The Breath of Life

How is your breathing?  Are you getting the full amount each moment?  There are a million reasons why breath is life-giving; the oxygen in the blood going to all areas of the body, especially to the brain; the oxygen enhancing our ability to concentrate; the ability breath has to supply our muscles with the blood and oxygen they need to expand and contract.  For example, in a woman's crucial sacrifice of laboring to bring forth another human soul, her breath supplies her uterus muscles the blood and elasticity to be flexible and soft, to expand and contract when necessary; to do the work her body was created to do.

A few years ago, I had a serious tooth ache. I knew it was my root.  I was in constant pain from a Friday evening - Sunday.  The dentist was not available of course, so I did every natural thing I knew to help the pain and possible infection.  Silver water, clove.  I may have even tried lots of garlic. I had birthed four babies without drugs.  With a fever came an intense headache, one like I have never before experienced. I knew it was a big deal because I never have headaches.  I had the feeling to get into the bath, which is one thing I try when I may be dehydrated.  While I was laying there, I had the words "breath of life" come into my mind.  So I began immediately Ujjayi breathing (something I learned from yoga):  inhaling from my lower abdomen, middle ribs and upper lungs area, then directing my exhales over the back of my throat and allowing the breath to flow through me down to my toes.  After ten to fifteen minutes I realized that the headache was gone.  I got out of the bath and went to sleep.  The next day it was gone; the pain, the fever, the headache.  I went to the dentist the following Monday and he took care of everything.  My tooth had lived its last day and was dead.  The turning point which helped me out of my pain was breath.



Since then, I have thought a lot about that experience.  I have made "breathing" a regular part of helping our family release negative emotions, get calm when we can't accept a no answer and assist our bodies when they are sick and need more life.