I usually don´t pay attention to my breath. It only comes to the fore when I am out of balance; after climbing a steep slope or hurrying up to get the bus, or even when I am afraid.
In daily experience, very often my concerns and expectations make me inhabit the world of thoughts and lose touch with the surroundings. As I invite awareness to join the breath, I can see that very often a kind of control. It is as if I was holding something back, a defensive and hidden attitude against the unexpected. My body is not completely relaxed and the breath is short and uneven.
The mindfulness of the breath gently brings presence, letting the strong attraction of the thoughts lose its hold and letting me be aware of what is happening here now.
This knowledge brings me a choice: I can keep doing the same, inhabit the world of thoughts, which is tight and narrow, or I can let go my concerns and expectations and allow more room in my experience in order to accept whatever is given.
As I allow the breath to come in mindfully, the space it opens can accommodate all the difficulties in my way. And as I breathe out mindfully, more space is activated and I can let go all the heaviness of previous experiences.
Allowing and letting go conducts my breath to its natural rhythm.
Good morning, Eliana,
Your post helps me to be aware how easily I ignore my own breathing for great stretches of time. So I appreciate being reminded how balancing it can feel to ride the breath, like surfing a gentle wave that is carrying me into the future. I have been thinking about balance this morning. In my case, what came into focus was the need for balance between remaining engaged in the health of my own body and mind on the one hand (which can involve doing more exercise than I have been doing) and following my natural inclinations with appreciation on the other.
Speaking of the future, Happy Birthday, I hope your breath carries you into a wonderful year of insight, delight, and all the other lights.
I would like to add that:
Letting go the fascination of inhabiting the world of thoughts, and allowing ourselves to inhabit space brings us to the center of experience dissolving the bystander position and the sense of separation.
The glue is the mindfulness of the breath.