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Holistic Living
As Your Breath Flows, So Your Life Flows
by R. Christian Minson and Catherine Arena
“I feel like the sun is shining on me from the inside out,” a client exclaimed after I had guided her through an hour-long Transformational Breath™ session. It was a remarkable contrast to the intense stress and anxiety that she was experiencing 60 minutes before. In terms of the physical and emotional upheaval that is plaguing the majority of the population, it was a statement of hope and relief in these turbulent times.
What is the miracle ingredient that brought forth such a major transformation in this woman in such a small amount of time? Quite simply: the breath.
There is nothing more foundational to our holistic health and healing—physical, emotional, and spiritual—than our breathing. Healing and wellness can be accelerated through the use of conscious breathing techniques as found in Transformational Breathing.
To quickly comprehend the effectiveness of Transformational Breathing, thumb through Breathe Deep, Laugh Loudly, by Dr. Judith Kravitz, founder of the Transformational Breath Foundation. The many examples in this paperback support the powerful declaration from prominent psychotherapist, Dr. Henry Smith-Rohrberg: “one Transformational Breath session is equivalent to about two years of psychotherapy.”
At the California Institute of Human Sciences (CIHS) in Encinitas, California, the techniques of conscious breathing are raising eyebrows. CIHS Researcher Koji Tsuchiya, PhD, has teamed up with Certified Transformational Breath Facilitators at Breathflow Wellness and LivingOne to conduct a series of experiments designed to quantify the healing potential of the Transformational Breathing process.
“As your breath flows, so your life flows” is the axiom of Breathflow Wellness, emphasizing that there is a direct link between the quality of our breathing and the quality of our lives. Conscious breathing shifts the way we are feeling in the moment simply by changing the pattern of our breath. Almost everyone suffers from stored emotional energy patterns from the past: traumas, parental issues, depression, abuse, and even painful experiences of birth. Unfortunately, the list can be quite long for many people. Employing Transformational Breathing helps us to loosen and integrate stuck energies that no longer serve our highest good, which translates into emotional balance and freedom from chronic issues and reoccurring illnesses.
On a metaphysical level, the breath is synonymous with our spirit. Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith of the Agape movement calls the breath “our biological reminder of who we are and of whose we are.” According to ancient wisdom of the East, prana, or life energy, is said to be generated in large part through our breathing. Dr. Andrew Weil, American author and physician who developed the field of integrative medicine has referred to breath as “the movement of the spirit in the body.” In fact, the word “spirit” itself comes from the Latin root spiritus, which means “to breathe.” The word “respiration” comes from the root respirare, which means to “re-spirit.” In other words, every time we take in a breath, we are literally “re-spiriting” our bodies with that primary energy or prana that is the essence of our being. Transformational Breathing techniques can be used to create a deeper connection with spirit and with all life, resulting in an increased intuitive awareness and a blissful outlook on life, unaffected by the up-and-down swings inherent in nature.
On a functional level, the breath is our body’s system of perpetual regeneration: breathing out carbon dioxide and other toxic material dumped into the blood stream as our cells perform their routine functions, and breathing in oxygen to recharge our cells with an ample supply of their most critical energy source, enabling them to perform at optimum levels.
We all breathe in this manner, but how many of us actually breathe correctly? As certified facilitators of Transformational Breathing, we have found that approximately 90 percent of the population could improve the way they breathe. We take an average of 17,000 breaths per day. If we can create even one small improvement in the way we breathe, that change will be compounded over six million times in one year. In the business world, that would be an example of a phenomenal return on your investment.
You may ask, “how do I begin?” The first thing to do is to become aware of your breath. As you watch your own process of breathing, ask yourself these questions: Am I breathing in my belly and my chest, or just one or the other? Does it hurt when I breathe? Where do I feel the pain? Do I hold my breath when I am anxious or scared? Is my breathing full-bodied or shallow? Observation is the first step to understanding what is going on within you and what needs to be changed in order to live a happier, more fulfilling life.
As with any healing modality, it is recommended that you seek the assistance of a qualified expert before you venture on a conscious breathing journey of your own. A certified facilitator serves as a knowledgeable resource for your questions to be answered. Such a facilitator is trained to handle any situation that may arise and regards your safety and comfort as his or her top priority so that you feel secure enough to go to those vulnerable places where transformation takes place.
Not all facilitators are the same. Do your homework; study their literature, investigate their Internet presence, and ask for references or testimonials. If you have any cause for question or concern, talk with others who have worked with that facilitator. As with any healing modality, a good match between client and healer makes a world of difference to the quality of your experience and quickens the pace for the rejuvenating transformation to take place.
As the mythological Phoenix has to consume itself in the flames to rise anew from the ashes, so old institutions—both physical and in thought—that no longer serve the greatest good must begin to crumble and disintegrate in order for greater consciousness to emerge. This is the sometimes chaotic essence of regeneration. However, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, because that breath is the relief. When we begin to make a conscious effort to understand the power inherent in our breathing, it is then that we truly comprehend that “as your breath flows, so your life flows.”
R. Christian Minson and Catherine Arena are Certified Transformational Breath™ Facilitators (CTBF) trained under Dr. Judith Kravitz, who co-founded Transformational Breathing™ over 30 years ago. Breathflow Wellness and LivingOne are the umbrellas under which their introductory workshops, six-week class series, and private sessions are offered. When not traveling the country, they are based in San Diego, CA. Visit www.breathflow.com to receive two free pdf files: “Instructions for 7 Conscious Breathing Techniques” and a deeper explanation of “Transformational Breathing™.” Visit www.transformationalbreathing.com for information on Judith Kravitz and Transformational Breath Foundation’s international training programs. Meet the creator of Transformational Breathing, Dr. Judith Kravitz, at an introductory workshop January 24.