The Importance of Just Breathing…..
Maria Atherley
Partner, Karma Hub
Kundalini yoga teacher
https://www.karmahub.co.uk
As a yoga teacher my job is to help people connect with their true selves, joining the dots between body, mind and soul.
There is no magic or secret formula to this.
The truth is simple.
Go to the breath.
Breathing is the most natural and unconscious thing we as human beings do. Not giving our breath a second thought, the miracle that is our respiratory system works without us needing to consciously connect.
As a kundalini yoga teacher, a big part of what I help people with is creating stillness. Many people think yoga is all about physical postures, alignment and flexibility.. that is only part of the story. My favourite part to teach is breath work as that is when I really see people make the connections….
So what happens when we doconnect? When we slow down, listen and tune in to our life-force…
When we alter the breath, we begin to oppose and release the engrained patterns of emotion and attention that are coded into our physical body and mind through habit.
As those patterns begin to alter, this may affect our concentration. This is the point at which a lot of people disconnect when they attempt to meditate. When the old thoughts creep back into the mind.
Staying connected to the breath centres us and allows us to quieten the busy mind and create the space that we need to really begin the process of bringing stillness and clarity into our lives.
If you are new to meditation and are finding it a challenge, the next time you try and the mind wanders, bring the breath to the front of your consciousness. Stay with it. Be the breath.
Slowing down and being with the breath is meditation in itself.
Through staying consciously connected to the breath, even for just 3 minutes, you will gain a new sense of ease and begin to control where you direct your mind.
Why not give it a try?
Give yourself 10 minutes later today and practice this…
Make yourself comfortable in a seated posture. Close your eyes, take your inner eye gaze to the mid-brow point and take your conscious attention to your breath. For a count of four, breathe in – 1-2-3-4. Hold the breath for a count of 8 and then exhale slowly, carefully for a count of 1-2-3-4-5-6. Repeat. Set an alarm for 3 minutes and get lost in the breath. Repeat daily for best effect and try and extend your time once you have focus to 6, then 11 and then perhaps 22 or 31 minutes.
Enjoy 😊