Breathe

Breathe, she said.

I can't.

Pull the air into your abdomen then let it rise to fill your chest, expanding your lungs.

I won't.

Take in a little more than is comfortable.

No.

Then let it out without restriction, but also without pushing. Just let it exit your body, like emptying a glass.

But am I half empty, or half full?

Concentrate.

Sorry.

Be sure the breath is traveling in the right direction. This is circular breathing so we want it to come up the front of your body then back out, down and around until you pull it back in.

Huh?

Just move your arms in a circle: place your hands at hip level, move them up your body to your shoulders, then move them away and down until they end up at your hips again, making a big circle. Let your breath follow that movement.

Ok.

Quantum physics says the human body is full of spinning atoms and molecules, some traveling far beyond the visible limits of our anatomy. We are 90% space. Physicists know that our emotions are made up of energy particles. If our emotions are not released through expression, these particles can become trapped as energy in the spaces between the atoms and molecules.

Ouch.

Under stress, we hold our breath or breathe shallowly which traps the energy of our emotions in our physical bodies. Repressed emotions are not mental but physical.

No shit.

Healing requires that they be released and circular breathing helps us release the pent-up emotions by over-oxygenating our cells and creating enough energy flow to force the trapped energy out. By eliminating the emotional charge in the past, the individual is free to make positive new choices where none seemed to exist before.

I'm stuck.

When the negative emotional charge is diffused from the energy field, we lose the magnetic charge that draws us to those experiences. Unpleasantness is only drawn in response to what we've denied or judged. Our choice to deny our emotions is what gives the experience its unpleasant qualities. To deny what we feel moves us into a "no other choices available" mode. Locked into limitation, we can only reinforce what we already believe to be true.

You think?

Experience is meant to teach us, to help us evolve. Repeated experience is only meant to go on as long as needed. When understanding comes, the repetition is no longer necessary and we are free to move on. We can change the future.

Oh.

So breathe, she said.

(Thanks to Susan, Marjorie and Carol for their love, knowledge and perseverance.)