and change back to diaphragmatic breathing. It is an on going meditation. Many schools of Buddhism teach breath awareness as something one should do all day everyday. This intentional commitment and life long practice of being aware of your breathing is totally necessary, and there is no way around it. I know because this is the only way I have been able to do it.

What is true about what it takes to get the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing, is just as true about noticing and release muscle tension. It has to become a conscious and intentional part of our everyday life or the results will be minimal. There is no way to get away from disciplined commitment and consistent work if you want anything worth having in this life.