How is Your Breath?

Thus says the Lord God to these bones: 

I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 

Ezekiel 37:5

Breath and the ability to breathe is something that we all take for granted, seldom think about and just automatically do.  We never actually notice the action until perhaps we are in the presence of someone nearing the end of life and changes in the breathing patterns become more significant and noticeable.  For the majority of people it automatically happens with little thought involved except that it is necessary to survival.

On the same token there are people who struggle to breathe.  The struggle comes because of health issues, like anxiety, asthma or something far more serious.  It is on the bad breathing days that a person who struggles realizes just how much work is involved in breathing.  I suffer with what has been termed mild asthma.  Spring, the season we all look forward to, is my most dreaded season!  It is wet and the budding of the trees and flowers begins and for breathing it is a nightmare.  Breathing becomes hard laborious work.  The need to feel the breathe into the deepest recess of the lung feels so good when it seems to happen and the next few breaths can be a little less intense, a little less labour oriented.   I once commented to someone that while the day was beautiful "it would be so much better if I didn't need to breathe."

Breath sustains us, it calms us, if we use a rhythm for meditation or yoga.  Its very essence is life giving to everyone.  It is essential to life.  The majority of people are fortunate to not have to think about that next breath (unless they are doing intentional breathing exercises) but for a few it is hard and it draws all of the focus.  So can this focus be turned into a positive?  Not all of the time, but occasionally it can serve as a focus.  The Jewish people  reference God as  Yah (inhale) Weh (exhale), every breath becomes prayer, a mantra.  The focus of deep breathing can also call us to enter into a calm space, to breathe it all in and then let it all out.  Breath can center us, calm us. It can  be prayer time and it can be laborious.  It is hard to imagine that breathing can consume a persons day and to simply say to someone take a deep breath has a whole different connotation for people with lung issues.  So as we enjoy the slow approach of spring with all of its wonders remember to breath, to keep breathing, to work and it will be ok . . . better days are coming and breathing will be easier.