Breath

When we simply but earnestly bring our attention to the breath, there is a multilevel and multidimensional response. We begin to feel and sense the breath moving in the body. Our attention shifts from our thoughts to the physical body. We become grounded and remember the connection between mind and body.

With the mind/body connection, there is a cascade of positive physiological and emotional responses. When we sustain this connection, we enter a higher state of awareness, experiencing ourselves as part of Nature, the Source, or whatever term we use for what is beyond ourselves and interconnected with all—the Spirit part of the mind/body/spirit connection.

Breathing techniques are a powerful way to protect the body, but they also establish a path to achieving higher states of being. When we turn our attention inward, in this case to the breath, the Unseen or Spirit opens up to us.

Through our breath, we can quiet our thoughts and perceive our true selves. Even a glimpse of the inner quiet and spaciousness can be profound and leave in its wake a lifelong, dedicated yoga practitioner.