there is an emphasis on breath in Buddhist meditation, Taoist meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga, & other spiritual traditions. breathing happens naturally & involuntarily, so we seldom even think about it until it is inhibited perhaps through illness or environment circumstances.

although breathing happens involuntarily, most of us do not breathe in a beneficial way. we breathe in short bursts, usually because we are hurried & stressed, w/ busy bodies & busy minds. this becomes habitual & patterned. this short breathing is mostly in our chest/shoulders going up & down & doesn’t use our full lung capacity.

watch a baby breathing & we see something different. we see the belly rising & falling. a relaxed diaphragm allows the lower lungs to fill up w/ air as well. w/ intention we can relearn to breathe this way, which benefits the health of our bodies & minds.

by placing our attention on our breathing, we can bring both body & mind back together. we can even enjoy our breathing. as we relax into our breath, our bodies relax as well. if the feeling of this is too strong at first, we can just lightly touch the feeling of our breathing w/ our attention without too much emphasis.

there’s a Taoist practitioner/teacher (George Thompson) that i follow & really enjoy who spoke about proper breathing recently & gave 3 suggestions/practices for proper, beneficial breathing:
+Breath Slow
Default: 5 seconds in / 5 seconds outDestress: 4 seconds in / 7 seconds hold / 8 seconds out
+Breathe Deep
Use your intentionRelease stomach tension
+Breath Through Your Nose
When? All day, every dayHow? Use intention to habituate

~j

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*if you like this art, you can have it as a print or on various products found at JMWart, my online Redbubble store. you can visit directly at JMWart.redbubble.com or via my website (www.jaysenwaller.com.) 👍🏻🙏🏻

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