Living is as easy as breathing… as easy as choosing your breath in each and every moment. As easy as choosing to make that next breath gentle.

Our breath is our life, without it we die.

Yet we take our breath for granted; we breathe in and out mechanically without thought or awareness of our breath or how we are breathing.

How We Breathe

As a dentist I am very aware of how people breathe. I observe how my patients are breathing as it gives me clues to their health, how they are feeling or how they are coping with their treatment. From hyperventilating to breath holding, shallow breathing to deep sucking in lungfuls of oxygen, nose breathing, mouth breathing, wheezing, gasping… there are so many different ways of breathing and I feel I have seen them all.

We breathe on average 1700 to 2100 times a day. That is a lot of in and out, air passing through our nose and lungs and into our circulation. A lot of breathing muscles and chest walls expanding and contracting, rising and falling.

Studies show that the way we breathe affects our nervous system, hormone production, fight-flight response, stress levels, heart beat and rate, blood pressure and digestion.

There are times when situations or our emotions alter how we breathe, just like when we feel stressed or anxious, angry, upset, frustrated, afraid, excited, happy, calm, loved or when we sleep. In these circumstances what is happening to us is dictating how we react, our breathing, and ultimately our physiology and biochemistry.

Choosing How To Breathe

But what if we could choose to breathe in a way that would allow us to feel in control of life rather than life controlling us?

What if we could choose a breath that would allow us to connect to who we are, breathe for ourselves and remain unaffected by the world and what is happening outside of us?

What if we could use our breath to become aware of how we are feeling, what is happening in our body and to become more in touch with ourselves?

Well guess what? – we can, it is as easy as breathing… well, as easy as choosing how to breathe.

As easy as choosing to breathe for yourself. As easy as breathing gently in and out through your nose. As easy as watching and observing your breath as often as you can during the day. And as easy as stopping and bringing yourself back to that gentle breath.

Breathing Gently 

Breathing gently in and out through the nose, as taught in the  Gentle Breath Meditation™ by Serge Benhayon, has allowed thousands to be more at one with themselves, to be in charge of their breath and how their body feels.

For me it has allowed me to feel settled inside and at ease. I feel less rushed, pressured and dictated to by external events and other people. I feel healthier, less emotional, less stressed and as if I have more time in my day. I also notice, especially at work, how maintaining my rhythm and gentleness of breathing allows my patients and team members to also be more at ease. (Which as you can imagine is a blessing in a highly charged environment like the dental office!).

By taking that choice to breathe gently to a deeper place and choosing to breathe fully for me I have found that I know exactly what is needed and when; from knowing what to do or say to making big decisions and simple choices like when to rest, eat, exercise, work or sleep.

Breathing gently allows me to connect to me and from that connection make a choice rather than reacting to events, people or emotions. Breathing gently puts me back in charge of me.

When I breathe fully for me I become exquisitely aware of how I am feeling or reacting and also of how others feel, what they are projecting or needing. My breathing becomes like a fine tuning system allowing my sixth sense of feeling to kick in at a higher level. Living becomes clearer, richer and simpler. I feel like I am truly living, not just existing and being dictated to by life.

Living is as easy as breathing… as easy as choosing your breath in each and every moment. As easy as choosing to make that next breath gentle.

The Gentle Breath Meditation™, as taught by Serge Benhayon of Universal Medicine – a meditation for health and vitality.

by Dr Rachel Hall, Holistic Dentist, Brisbane