Breath of Life
Breath of Life Yoga Scuba / Watsu Breath Inside the Breath Finding Our True Center Breath Awareness Breath and Life Soft Belly Laughter as Pranayama Embodiment Yoga Symposium.6.0
Better Breathing ( crotalus, 4/16/98 10:52:58 AM)It all begins and ends with a breath.
Nothing seems as resistant to awareness as the breath.
Nothing seems to focus awareness as well as the breath.Yoga Symposium.6.100
Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 6/22/99 12:18:49 AM)
Breathe in deeply of the Love that surrounds you...Yoga Symposium.6.169
Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 12/14/99 12:20:04 AM)
Encourage your people to breathe through their nose. No strain. As relaxed as possible...and deeper than usual. Keep it simple. Savor the fragrance.Yoga Symposium.6.1
SuZett Estell ( SuZie Coyote, 4/27/98 9:16:29 PM)The first night of my first scuba class, the instructor asked us "What is the first rule of scub-diving?"
We all replied, "Don't Panic!" almost in unison.
"No," she said, "that's not it. Try again." We looked at one another blankly.
"The first rule of scuba," she informed us, "is always keep breathing. And," she continued, "it's a pretty good rule for the other parts of your life as well."
I've never forgotten that lesson. As long as I can breath...I know I am alive.
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Sarah Stettler ( starling, 4/28/98 7:37:26 PM)Scuba Diving...as an altered state. Very interesting. I do it all the time, but I'd never thought of it as meditation, but it is in a way. I am very comfortable in the water, and tend to use quite a bit less air than others I dive with. You breathe differently down there. Deeper. Less frequently. More constantly. And I do feel, looking at it from this perspective, that it does create a kind of altered state. Perhaps that's why I love it so much. The concentration on the breath, and the enviroment, and being in the moment. When I'm diving, I'm never thinking about the work I have at home or whatever problems I have in my life at the moment. It's all here and now, living and preserving life (which involves a bit of future planning, such as ascending with enough air to get back to the surface and boat safely). I love the feeling of perfectly balanced buoyancy and calm, gently moving through the water with hands clasped at my abdomen, breathing fully, deeply and richly and just appreciating the physical and wondrous visual sensations as they happen.
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SuZett Estell ( SuZie Coyote, 5/2/98 11:56:08 AM)I first learned to dive in Florida. My friend Terry, an expert diver, had talked me into learning. He was a martial arts expert (but a very gentle person) who could slow his breath down so much as to appear dead (he would actually get cold skin, with a bluish tint). He maintained this was a valuable skill for a diver, thinking that if he ever got hung up or in trouble with air, he could shut down until help could be found. At is was, we would go diving together and when I would be out of air (well, at 500 pounds), he'd still have most of his tank left! ...and I was actually better than most at conserving my air. On a dive, I would always stay down longer than anyone, except Terry, of course.
At the time, I lived in a house with a small pool. Sometimes I would come home from work, put on my gear and drop to the bottom of the pool and sit for about 20-30 minutes. This was before I was practicing yoga or knew anything about meditation. I just liked doing it. I told myself that I was working in lowering my breath rate, so I could increase my "bottom time" when open water diving with Terry. In retrospect, my pool dives put me in a completely altered state, focused on my breath and without the distraction of input from my other senses.
My roommate, of course, thought I was a bit odd, but he was not the first (or last) to think me so.
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SuZett Estell ( SuZie Coyote, 5/2/98 12:01:00 PM)There is a form of bodywork, call Watsu, which is done in a chest-high pool of water that is just slightly higher than body temperature. The therapist cradles the client in her arms, swirling, turning and stretching the client's body through the water. It's a very meditative experience...a womb-like experience, I imagine. I've had only one session (at 10,000 Waves in Santa Fe), but it was grand! Some day I'd like to experience more.
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Paul Falkenstein ( PaulFalk, 6/10/98 6:17:50 AM)Namaste Everyone,
"The first thing we do when we enter this world is Inhale....The last thing we do before we leave this world is Exhale. Life is nothing but one long series of inhales and exhales. This is Yoga."
--Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti Yoga.Om Shanti,
Paul
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Erich Schiffmann ( schiffmann, 9/20/98 4:23:05 PM)Devin,
I breathe ujjayi style on both the inhale and exhale, sometimes softer, sometimes deeper. Much of the time I like to make it barely audible, almost inaudible. The idea is to use the breath to help keep your conscious attention in the now, and to lengthen and smooth out the breath so there is the least amount of strain in the body. When there is the least amount of strain everything is more malleable, willing. So, why not do that on both the inhale and exhale? Frankly, I've never heard of only doing it on inhales and not exhales. I studied with Desikachar (a long time ago), and he definitely wasn't saying that then. IMHO, it seems strange to only do it on one phase of the breath. Whoever said it probably had their own reasoning. I wonder what it was. And, for beginners, once I started teaching ujjayi to them, I would encourage them to do it on both the inhale and exhale.
Peace,
ErichYoga Symposium.6.66
Center Axis ( Shakti Das, 1/29/99 10:19:23 AM)At THAT Center Eternal Flow Only Stillness at the center While All else is Moving Every THING moves -- Is temporary -- is a magical illusion when viewed from the Heart The Core Yoga (for me) is the process of finding our true center and increasingly learning when we are out of it and how to move back into it and move from the heart more and more. Does anyone know any stories, tales, or descriptions of the Hridayam? Can anyone point to the purpose of pranayama?
thanks,
donnyYoga Symposium.6.67
I'll give it a go... ( gardenweasel, 1/29/99 10:51:28 AM)Perhaps the purpose of pranayama is to unite heart,mind, and soul(will), with the animating Spirit of Breath.
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the breath inside the breath ( earthworm, 1/29/99 1:58:41 PM)there is the "not breathing" which I would call pranayama - what I mean: when the body stops initiating the breathing and then instead the breath breathes me - there is nothing else like it. It makes me feel like I am being held, safe and protected. In these moments I become aware that most of the time I am living in the illusion that I am controllling or limiting the possibilities of breath. gena
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Middle age yogi seeking middle "sattvic" ground ( earthworm, 1/29/99 2:31:49 PM)When I begin to take apart what is happening mechanically with the breath in the way that Iyengar teachers suggest I find that I get rigid. So I don't practice pranayama in this planned or systematic way. If while doing dhyana or savasana my breath begins to deepen I flow with it and sometimes it ends up being expansive. I s'pose this is the more scenic path to Nirvana, but then again I usually prefer that path in ordinary life too. I think prana is not breath . . . as in prana is not the air we breathe or the exchange of nutrients but it is the I am, and always will be and always has been. Pranayama is like using the breath as an invitation to prana - "come and play with me" (inhale) then I find that I have to make room (no vaccuum's in nature????) for the prana by undoing, releasing, letting go (exhale).
I am given over to learning surrender . . .now . . . the pendulum still swings for me as my early yoga years were about more active and rajasic asana work.
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I agree ( gardenweasel, 1/29/99 2:54:18 PM)Breath may be the greatest of mysteries. 'In It, I live, and move, and have my being'. Breath makes me a living soul. We are born to Breathe and Breath removes that veil called death.
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Bob Cox ( tympanachus cupido, 1/29/99 8:27:24 PM)So, whom amongst youse are really aware of your breath as you go about your day. Sure, when you're doin' yoga or feeling stressed or working hard or having sex, you're most aware. But when you're thinkin' hard or cookin' or scrubbin' the can or talkin' on the phone... Does awareness come and go?
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Indubitably ( gardenweasel, 1/30/99 8:26:43 AM)Yes, my awareness of breath comes and goes like ocean waves and breath itself. Especially when down hill skiing.
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Natural Breath- Natural Mind ( Shakti Das, 2/3/99 12:05:40 AM)Devin i like your definition of pranayama. It is an energetic union/alignment. Indeed, Bob, if we were to be conscious of the energy patterns, tendencies, directions, and influences that our thoughts and emotions create in the sea of our embodied existence, then perhaps our life would be more creative, empowered, enriched, and fulfilled. Coming back to the breath and the energy throughout the day (and especially if we are aware of discomfort or stress) is very effective. Ideally we should never lose that communion/awareness.
Gena, yes! The breath breathes me. How can that happen all the time? When its not happening how do we use the breath. mind, posture, or visualization to jump start it?
and ...
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Breath and Life (Shakti Das, 3/26/99 11:56:45 AM)
The linking of breath with spirit and life is found accross almost all cultures and times. In modern times through the work of Reichian psychology, holotropic breath, rebirthing, vivation therapy, and the resurgent interest in chi kong and yoga pranayama this investigation has been for me a unique wholistic and therapeutic synthesis connecting body, mind, emotions, spirit, health, and energy awareness all within this one simple action.
That it is a two way street (breath can affect our body/mind and ways of thinking and visversa that our emotions, health, ways of thinking etc affect the changing qualities of our breath. Thus both studying the breath has been a study of getting to know self better and thus becoming more "in control" or rather more conscious of what is happening. Thus I become free(er) from what was previously unconscious compulsion, neuroses, reaction, negative syndromnes, and past prisons.
But equally valuable is the ability of consciously using the breath to change a imbalanced situation. Certainly i do not want to be only focused on the breath, but i do want to be aware immediately when its qualities change (like donny has important email here). I learned with practice that i can run the breath awareness program in the background without limiting my other interactions yet still be aware of it increasingly more (but not 100%).
There is a distinction i also make that i desire the ability also of to "change" the breath but onlyu when this change is for my higher good (of which if my wisdom lags behind (and mine certainly does) then this "i" does not want to have to consciously breathe every breath (yes that would be laborious and unnecessary) but rather have the breath become full, deep, natural, and spontaneous as a result of an inner harmony or homeostasis within the biopsychic orgasm and its relationship to mothe r earth (existence) and spirit (source). I have found that when this "relationship" is finely tuned then the breath automatically resonates and reflects that fullness.
So in this way the breath can be a prana-meter or senso-meter for people like me who need frequent tuneups (all the time).
I'm gonna post a couple of classic pranayama text excerpts, just to give historical context to the ancient yoga tradition which i have have studied. I am not asserting that it would be appropos for anyone else, but since it is not widely available and we talking about breath I thought that these may be of use to some?
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Breath in the Yoga Upanishads (Shakti Das, 3/26/99 11:57:54 AM)
"If you keep the breath at the root of your tongue, you will be able to drink ambrosia and will know true happiness.
By drawing it through the ida and holding it between the eyebrows, you will drink nectar and keep your body in good health forever.
By using the two nadis and guiding the air down to the navel, you will be preserved from all sickness.
And if for a whole month, you drink nectar drop by drop, inhaling the air three times a day and retaining it according to the rules in a chosen part of your body, any sickness deriving from wind or bile will never be able to bother you.
Diseases of the eyes are cured by breath held in the forehead just as diseases of the ears are cured by breath held in the ears, and headaches by breath held at the base of the head."
Yoga Darshana Upanishad, trsl., J. Varenne, "Yoga in the Hindu Tradition", Univ. of Chicago Press, 1976.
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Amritanada Upanishad (Shakti Das, 3/26/99 12:01:28 PM)
"The yogi conveys the prana down into the muladhara; the air thus drawn in awakens the fire below that lay sleeping. Meditating on the pranava that is brahman, concentrating his thought, he causes the breath to rise mingled with the fire below as far as the navel and beyond within the subtle body"
Amritanada Upanishad, trsl. J. Varenne, "Yoga in the Hindu Tradition," Univ. of Chicago Press, 1976.Yoga Symposium.6.101
Soft belly (Kit Spahr, 6/22/99 7:52:26 AM)
The following is a guided meditation from Stephen Levine...I've only heard him speak once (at the first Southwest Yoga Symposium in Albuquerque)but this "soft belly" practice is so simple and of so much value...that I probably use it more than formal pranayama these days in class. My students love it. I usually guide them through this during the first part of savasana.
"Taking a few deep breaths, feel the body you breathe in.
Feel the body expanding and contracting with each breath.
Focus on the rising and falling of the abdomen.
Let awareness receive the beginning, middle, and end of each inbreath, of each outbreath expanding and contracting the belly.
Note the constantly changing flow of sensation in each inhalation and in each exhalation.
And begin to soften all around these sensations.
Let the breath breathe itself in a softening belly.
Soften the belly to receive the breath, to receive sensation, to experience life in the body.
Soften the muscles that have held the fear for so long.
Soften the tissue, the blood vessels, the flesh.
Letting go of the holding of a lifetime.
Letting go into soft-belly, merciful belly.
Soften the grief, the distrust, the anger held so hard in the belly.
Levels and levels of softening, levels and levels of letting go.
Moment to moment allow each breath its full expression in soft-belly.
Let go of the hardness. Let it float in something softer and kinder.
Let thoughts come and let them go, floating like bubbles in the spaciousness of soft-belly.
Holding to nothing, softening, softening.
Let the healing in.
Let the pain go.
Have mercy on yourself, soften the belly, open the passageway to the heart.
In soft-belly there is room to be born at last, and room to die when the moment comes.
In soft-belly is the vast spaciousness in which to heal, in which to discover our unbounded nature.
Letting go into the softness, fear floats in the gentle vastness we call the heart.
Soft-belly is the practice that accompanies us throughout the day and finds us at day's end still alive and well."
This version is from his book "A Year to Live".A student came up to me a few weeks ago...after second yoga class ever...and said...I had to meet with my boss today and usually its very stressful because he's not a very pleasant person...but this time I softened my belly and watched my breath and it went better than it ever had before. Ahhh the breath of life...ahhh yoga.
KitYoga Symposium.6.104
kevin wood (sahaj, 6/22/99 10:17:36 PM)
What a wonderful forum to share our experiences! It is great to hear what everybody is doing on the other side of the planet.
Great soft belly stuff! Isn't " letting go" at the very heart of yoga and life itself?It seems that the core of our primal holding is at the navel center. It is also the source of our vitality. Maybe most people would benefit more from meditations like Stephen Levine's soft belly rather than the traditional pranayamas. What do you all think?
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soft belly (Kit Spahr, 6/23/99 8:32:40 AM)
If one isn't going to simply impose something called "Yoga" on people then I think you have to teach them what they need. And in the beginning...I think many people need to be able to find that soft-belly before anything else. It allows us to find a place of self acceptance and process rather than self-denial and achievement.
Pranayama practices sometimes ask for the holding of uddiyana bhanda. And if one has already got a pattern of holding there...due to fear, anger or just the cultural need to have a "flat stomach"...then I think perhaps teaching more holding isn't appropriate at first.
I guess what I'm trying to say is if you are going to hold something still then it needs to be a choice or allowing of stillness, rather than an unconscious restriction.
Kit
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kevin wood (sahaj, 6/23/99 7:28:24 PM)
here here!! exactly! That is also my experience with teaching the uddiyana bandha. Clenching the diaphram is a chronic problem with most people, probably thestress and anxiety of the modern age. One good example is trying to teach the agni sara or kapilabhati. You can really see how hard it is for people to let the abdomen spring out in a relaxed way, it just gets tighter and tighter. Isn't it interesting that the culture thinks that a flat stomach is attractive? I had a thought that the reason for this is the frighting possibility of letting go. Letting go of all the striving of our modern way of life. The denial of the heart in favor of the head. Maybe it is a reflection of the need to control rather than letting go and accepting?
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Compelling analysis!!!! (earthworm, 6/24/99 10:34:53 AM)
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bellies (Kit Spahr, 6/24/99 3:04:54 PM)
Even when we practice soft-belly there are situations, people, etc. that we "harden" against. The soft-belly focus is another tool to use to bring us into awareness. It's pretty amazing how one's attitude...choices about how to respond...change when one softens the belly...there's much more room for compassion...for heart. In terms of asana practice...soft belly doesn't mean flacid muscles. They are muscles that respond (like you said Kevin, Kapalabhati just gets tighter and tighter if you can't both soften and contract.
For students who still seem unsure about softening their bellies...I remind them that to strengthen a muscle we contract and lengthen...you don't get big biceps by simply flexing your muscle and holding it there for days on end! oh yeah.
KitYoga Symposium.6.109
kevin wood (sahaj, 6/24/99 7:31:57 PM)
One good way I have found to deeply release the abdomen is after shalabhasana. Do a strong, full effort , let her rip, superextended shalabhasana three times and on the third repetition turn your head to one side and relax completely. You will find that this deeply releases the tension in the deep belly especially at the diaphram. Maybe this is because of the toning of the adrenals ( which could be the intial cause of the tension in the form of a fight or flight response ). Just like when you tighten the muscles completely they can relax more completely afterward. Speaking of bellies, did you ever so a picture of Nityananda?(Muktananda's guru) HE had an enormous belly they used to say was full of shakti.
kevin
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Expanded belly (denice, 6/25/99 8:52:18 PM)
In the first class of my 8 week terms i have all the students place a hand on the lower abdomen and breathe into that hand as demonstration of what it feels like to breathe fully. This follows having them try to breathe with the abdomen locked in such as when we are trying to appear skinny! They are always so amazed at the difference between a real, complete breath and shallow chest breathing.
Kevin, i think you are right in that most people would benefit more from the soft belly breathing technique than from stylized forms of pranayama such as i have been doing. i'm going to give it a shot when class starts again in the fall. In fact, there will be a few things changed in my classes, thanks to the inspiration i've received from the many helpful people in this symposium. Thanks to all.
DeniceYoga Symposium.6.144
Laughter as Pranayama? (Shakti Das, 9/3/99 12:34:03 AM)
What does a simple emotion like laugher and a universally acclaimed form of exercise such as Yoga have in common?
Dr.Madan Kataria & Sheetal Agarwal.... A regular exercise of Yoga produces such a unique physiological balance in the human body that it is incomparable to any other form of exercise. Laughter on the other hand is a cognitive, affective and behavioral response familiar to every one of us. So what is common between laughter and Yoga?
Laughing and Breathing
A crucial element which is shared by both Yoga and laughter is that of "Breathing – a respiratory response". The specific pattern of inhalation and exhalation that is practiced in a few yoga exercises is also performed when the individual is laughing.
More so when this laughing is done in a specific fashion as in laugher therapy. Various forms of exercises are done which incorporate different kinds of laughter. These laughing exercises stress on the different organs and muscles providing benefits, which are similar to that of Yoga. Yoga has been and still is a philosophy that believes in ‘Emotional Control’. And laughter is on the other end of the continuum being a response, which defines an emotion, we all go through in our daily lives. And though balance of emotion is what is preached in Yoga, a happy and laughing attitude is what is practiced, explains Ashrafi Baker who has been a yoga instructor for 28 years.
Though we would find it difficult to believe, they do share common assets. The two categories of Yoga exercises that share these common physiological benefits with laughter are that of ‘Asanas’ focussing on the Digestive system and the Respiratory system. The organs involved in the process of digestion are the stomach, the small intestine, the pancreas and the liver; all of which are situated in the abdominal cavity. The incredible in-built mechanism that we have, to keep the function of these organs healthy is normal respiration. With every exhalation and inhalation our body provides a 24-hour massage to these organs. This gentle and automatic massage keeps the digestive organs healthy. Yoga provides certain exercises that enhance this regular respiratory pattern and hence focuses totally on increasing the strength and elasticity of the abdominal muscles. These specific exercises are ‘Bhujangasana’, ‘Salabhasana’ and ‘ Dhanurasana’, which are done to maintain the strength and elasticity of the muscles.
This massage not only keeps the abdominal muscles healthy but also keeps the abdominal organs in proper positions in the abdominal cavity. Normal respiration is also enhanced when an individual laughs. The respiratory pattern of laughter completely replaces that of the usual regular rhythmic respiration. According to William Fry Jr., "laughter with its complexity and multiformity appears to precipitate utter respiratory chaos." But this only leads to physiological benefits. And it is this change in the respiratory pattern that bears resemblance to the breathing exercises followed in Yoga. Also individuals respond to humor differently and thus there are a variety of styles that we laugh in. When we laugh with the mouth closed which is practiced as silent laughter in laughter therapy clubs, the strain is applied on the abdominal muscles. It is this specific movement that provides exercise to the abdominal muscles.
Internal Massage
Annaecdotal evidence is the common response of "stomach aching with laughter" which illustrates the use of the abdomen in the process of laughing. In a recent interview study it has been found that when individuals laugh, the pressure which gets applied on the abdomen helps relieve constipation.
And hence this simple response of laughter is also an aid for effective removal of waste from the body, providing benefits similar to that of Yoga breathing techniques. But not all benefits can be incurred by laughter. Asanas such as ‘Uddiyana’ and ‘Nauli’ provide the more important vertical and lateral massage to these abdominal muscles. And such precision in effectiveness cannot be obtained by laughter.According to Ravi Dixit, a Yoga instructor at the Kaivalyadham, laughter and yoga can share a few similarities such as exercises of abdominal muscles. But he further elaborates by saying that this effect can be obtained by emotions of laughing and crying, and so it is a scientifically difficult task to prove that the effects can be compared to that of Yoga.
The second system of exercises in which Yoga and Laughter share common benefits is the respiratory system. An important nourishment for the body is Oxygen, which is taken from the respiratory system. And the principle organ for respiration is the lungs. But breathing is not only dependent on lungs but also on the respiratory muscles. Similar to the abdominal muscles, respiratory muscles also must be strong and healthy for satisfactory breathing. For the body to get the required amount of oxygen there are three important criteria to be satisfied.
1. The lungs must be healthy
2. The respiratory muscles must be strong
3. The respiratory passage must be clear. Yoga provides specific asanas to fulfill the above-mentioned criteria. Asanas such as ‘Salabha’ and ‘Mayura’, which involve deep inhalation and retention of breath, are just a couple amongst others. Moreover when the individual laughs heartily he uses the lungs similarly where in the muscles are stretched to their full extent, thereby maintaining their elasticity.
4. Even the respiratory pattern is no longer rhythmic and therefore in the process of laughing an individual also provides more than the adequate supply of oxygen, which is very essential to the circulatory system. Furthermore, in the study mentioned above, it was found that individuals who regularly laugh as for example in a Laughter Therapy club, a reduction in Asthmatic attacks and Bronchial problems has been reported.Lion Laughter
Another kind of laughter that is practiced exclusively in Laughter Therapy clubs, which is similar to the ‘Simha Mudra’ of Yoga, is that of Lion Laughter. Often such kind of laughter is embarrassing when indulged in at a social gathering. But in Laughter Therapy clubs where all participants’come together to gain benefits, inhibitions are gradually lost and hence the exercise provides its full benefit. This exercise, similar toYoga, has been found useful to treat cases where individuals are suffering from tonsillitis.
There is no way in which laughter can replace yoga or vice versa. But a simple fact which has been illuminated is that even with a response which is akin to all of us such as laughter, we can gain benefits from that which lie on the same continuum such as a sophisticated form of exercise like Yoga.
Such findings only provide testimony to support the very acclaimed fact that laughter in many ways is definitely the best medicine a person can have. What we need in today’s stressful world is a form of exercise that not only provides us physiological benefits but also at the same time is a mood alleviator. And by developing the habit of laughing we might just achieve that.
Do You want to Start a Laughing Club in Your Area? Select a public garden or any other place where people go for their morning walks. Organise a group of a minimum of 25 people, including ladies. Our team of experts will come to your area and demonstrate various laughter techniques which will help you to laugh without jokes. It is purely a yogic technique. You are required to pay travelling expenses of the team along with boarding and lodging in case your are out of Mumbai. We accept proposals anywhere in India, with prior appointment. Alternatively, you can visit any of the laughter clubs at Mumbai.
For details contact: The President Laughter Club International A-1, Denzil, 3rd Cross Road, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (W), Mumbai-400 053. Tel: 631 6426 / 632 4293
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through the mouth? (YogaSuz, 1/10/00 7:42:47 AM)
Here's a challenge for everyone. I met with a tantra teacher recently and he said that in tantra you breathe through the mouth! What? I said. I thought you always breathed through the nose in order to warm the breathe (and now I have learned to allow the nose hairs and sinuses which are part of the immune system to do their work). He said that yogis (he is kind of anti-yoga...good for me to have a different viewpoint) breathe through the nose to get out of the body (here I disagree with him as I think that I am more in my body these days) and tantra practictioners breathe through the mouth to get into
the body.
The challenge I have for you is to do a practice breathing through the mouth and let me know if you think there is validity to what this guy is saying.
Suzanne
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Erich Schiffmann (schiffmann, 1/10/00 2:24:16 PM)
There is so much confusion about this, isn't there? My contention is that it is impossible to get out of the body. Creation... the manifestation or evidence of Omnipresence, Mind... is forever visible to itself. I know what people are talking about when they say they have out of body experiences, but still... there is no such thing as an unidentified presence, even at the point called "death." Yoga, therefore, is not about getting out of your body or transcending the "physical," but of more consciously being the embodiment that you can't help but be.Yoga Conference.6.210
Ela Mcdaniel (elamcdaniel, 1/15/00 8:39:50 AM)
With my breath, I come home to my body. my wholeness and presentness. I just am.The words here belong to the writers - please provide attribution if quoted on other web sites or in other media. These excerpts have been selected and edited for clarity by the editor. --R. Cox
