We do not often think about what the breath is.
We humans have these amazing faculties: attention, feeling, breath, physicality and movement. We think, we feel, we inhale, exhale, and speak. Some of what the body-mind does happens without our will and some of it happens because we consciously enact it.
But how often to we ask ourselves, what is attention? What is feeling?
What is the body?
What is the breath?
And: what ties the mind, the heart, and the body together? What makes us one, complete living totality? The breath is the link. When we breathe, we feed the body. When we breathe deeply and intentionally, we balance the body, linking mind to heart, tapping into higher consciousness, and settling the feeling aspect of ourselves.
When we focus on something, the breath helps us to maintain that focus. When we feel something, the breath allows us to experience it directly and regulate it. When we take action, the breath helps us follow through and become effective.
Answering the question, “What is the breath?” may not be so simple, and yet it is possible to say truthfully that breath is life, and it is a free gift we can all embrace to our benefit.
