Breathing for Meditation
By: Robert Morgen
Breathing is the MOST important part of meditation and Kundalini Awakening. It’s the foundation of all the exercises and skills that come after, so taking the time to learn it now will make things much easier.
From our birth until death we breathe more or less continually, yet for the most part we do it without any awareness of our breath and its effects on us, and believe it or not most people in the western world do it wrong!
Breathe in through your nose and draw your breath down into the area just below your navel, allowing your stomach to expand as you breathe (Baby Breath) and filling your lungs entirely with each breath before exhaling through your nose.
Take a moment right now and feel your breath. Pay attention to the air as it flows in through your nostrils and down into your lungs. Don’t think about anything or do anything other than just breathe.
1. Are you taking a relatively shallow breath and just filling the upper lobes of your lungs?
2. Does your stomach move out as you breathe?
3. Do you feel the bones of your ribcage expanding and opening with each breath?
For most people the answer to 1 is YES and the answers to 2 and 3 are NO so lets expand this exercise a bit.
This time draw your breath down to a point about 2 inches below your navel (the body’s center of gravity). When you do this you’ll feel your stomach expand and push out in front of you. Most westerners usually keep their stomach pulled in and their chest out, so when you do this you’ll have to relax all those muscles. Just take a moment and be aware of your breath as it flows down into your center.
Now as you inhale and draw your breath down, also let your ribcage expand. You’ll feel your floating ribs at the bottom of your ribcage spread and move, and you may get a few pops out of your spine also. Just take a few moments and breathe this way. Don’t think or let your mind wander, just breathe. If you’ve never meditated before then congratulations, you just did! It’s exactly that simple.
There are many benefits to proper breathing. The extra oxygen in your system means that your heart doesn’t have to beat as fast, lowering your pulse and your blood pressure. Drawing the breath down into your center also helps to massage your internal organs, providing more oxygen to them as well as helping to release the accumulated stresses that build up there. The long term health benefits are immeasurable and have been repeatedly proven for thousands of years.
Breathing is by far the most important part of the kundalini awakening exercises, although it sounds so simple. Paying attention to the breath is the beginning of opening up your awareness and it’s seen in every meditative culture on the planet.
Take some time to practice this, as it’s the foundation for everything that comes next. If you have to dedicate your meditation time to breathwork for awhile then that’s good, as we all proceed at our own pace.
I recently read a translation of some of Jesus’ teachings from the original Aramaic (the language he actually spoke, although he apparently wasn’t literate) and it was very interesting to me that in Aramaic they used the same word for ‘wind’, ‘breath’ and ‘spirit’. Those with a Chi Kung background might find it interesting to take another look at the New Testament and insert the word ‘breath’ every time you see the word ‘spirit’.
It’s funny that something as simple as proper breathing can have such a profound effect on the rest of your life, but don’t take my word for it, you can find out for yourself beginning with your next inhale.
© 2006 Robert Morgen. This article may be used by anyone, anywhere as long as the author’s bio and links are included.
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“Breathing for Meditation” is an excerpt from Robert Morgen’s book “Kundalini Awakening for Personal Mastery” (ISBN: 0-9773801-0-6)
His new book “Easy Meditation for Martial Artists” (ISBN: 0-9773801-3-0) is also now available.
Robert Morgen is a Reiki Master who holds a Black Belt in Hoshinjutsu and a Brown Belt in Combat Hapkido. He’s founder of the Mystic Village Online Community at www.mysticvillage.org
He writes a regular column on subtle (or internal) energy for Fight Times Magazine and a column on Kundalini Awakening at Kundalini Awakening Magazine. He’s the author of 3 books and 4 CDs on meditation and energy work.
He’s a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids as well as the International Bujinkan Dojo Association, Canemasters International and the International Combat Hapkido Federation.
You can learn more about his books, Kundalini and Martial Arts Seminars and free events and newsletters at his website at www.mysticwolfpress.com
Article Source: http://www.mysticvillage.org/articles/
Breathing is the MOST important part of meditation and Kundalini Awakening. It’s the foundation of all the exercises and skills that come after, so taking the time to learn it now will make things much easier.
From our birth until death we breathe more or less continually, yet for the most part we do it without any awareness of our breath and its effects on us, and believe it or not most people in the western world do it wrong!
Breathe in through your nose and draw your breath down into the area just below your navel, allowing your stomach to expand as you breathe (Baby Breath) and filling your lungs entirely with each breath before exhaling through your nose.
Take a moment right now and feel your breath. Pay attention to the air as it flows in through your nostrils and down into your lungs. Don’t think about anything or do anything other than just breathe.
1. Are you taking a relatively shallow breath and just filling the upper lobes of your lungs?
2. Does your stomach move out as you breathe?
3. Do you feel the bones of your ribcage expanding and opening with each breath?
For most people the answer to 1 is YES and the answers to 2 and 3 are NO so lets expand this exercise a bit.
This time draw your breath down to a point about 2 inches below your navel (the body’s center of gravity). When you do this you’ll feel your stomach expand and push out in front of you. Most westerners usually keep their stomach pulled in and their chest out, so when you do this you’ll have to relax all those muscles. Just take a moment and be aware of your breath as it flows down into your center.
Now as you inhale and draw your breath down, also let your ribcage expand. You’ll feel your floating ribs at the bottom of your ribcage spread and move, and you may get a few pops out of your spine also. Just take a few moments and breathe this way. Don’t think or let your mind wander, just breathe. If you’ve never meditated before then congratulations, you just did! It’s exactly that simple.
There are many benefits to proper breathing. The extra oxygen in your system means that your heart doesn’t have to beat as fast, lowering your pulse and your blood pressure. Drawing the breath down into your center also helps to massage your internal organs, providing more oxygen to them as well as helping to release the accumulated stresses that build up there. The long term health benefits are immeasurable and have been repeatedly proven for thousands of years.
Breathing is by far the most important part of the kundalini awakening exercises, although it sounds so simple. Paying attention to the breath is the beginning of opening up your awareness and it’s seen in every meditative culture on the planet.
Take some time to practice this, as it’s the foundation for everything that comes next. If you have to dedicate your meditation time to breathwork for awhile then that’s good, as we all proceed at our own pace.
I recently read a translation of some of Jesus’ teachings from the original Aramaic (the language he actually spoke, although he apparently wasn’t literate) and it was very interesting to me that in Aramaic they used the same word for ‘wind’, ‘breath’ and ‘spirit’. Those with a Chi Kung background might find it interesting to take another look at the New Testament and insert the word ‘breath’ every time you see the word ‘spirit’.
It’s funny that something as simple as proper breathing can have such a profound effect on the rest of your life, but don’t take my word for it, you can find out for yourself beginning with your next inhale.
© 2006 Robert Morgen. This article may be used by anyone, anywhere as long as the author’s bio and links are included.
---
“Breathing for Meditation” is an excerpt from Robert Morgen’s book “Kundalini Awakening for Personal Mastery” (ISBN: 0-9773801-0-6)
His new book “Easy Meditation for Martial Artists” (ISBN: 0-9773801-3-0) is also now available.
Robert Morgen is a Reiki Master who holds a Black Belt in Hoshinjutsu and a Brown Belt in Combat Hapkido. He’s founder of the Mystic Village Online Community at www.mysticvillage.org
He writes a regular column on subtle (or internal) energy for Fight Times Magazine and a column on Kundalini Awakening at Kundalini Awakening Magazine. He’s the author of 3 books and 4 CDs on meditation and energy work.
He’s a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids as well as the International Bujinkan Dojo Association, Canemasters International and the International Combat Hapkido Federation.
You can learn more about his books, Kundalini and Martial Arts Seminars and free events and newsletters at his website at www.mysticwolfpress.com
Article Source: http://www.mysticvillage.org/articles/
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1 comment:
David Grossman says:
"the bridge between autonomic arousal and conscious control is breathing. Learning autogenic or combat breathing, as military and police elites do today, can help you control automatic arousal and keep your heart rate in the 115-145 area where you function best. This involves breathing in for four counts, holding it for four counts, breathing out for four counts and holding for four counts."
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