The Breath of Life

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The simple act of breathing is the most primal, natural, and universal human experience. Focused breathing is one of the most rewarding and enlightening personal practices for those seeking mindfulness and peace and understanding in and of life. Awareness and perception is everything. Breathing development is of the utmost importance and it is often an indispensable aid to superior health, peak performance, and life extension. Is the way you breathe making you sick, stealing your energy, hampering your productivity or shortening your life? Findings resulting from a 5,200-person clinical study group observed over a 30-year span showed that pulmonary function measurement is an indicator of general health and vigor and literally the primary measure of potential life span. The first step in healthy breathing is to become consciously aware of how we actually breathe. In addition, the world's great spiritual traditions teach us that our breath not only brings needed oxygen and other substances to the physical body, but it can also bring the finer energies that are needed to help nourish our higher selves. Regardless of what we may believe about our soul and spirit, The Breath, and how we breathe, is intimately connected with all aspects of our experience of life.  Most people have unhealthy breathing habits, which include holding their breath or breathing high in the chest or in a shallow, irregular manner. Certain "typical" breathing patterns actually trigger physiological and psychological stress and anxiety reactions. Heart attacks, cancer, strokes, pneumonia, asthma, speech problems, and almost every disease known to mankind is worsened or improved by how well we breathe. People who breathe optimally rarely or never get sick.  A healthy and knowledgeable mind has an easy Breath and The Breath is Life…the act of Breathing is Living…it is our Being. "The Heart of the Matter" encourages everyone to learn more about focused healthy breathing and to incorporate your knowledge into your lifestyle for "YourElevatedLife" this year.

Heart breathing...We know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organs that serve for this are the lungs that lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart. Thus breathing is a natural way to the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which air reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, allow your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there. ~Nicephorus the Solitary~

Breath Is a Bridge..."Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to our thoughts." ~Thich Nhat Hanh~

I Am ALIVE..."If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance." ~Andrea Boydston~

The Breath of Love..."There is one way of breathing that is shameful and constricted. Then, there’s another way: a breath of love that takes you all the way to infinity." ~Rumi


Stand Still and Breathe..."Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God." ~Krishnamacharya~

Breathing Small..."Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?" ~Mary Oliver~

Breathe Past Fear..."Fear is excitement without the breath." ~Fritz Perls, M.D.~

The Breaths of a Lifetime..."A lifetime is not what is between the moments of birth and death. A lifetime is one moment between my two little breaths...The Present, The Here, the Now...That's all the life I get. I live each moment in Full...In Kindness...In Peace...Without Regret." ~Chade Meng~

Learn to Exhale..."Learn how to exhale, the inhale will take care of itself" ~Carla Melucci Ardito~


The Sweetest Things..."The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

About the Author: Savannah Blue is a Freelance Writer, a Spiritual Comforter and Motivator, and an amateur photographer and is also a publisher and entrepreneur. She is the Co-founder and Co-producer of Yourelevatedlife and YourElevatedLife Radio Show. Her passion is assisting others in becoming aware of and fulfilling their unlimited potential. She is "Living her Dreams" at the beach with the love of her life and working from home doing what she loves to do...help others live their Dreams!