How is your breathing?
Breath in for 7
Out for 4?
Breath
From your very first breath, when your lungs cry out
Till your last, dissolving, gasp
Breath serves you well, and keeps you calm
In wellness and distress
So breathe in life and happiness
Give misery a rest
Take time to count your blessings
And BE your very best!
“Why do we breathe?”
What would you say?
There is no simple answer but it made me think about the ability we have to do it, without thinking, all the time, every day, even when we are sleeping. So, imagine if we did think about it? Would it change the way we breathe? Would we stop? Are we stupid enough to think we can do better, so I tried, many times. Foolishly from spinning, without breathing, till I collapsed, age 5, big sister told me to do it, I used to say that a lot. Trying to stay underwater for as long as possible till I woke up at the side of the pool, mouth slobbery to be met with the oldest, male attendant at the pool, his mouth on mine bringing me back to life. This was the moment he had been waiting for all his life. Did I thank him?
NO!
I don’t think we give breathing enough credit. I mean, have you ever actually thanked it for keeping you alive, like the old man at the pool? No, me neither. I’d be there all day, every time I took a breather, using precious time to say thank you to something I’d never really have a relationship with. Anyhow, would my mind would tell my brain how jealous it was and start putting my breath in check, causing my heart to race and they would all gang up against me. I think it’s best to let the experts get on with it and simply feed them with food, books, laughter and just enough anxiety to test the system every now and again to make sure it’s working.
I’ll leave it to my breath to provide the oxygen needed to help me eat, move and think while disposing of the carbon dioxide before it poisons my very being. I could never keep track of the oxygen needed in my blood to match whatever erratic activity my spontaneous mind decides to demand of my ever ageing body. The extra demands put on my flesh and bones has increased as well as my capacity to consider what my body does with my ever decreasing brain power. These days I’d be hard-pressed to gage my parasympathetic response in order to save energy. Even my breathing is becoming sympathetic to my conservation of energy.
These days it’s the thought of exercising making me breathless in the same way running used to do. Alas, life is not fair and sitting about being concerned about ‘stuff’, worrying and stressing lead to nothing but wasting more time and energy as the clock quickly ticks the seconds of life away.
With the small hand heading inevitably towards your final day, hour, minute, second!
One life is all we have so give it your best shot!
To improve your breathing techniques click here!
MM The Celebrant 