Breath
by Jill Davidson
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| Deep Breath by Melanie Weidner 2005 |
Somewhere
back in 1987, i found myself sitting in my very first “hatha”
yoga class. It was there – Amherst, Massachusetts, that i
was introduced to the concept of breathing through the entire nasal
passage, but the instructor didn’t use these words. i think
the words more described the sensation of what happens when you do
this type of breathing and i was told –and believe– that certain
practitioners of the technique can channel and circulate the air into
one side of the skull and out the other after circulation through the
lung.
Then,
around 1994, i found myself taking “rain runs” through Shotgun
Creek with my old friend Freya. Having learned the importance
of breath, i noticed the rhythmic chant-like sounds with the
expansion and contraction of the chest and couldn’t help but think
of the “native” chants, because quite simply, i seemed to be
doing just that – chanting. I had a 3:4 ratio of mini breaths
per intake/outtake. But, i never really thought about it or
utilized the information until i started practicing martial arts and
yoga studios started popping up everywhere. Along with the studios
came the mystification and dogma surrounding how and when to breath
and what correct pose you’d have to be in to maximize your focus
and awareness. It’s the same type of dogma surrounding the
martial arts, and good instructors help you to separate the dogma
from the basic truths of nature.
And
breathing is all about nature. And if you are nervous –socially
or physically– it is virtually impossible to breath correctly. I
suppose the good news is that focusing on the breath can reduce this
anxiety… probably by the mere fact that you are distracting your
brain –and good luck with that as you confront your fears.
Because, whether it is confronting a crowd, handling your
temper, or getting through a “face your fear” moment centering
with breath is a time-tested, tried and true method for focus,
clarity and centeredness. So, you might as well learn this
early in your practice.
I
remember clearly on the Muay Thai mat almost killing my instructor as
he tried to get me to “voice” the exertion of kicks and punches.
This is a basic technique to say a word or a sound with a
certain motion to develop this breath awareness. Eventually you
personalize this word so that it is your very own. But, the
early days of NWMA were days of teacher/ student learning of
understanding the basics of what it means to be a novice and what it
means to be an expert. And although i was mad at the time i
also remember this same instructor telling me one thing that brought
me back to those runs in the woods and closer to understanding
personal health. He told me this: find your own rhythm and your
own breath and he helped me to do this –along with everyone else at
the gym. He explained a basic truth. Every person has a
natural rhythm; perhaps it ties to the beating of the heart. You
can see this rhythm with the elders who are in thought and the little
ones who are centering. As adults we lose this connection and
so must seek to find it amidst our strength and steadiness.
So,
i’m passing on what I’ve experienced to my cerebral, literary
friends. It can be mystic, but it is not mysticism – your
body movements expand and contract your rib cage and all those little
muscles help to control the entire range of breath from the bottom of
your pelvis to the top of your sternum. If your are with total
passion that punch is going to come with a very loud, an almost
shocking noise, and if you are in practice with rhythm and motion, a
natural animal sound is going to come out, and if you are at rest…
it’s kind of like listening to an ocean shell.
You
won’t really hear it from me at the gym because I just can’t
relax around all the people and prefer the inner voice to the outer
with this art, but you will hear the natural sounds of bodies in sync
from the athletes in training who are comfortable in their skin.
It’s kind of funny sounding and can be scary when you hear
from the big boys but it’s a sure sign that we are alive.
