To: K-list
Recieved: 2000/07/28 11:16
Subject: Re: [K-list] Breathing
From: Mystress Angelique Serpent
On 2000/07/28 11:16, Mystress Angelique Serpent posted thus to the K-list:
At 03:43 PM 7/25/00, Mystress Angelique Serpent wrote:
> Yes, some AOL and hotmail accounts seem to lose mail.. dunno why,
>something about how egroups does things...
> Sorry to be so absent these days.. I have been having an incredibly
>difficult summer, and I intend to have my Tantra course up and open for
>students by August 1. Lots to do, yet..
> Blessings!
What have I been up to? Writing essays, like this one... on Breathing..
Delete or enjoy!
Blessings..
Quotes.
Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time, which
every day produces, and which most men throw away, but which nevertheless
will make at the end of it no small deduction for the life of man.
C. C. Colton
Many were the times when people would tell Ajaan Fuang that -- with
all the work and responsibilities in their lives -- they had no time to
meditate. And many were the times he'd respond, "And you think you'll have
time after you're dead?"
Ajaan Fuang Jotiko
Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and
done with, and the future is uncertain. Marcus Aurelius
"With whose support does the breath move in and out? It is not we who
bring the breath in and out of the body. The breathing process takes place
on it's own, by the will of God.... The force that makes the breath go in
and out is the supreme Consciousness, the supreme energy. In fact, the
scriptures tell us that it is the very Universal Consciousness itself that
comes in and goes out at the breath." Swami Muktananda. (I AM That.)
.......................................................
Focusing on your breathing is a is an excellent way to bring yourself
back into the moment. If you just stop for moment, and breathe, you will
automatically become more grounded.
When I was an Improv artist, that was one of tricks we learned. My
improvisation Guru Keith Johnstone taught us that whenever we got stuck on
stage and didn't know what to do, all we had to do was to take a breath and
inspiration would come. Improvisation was wonderful training. Stop and
breathe. Whenever you stop to focus on your breath, that will bring you
fully into the moment.
Your breathing is connected to the Power Chakra, which handles the
issues of your Power in the world, and the breath of life. Most of the time
when people are under stress they hold the breath instinctively. Holding
the breath puts your body into an even more stressful state, so when you
hold your breath you don't get more relaxed, you get more stressed! It is
very important to simply remember to stop and breathe!
When you combine remembering to stop and breathe, with remembering to
get grounded, then you will completely change your state. Not only are you
breathing, to bring yourself back into the moment that you are also
remembering to open yourself to receiving more life energy from the earth,
and Divine inspiration in your crown.
I don't teach any complicated breath techniques. The yogic breathing
techniques are notorious for bringing up too much information from the
unconscious all at once. I think they're very unnatural, they are not
surrender. They sometimes tend to put the body into a state of stress
instead of the state of relaxation.
Having said that, I want top little bit about how you breathe. How to
get your body back to balance and breathing naturally, as it was meant to.
Many people, particularly those who worked at a desk all day long tend
to have very bad posture. They are slouched for ward into the posture which
collapses the bottom of their lungs into the belly, and so they are only
breathing with the top of their lungs. It is very important to learn to
keep your back straight and breathe right into your belly.
Try it now. Sit up straight, bend over backward little bit and try to
stick to the bottom of your ribs out as far as you can. Take a deep breath
like this. Can you feel the bellows like action of the bottom of your ribs
expanding and contracting with each breath? Take a few deep breaths like
this. Do you feel how invigorating that is? Put your hands on your
shoulders with your elbows sticking out to side, and flap like a bird,
feeling your shoulder blades moving. Take a deep breath, expanding the
bottom of your ribs. You may have got a little bit light headed, because
you're probably not used to getting that much oxygen into your brain! But
oxygen is very important!
Prana is even more important, and you take it in by breathing. When
your breath feels like your lungs go down to your pelvis, you are feeling
the circulation of prana.. The breath is Life energy. Even rocks breathe,
in their own way. Expanding in the heat, and contracting when the heat
energy is lost. They grow and change by this, mountains becoming sand and
then topsoil to feed new life.
Now, I want you to try something else. Stand up and bend over, and wrap
your hands around the bottom of your rib cage at the sides and take a few
deep breaths. In this way it is very easy to feel the bellows action of
your ribs as you breathe. Feel the expansion? This is how you are meant to
breathe.
Now go back into your chair and slouch over as you were before. Do you
feel the difference? When you are slouching, your ribs are unable to expand
in the same way. When you are slouching, you could only breath with the top
of your lungs, and this means that a lot of stale air remains in the bottom
of your lungs. A lot of air pollution is heavier then clean air, and most
lung cancer starts at the bottom of the lungs because the toxic pollutants
build up and remain there.
Now want to show you something else, a trick that I learned in
modelling school to find your perfect posture.
Stand up, and grab a small tuft of hair from the very top of your
crown. Make sure that the hair you get is well centered. If you don't have
any hair at the top of your head, just try to fake it is best you can. Now,
I want you to imagine that this tuft of hair is connected to a large
balloon that is magically lifting most of your weight.
Hold onto this tuft of hair and pull yourself up by it. Let yourself
sway back and forth a little bit until you begin to find a new balance of
improved posture. Really focus on imagining that you are weightless, this
big hot air balloon is taking all of the weight off your feet, and you are
feeling very light!
Don't try to become taller by tilting your head back, that won't work.
Keep your eyes level but feel your balance, in your legs, feel the tilt of
your hips changing, so that your bottom is tucked in. most people hold
their hips tilted forward, so their ass and belly stick out. Pull in your
stomach and tuck in your butt, change the tilt of your hips, for better
balance.
Feel your spine straightening, feel your ribs, and your neck and your
shoulders. If you are doing is correctly it may feel like your body has
found a whole new balance.
While you are standing up straight like that, breathe. I want you to
notice your stomach muscles as you breathe. When you are breathing into the
bottom of your ribs, you may notice that your stomach muscles actually lift
up and in to support your breathing by pushing out the bottom of your ribs.
They curve in and up.
The purpose of your stomach muscles is to support your spine and
maintain correct posture. If you actually use your stomach muscles for the
purpose they were intended, you will get a flat belly. Standing up straight
and breathing correctly will be all the excercise you need, to tone your
stomach muscles.
Can you feel your new balance? Can you feel the refreshment that comes
of breathing into the bottom of your ribs? That is the chi, or prana,
feeding your power chakra.
Kundalini likes a straight spine. If you have never been to a
chiropractor, now might be a good time to start. A spine that is out of
alignment can cause difficulties and pain once Kundalini is awakened.
I found that some people, due to various blockages cannot stand up
straight. However just do the best you can. If you can, take a look at
yourself in a mirror, do so and check your posture. Any time you feel you
are slouching, grab the tuft of hair again and pull yourself up straight.
After while you body will begin to prefer the new balance of correct
posture. For now, standing up straight and breathing into the bottom of
your ribs is going to require a little bit of mindfullness on your part. As
your Karma clears and your self esteem improves, you will begin to stand up
straighter and look the world in the eye.
Another way to fill yourself with energy, is using a secondary chakra
that is located at your sternum. You can think of this as a second mouth
that drinks the water of life. This chakra is why gorillas beat their
chests to build up energy before a fight. Tap on the spot just under the
bump of your sternum, and then imagine that it is a mouth that opens, and
sucks in light to fill your thirst for Spirit. It sucks in Prana, chi.. the
life force, and you will feel refreshed. The water of life is infinite,
drink as deeply as you need to, to feel filled.
This page was lovingly created and copyright by
Mystress Angelique Serpent.
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