The importance of conscious breathing

[Kain]

This came up in a recent discussion I've had and felt like it would be useful here. The importance of breath in energy work and other similar endeavors is a factor that is in many cases quite bypassed although it remains an absolutely fundamental part of a lot of practices (particularly pertaining to the East, such as Taoism, Yoga and Tantra) and is even considered by some as necessary for higher caliber energy work and control to take place.

This is due to the fact that breath, it being perhaps the most characteristic function of all living organisms and an extremely influencial function in regards to our body and conscious perception, is intricately connected with the subtle vital force of the organism. This makes breath the function most suitable for conscious manipulation so that the effects of such a manipulation can also directly affect the flow and intensity of the vital force itself, making it a great aid in energy work.

Personally, I have come to use Pranayama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranayama) quite extensively in my practices in recent years and the improvement was almost instant and quite radical in my personal work, influencing and improving concentrational abilities immensely, intensifying bodily currents/vayus, and also bringing about a series of beneficial physical effects upon my physical body. I approach conscious breathing through Pranayama as described in Ashtanga Yoga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali#The_Eight_Limbs_of_Raja_Y oga)and Hindu Tantra, however there are other techniques of breath work around. It would be interesting to hear approaches on this subject,

Kain

[fr.novumorganum]

Since this is the mortar and pestle forum i hope this is on topic...

a number of health and nutrition advanced thinkers, like Gary Null and Dr Weil, work yogic breathing into their health regimes without calling them by the proper names.

Null, for instance, relates a breathing pattern much like prana to cleansing the body and energizing the cells to regenerate faster (and keep telemers from breaking down)

[Kain]

Since this is the mortar and pestle forum i hope this is on topic...

a number of health and nutrition advanced thinkers, like Gary Null and Dr Weil, work yogic breathing into their health regimes without calling them by the proper names.

Null, for instance, relates a breathing pattern much like prana to cleansing the body and energizing the cells to regenerate faster (and keep telemers from breaking down)Well, I guess it's quite a relevant point fr.novumorganum. Indeed, pranayama seems to have a quite deep and direct effect on the physical body even when practiced independantly from directly and more consciously "spiritual" practices. The ramiffications are quite immense even from the beginning and the changes occur on a cellular level as well.

Kain

[MythMath]

Not meaning to pull away from the topic,
but it all starts in childhood...

What should we demonstrate to our kids,
so that they can benefit from breathing now...?

For that matter, what could we offer to our elders,
by way of conscious breathing, that would assist
in their aging or healing or pain management...?

[Kain]

Not meaning to pull away from the topic,
but it all starts (or proper breathing ends) in childhood...

What should we demonstrate to our kids,
so that they can benefit from breathing now...?

For that matter, what could we offer to our elders,
by way of conscious breathing, that would assist
in their aging or healing or pain management...?Not pulling away from the topic at all really as that's very relevant MythMath.

Well, breathing should first of all be consciously conducted. What this means is that each breath, inhalation and exhalation should take place volitionally and not in an automatic/unconscious mode of thought. Drawing the air in, keeping it and expelling it while being a conscious spectator and controller of the whole procedure and all the relevant muscle movements pertaining to it.

Secondly, a very important factor is that one's pace of breathing must be moderated and not allowed to function in a fast pace. We often barely notice it but the truth is that we lose track of an amazing reservoir of raw power and subtle vital force pertaining to the body when breathing in a fast, nervous and unconscious fashion, letting our occassional emotional imbalances affect this mechanism which in turn affects negatively pretty much everything in our organism. Breath is an instrumental faculty, having direct effects in circulation, the amount of oxigen circulating within the blood flow, muscle contractions, and of course the nervous system. All these pertain to the physical body although through these one can quite successfully tap the potential of the subtle body as well and control it's functions in an incredibly high degree of control and precision. In fact, unconscious and fast breathing is one of the key factors of severing that inter-body link and of causing an over-multiformity of mind, random thoughts flooding it from every direction and making concentration increasingly difficult and maintained only at a high price of mental exertion.

As previously said, pranayama and conscious breathing is hardly a strictly physical process of cultivating control, nor are it's effects mainly perceptible/aimed at a physical level. This is only it's preliminary appearance, as through this practice immensely concentrated energy work can take place and this is in fact the true aim of the practice itself. This is done due to the fact that prana is intricately connected with the process of breath and thus through moderating and controlling the second, the procersses and flows of the forst can be realised and controlled as well. This effect mainly occurs through the process of all the more slowing one's breath pace (of course, like any other similar case, extremes cause more harm than good). This slows the body's functions down and thus also has an effect on a mental level as well, making concentration deeper and the perceptions pertaining to it clearer. Also, through the slowing of the body's processes, a lot of prana is released from those processes and thus remains ripe for the conscious re-direction of it in a more consciously oriented task. Thus, through conscious breathing and the slowing of it's pace, apart from achieving deep concentrational and enhanced perceptional effects we also manage to generate a fair amount of energy within our body's subtle system which can then be consciously used.

In many cases, this built amount of subtle energy is used for the more conscious formation and setting of the body's various subtle centers' attributes, the various channels connecting them, and the subtle currents runing through them. So, in a way, this is often a process of slowing down our internal functions at both a physical but mainly subtle level, and then re-tuning their particulars in a conscious fashion so that our subtle system is redefined in a higher level of efficiency and power.

Also, another aspect of conscious breathing and pranayama that is of paramount importance is that of breath suspension. In breath suspension, or kumbhaka as it is often called in Yoga, the practitioner elongates the period of time between inspiration and expiration of breath (or vice versa) by either keeping the inspired air in or extending the time the lungs remain empty. As is most probably logical to understand, this is also a process through which the effects of "slowing down" the breath are taken a step further, bringing the body in an even deeper state of internal "motionlessness". Kumbhaka is an integral part of pranayama, slow inspiration, breath suspension and slow expiration being the steps usually followed in succession by yoga practitioners in predetermined time measures. Although the time measures vary a lot from excercise to excercise and also in terms of difficulty, there is the general ratio of 1-4-2 that is followed, namely the breath suspension lasting 4 times the duration of the original inspiration and the expiration 2 times that of the afforementioned inspiration. Thus, the time units themselves can vary although the general ratio between them seems to remain the same in a lot of cases.

I think these should prove very useful to bringing someone of any age closer to the process and particulars of conscious breathing and it's traditional application. Hope you found it useful and feel free to ask if something comes up,

Kain

[Amur]

When breathing, it is important to let it flow as naturally and relaxed as possible. Surrender becomes again a key issue. When in a deeply relaxed state, like sleep, most people who are flowing tend to breathe deeply. Children and infants naturally have more deep breathing as they haven't got as much stress on top of their breaths as many adults have. This stress factor is why surrendering is so important, it helps to relax on various levels.

I do believe that one can heal oneself completely with conscious breathing alone.

[Logos]

As previously said, pranayama and conscious breathing is hardly a strictly physical process of cultivating control, nor are it's effects mainly perceptible/aimed at a physical level. This is only it's preliminary appearance, as through this practice immensely concentrated energy work can take place and this is in fact the true aim of the practice itself. This is done due to the fact that prana is intricately connected with the process of breath and thus through moderating and controlling the second, the procersses and flows of the forst can be realised and controlled as well. This effect mainly occurs through the process of all the more slowing one's breath pace (of course, like any other similar case, extremes cause more harm than good). This slows the body's functions down and thus also has an effect on a mental level as well, making concentration deeper and the perceptions pertaining to it clearer. Also, through the slowing of the body's processes, a lot of prana is released from those processes and thus remains ripe for the conscious re-direction of it in a more consciously oriented task. Thus, through conscious breathing and the slowing of it's pace, apart from achieving deep concentrational and enhanced perceptional effects we also manage to generate a fair amount of energy within our body's subtle system which can then be consciously used.
Though a very accurate and precise way of emphasizing the importance of breathing in meditation and magic, your description of the relationship between prana and breathing may still leave many readers unconvinced. From my experience, you can breathe all you want day in and day out, but until you take it upon yourself to imagine the energy coursing through you in conjunction with the movement of your breathing, you will only experience minimal results.

A lot of budding magicians will, time and time again, read passages in which the importance of breathing is thoroughly emphasized (and I'd say Kain does an enormous job of doing just that), but only a handful of those passages will actually point out in plain English that you will not get the results your looking for until you imagine the energy moving along with your breath. You don't just breathe: you have to feel the energy moving up and down, from side to side, back and forth, into the third eye, into the hands, filling each chakra individually, simultaneously, or in a sequence.

And I really can't say this any better. I wish I could, but I can't. The fact of the matter is that, yes, meditation requires a different kind of breathing. And it takes a bit of practice. But you can't just breathe and do nothing else: you have to combine breathing with imagining or you won't achieve the heights that are often hinted at in books, in seminars, or even on forums like this.

-Logos

[Kain]

Though a very accurate and precise way of emphasizing the importance of breathing in meditation and magic, your description of the relationship between prana and breathing may still leave many readers unconvinced. From my experience, you can breathe all you want day in and day out, but until you take it upon yourself to imagine the energy coursing through you in conjunction with the movement of your breathing, you will only experience minimal results. Good point Logos. I sometimes forget to point out some aspects of things and take them for granted when they're not. Thanks for pointing this out.

Actually, there is a difference between physical/gross and subtle/energy breathing. It is true that by practicing the former only, one will probably not manage to go any further concerning results in this field. The subtle breath must also be guided accordingly and consciously, at least at first to get the system tuned properly. However it can be arguable that the difference between the two is only one of non-synchronicity, and that slowly one will realize the profound relationship between the two. In yogic and Tantric practices, especially in Hatha Yoga practices, manipulation of the pranic body is achieved almost totally through pranayama and the effects are pretty amazing. It is often said that pranayama practice has three stages: "In the first one, the body experiences perspiration. In the second, the body shakes intently due to the awakening of inner power. In the third, the body levitates. ".

Also, another factor to be considered is that extended states of breath suspension (non-breathing) as practiced in pranayama are essentially tied with powerful pranic effects or are otherwise not possible due to the organism experiencing suffocation for it's needs of oxygen. So in a way the pranic effects can be achieved by some schools simply through aiming to attain the state previously described, thus also achieving the pranic effects and going through a profound realization of them at the moment of achievement. I personally follow the method Logos describes however, so I think it is important to state that in order to have a valid definition of pranayamic excercises on the table.

Kain

[Zaii]

I do believe that one can heal oneself completely with conscious breathing alone.


So what's the worst condition you've relieved yourself of via conscious breathing alone?

[Amur]

So what's the worst condition you've relieved yourself of via conscious breathing alone?

Noticed that one can heal completely every aspect of Consciousness with this breathing. You DO know that the planet's CONSCIOUSNESS loves you very much? Breathe love in, stress out, love in, love out, or you can switch love to another feeling which feels close to yourself and your heart. Meant about the healing of subtle bodies, although breathing in and out deeply cleans the body from impurities.

Another nice thing to do is to go and sit with an old tree and breath underneath it, letting the earths energy all-encompass the body.

[Logos]

So what's the worst condition you've relieved yourself of via conscious breathing alone?
I am currently making grand leaps in healing a blockage between my third and first chakras via conscious breathing and sex (which I have yet to perform simultaneously).

-Logos

[Naomi]

Oh I use it to take away pain, takes some practice over a few years to learn this. We should be taught this work early on in school.

Sex is a great tool for difficult problems, provided the other person knows what they are doing.

Well it's not personal, but my mother had a tree fall on her. A really big tree, like 3 feet across. There was a limb carrying some of the weight. She used breathing and drew down the sun (IAM also used this technique) to keep from dying. Her organs were all bleeding, but the next morning, in the hospital, they didn't know where the blood had gone. Hee hee.

Well, she is better at that than me. I don't know if I could survive a tree landing on me. That's why I have so many good bodyguards.

I do so much work these days, magically, sometimes I don't know when to quit, and I am just so worn out and just feel crappy. Then I have to take a day off from my weaving and just breath, drink tea, drink herbs and relax. Then I am usually better. Things are speeding up in this regard, in fact. I think it might be the system breaking down or maybe I'm just getting more practice.

I think though, that more than breathing, conscious sex works better, but like I said, only if the other person (people?) know what they are doing.

I mean, you can use extra-planar intelligences, too. NBD...