SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE BREATH

by Carol Lampman 

The scientific understanding of the breath and its support of the physical body continues to grow.   Studies prove that, in addition to supplying life-giving oxygen to the cells of the body, respiration profoundly affects almost every system in the body.  Research has shown that the breath has a profound effect on every aspect of the body, brain chemistry and the nervous system. What many of us have known for a very long time is now being validated.  There is no magic pill that will make it all happen instantly but the work with the breath is surely the fast track to greater freedom. 

The breath accesses the inner levels of the body, emotions, mind and spirit.   These levels form a matrix within which every aspect and every experience is organized and interconnected.   They are unified and cannot be separated; we have a body fueled by the breath, imbued with emotions, ruled by the dictates of the mind and fused by Spirit.   The breath moves the life force energy, which animates and integrates the totality of our being.  It is the link between the conscious and unconscious, allowing us to travel to unexplored inner realms for growth and self-empowerment.  

The natural, organic altered state created by the breath unites us with the greater awareness and wisdom of our essence.  There is a mechanism within each of us, the inner healer that knows exactly what is needed in order to return to health and wholeness.  The basic principle is that “whatever is most needed” to restore us to our original nature will emerge spontaneously during the altered state created through the use of the breath.  This remarkable, inner wisdom knows what is needed, at the right time and in exactly the right sequence, for the ultimate transformation to occur.