ON BREATH AND BREATHING
Celebrating the Benefits of Breathwork
One of the biggest results or benefits of breathwork for me is how it quiets my mind and takes me to a soft place of inner silence, stillness and peace, where there is no thought, no movement, and no ego… Just pure blissful awareness!
During my recent adventure with covid, I found myself spending a lot of time in that blissful state between waking and sleeping, where my mind feels spacious and my body feels weightless.
Throughout my bout with covid, I resisted taking any drugs or medical supplements. My practice was simply to open and relax and, to be with my breathing, allowing my breath to flow, and allowing myself to flow with it.
Whenever I found myself caught up in uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, I would remind my body to relax, and I would return my attention to the breath in order to quiet my mind. Sometimes I would consciously generate thoughts and feelings of peace and comfort, which caused the breath to move or pause or change in some way.
Sometimes I would focus on counting or pacing my breath or sensing it with my whole body, which resulted in even more comfort and peace—despite the suffering! And so, once again I am celebrating the art and science of breathwork!
And I am not alone in this celebration. Here is a list of results and benefits sent to me by other breathworkers in our community. Maybe you have experienced them:
Fully embraced the importance of self-love and self-care
Greater understanding of myself and others
Feeling more connected to myself and others
Created a new way of discovery and learning
Quit smoking. Lowered my blood pressure
Eliminated several prescription medications
Cleared my anxiety and depression
Became more spiritual rather than religious
Awakened real and abiding connection to Divinity, Source, God.
Enjoying many surprising discoveries about my self
A greater sense of calmness.
A bigger comfort zone
Noticed how subtle changes accumulate into major shifts
Awakening to wonderful new parts of myself
Able to bring spiritual principles to life rather than intellectualizing and philosophizing
Ability to surrender to what is, as it is.
Greater feelings of aliveness throughout the body
Noticing more brightness in the world, more brilliance around me
Much more conscious and aware of subtle body sensations
More freedom of expression. Less psychological baggage
Relationships with family, friends, co-workers are improving
Better athletic performance
Feeling more connected to earth energy.
I can energize and calm myself
Able to deal with and alleviate pain
Increased ability to slow down, pause, and take in moments of bliss
Able to consciously respond instead of reacting
Able to interrupt dysfunctional or un-resourceful patterns
More vibrant connection to my inner world
A stronger connection to Source. Feelings of oneness
Able to anchor new information, skills, insights
Less bothered by difficult people, things, and situations
Calmer, more focused. More open to love
More flexible psychologically and emotionally
Able to easily shift to a more positive perspective
Able to look at problems in different ways, and find unique solutions
Better intuition. Expanded psychic abilities.
Bubbling up of happiness and joy
Seeing more joy and aliveness in people’s eyes
Noticing a wonderful glow around others
More loving and accepting of myself and others
Not fighting and resisting life as much
Less judgmental, less guarded
Connecting more deeply to people
A delightful sense of newness
Noticing that my presence has a real healing impact on others
With each session, there is a peeling away of layers
I am becoming more whole and freer
Helped get me through a serious life-threatening condition
Support in dealing with cancer
I am firmly set on the path of growth and self-healing
Greater ability to love and accept whatever life brings
More positive attitude. Less critical of self and others
Helps with sleep disorders
I can watch my mind
Seeing how my mind tries to change reality to match its ideas
More conscious of choices, fears, energetic blocks
Willingness to explore instead of avoid.
More able to say “yes” to life. More adventurous.
Able to observe myself in different situations instead of being lost in automatic behaviors
Seeing my own patterns more clearly
Realize how when I change, other people and my world seems to change.
Do many of these results and benefits ring true for you? I can relate to almost all of them. And I invite you to add to this list!
Love and blessings to all,
