Comments on: Taking a Breath and Coming Back to Center http://overcomersinc.com/archives/517 Ture Stories of Hope, Courage and Inspiration Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:21:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Margaret Sarkissian http://overcomersinc.com/archives/517/comment-page-1#comment-49 Margaret Sarkissian Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:23:03 +0000 http://overcomersinc.com/?p=517#comment-49 Hi Catherine, The video clip of you in your beautiful garden made me reflect on how critical breathing awareness is to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, yet it’s something we barely acknowledge. The first thing we do when we enter our lives is breathe; the last thing we do as we exit this lifetime is to release our final breath. And in between we will breathe on average, 16 times every minute, which over a lifetime of 80 years will total 672,768,000 breaths of life. Yet in this culture we pay so little attention to the one thing that our very lives depend upon. We can last for a few days without water, longer without food, but we depend on the next breath, the one we are all breathing right now, to keep us alive. Breathing is the foundation of much of our wellness. Slow deep, mindful abdominal breathing lowers our heart and respiration rates, decreases blood pressure and muscle tension, and increases the oxygen supply to our brains which in turn aids in mental concentration. In addition, slow abdominal breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, the “feed/breed” mode (as opposed to the “fight/flight” mode), which induces a sense of calm and connectedness between mind and body. Cultivating breath awareness is an essential skill for people struggling with anxiety or panic disorders, as it is the doorway to the body’s relaxation response. Most people who suffer with either of these debilitating problems breathe shallowly, high up in the chest area. Learning to breathe deeply from the abdomen is the first step in interrupting the pattern of nervous system arousal that leads to out-of-control anxiety or fear. Lastly, and most importantly, breathing is the entrée to a connection with the Divine. Start and end your day by remembering that your breath is a gift from the Divine. Visualize yourself breathing in Divine love, breathing out fear. Breathe in hope, breathe out disappointment and discouragement. Breathe in peace, breathe out peace to the world around you. Blessings, Margaret Hi Catherine,
The video clip of you in your beautiful garden made me reflect on how critical breathing awareness is to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, yet it’s something we barely acknowledge. The first thing we do when we enter our lives is breathe; the last thing we do as we exit this lifetime is to release our final breath. And in between we will breathe on average, 16 times every minute, which over a lifetime of 80 years will total 672,768,000 breaths of life. Yet in this culture we pay so little attention to the one thing that our very lives depend upon. We can last for a few days without water, longer without food, but we depend on the next breath, the one we are all breathing right now, to keep us alive.

Breathing is the foundation of much of our wellness. Slow deep, mindful abdominal breathing lowers our heart and respiration rates, decreases blood pressure and muscle tension, and increases the oxygen supply to our brains which in turn aids in mental concentration. In addition, slow abdominal breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, the “feed/breed” mode (as opposed to the “fight/flight” mode), which induces a sense of calm and connectedness between mind and body. Cultivating breath awareness is an essential skill for people struggling with anxiety or panic disorders, as it is the doorway to the body’s relaxation response. Most people who suffer with either of these debilitating problems breathe shallowly, high up in the chest area. Learning to breathe deeply from the abdomen is the first step in interrupting the pattern of nervous system arousal that leads to out-of-control anxiety or fear.

Lastly, and most importantly, breathing is the entrée to a connection with the Divine. Start and end your day by remembering that your breath is a gift from the Divine. Visualize yourself breathing in Divine love, breathing out fear. Breathe in hope, breathe out disappointment and discouragement. Breathe in peace, breathe out peace to the world around you.
Blessings,
Margaret

]]> By: Jan Janzen http://overcomersinc.com/archives/517/comment-page-1#comment-45 Jan Janzen Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:54:15 +0000 http://overcomersinc.com/?p=517#comment-45 Breathing is such a normal part of life that we take for granted but most of us don´t do a very good job of it! Thanks Catherine for the lovely reminder. Breathing is such a normal part of life that we take for granted but most of us don´t do a very good job of it! Thanks Catherine for the lovely reminder.

]]> By: Colleen Bain http://overcomersinc.com/archives/517/comment-page-1#comment-44 Colleen Bain Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:13:18 +0000 http://overcomersinc.com/?p=517#comment-44 Catherine, Just watching you bask in the sun and be relaxed helped me to calm down. :-) Thanks for the tips to remember to breathe! Colleen Catherine,

Just watching you bask in the sun and be relaxed helped me to calm down. :-) Thanks for the tips to remember to breathe!

Colleen

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