Every time we breathe we are massaging our heart. Our lungs expand and
contract with every breath, giving the heart a gentle, loving caress. Every breath
we take physically activates the level of oxygen in the body, which is needed to
feed the blood in the heart and allows that heart to pump that oxygenated blood
around to all the different cells of our body. This is what happens on the physical
level as we breathe every single minute of the day whether we are conscious of
our breathing or whether we are sleeping or have experienced a state of
unconsciousness.
The rhythm of our breath directly influences the beating of our heart. When we
hold our breath, the heart loses its access to that loving caress. If we hold our
breath often enough the heart has a tendency to get a little anxious. The heart
needs a steady feeding of oxygen and caressing and a disturbance in that
steadiness often affects the beating of the heart negatively. The heart, so to
speak, gets afraid that it won’t be fed and therefore might not be able to do what it
is supposed to do—feed the rest of the body with life-giving blood and keep us
alive.
On the metaphysical and spiritual levels, the heart is a significant connection for
us to the divine source of life. Many of the mystical traditions talk about this
connection. Some traditions have very unique and advanced practices in
reference to this connection. For example, the Buddhist Tradition talks about the
“Lotus of the Heart,” while the Yoga Tradition mentions the “Cave of the Heart.”
Each of those images are closely associated with certain breathing patterns.
According to my yoga teacher, Pandit Rajmani, the Buddha was a yogi.
Therefore, the vehicle to understanding the “Cave of the Heart” is what the
Buddha meant when he mentioned the “Lotus of the Heart.”
Within the Christian Tradition there is also mention of the heart, referred to as
The Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is a devotional image that is used in Christianity
today as a contemplative model and practice for connecting with Jesus, the
Christ, who was God, in the Christian belief system. Often this practice involves
quietly sitting and gazing at the image of Jesus, whose heart is exposed and
surrounded by a glowing light.
In both the Yoga and Christian traditions the breath is a very significant tool in
accessing the experience of the “Lotus of the Heart” or the “Sacred Heart of
Jesus.” The difference between the two traditions is the nature of the stillness
and the methods used to direct the mind inward. The yogic method is a
meditative practice and uses a number of very precise breathing patterns, called
“pranayamas.” These “pranayamas” bring a person to the awareness of the
divine life force within the heart. This life force (“prana”) is experienced as a
“light” which comes from beyond one’s rational faculties of imagination and the
physical sensations of the body. The person who practices these breathing
techniques which allow the mind to be aware of this light/life force are
consciously moving beyond one’s thinking faculties and one’s sensory
experiences. The experience is an awareness of the Source of one’s life, namely
God.
When a practitioner does this he or she is aware that they are not controlling or in
charge of the light, the knowledge, or the insights that come from connecting
with that heart center. It is coming from a divine source. Christians call that an
experience of Christ at the center of the person. Christian mystics believe that
they are “other” Christs. They believe that the kingdom of God is within them.
Christian mystics and devotional practitioners have experienced Christ within
themselves by gazing on an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The gazing
shuts down the rational mind and from that mental and sensory stillness come
awareness of the love and peace of Christ within. The smooth, continuous, and
deep diaphragmatic breathing is part of activating their spiritual experience.
So, there may be a universal truism here: breathing in a smooth, continuous,
even, deep and quiet way or bringing the mind and the breath together while
allowing the breath to be seamless and effortless, will not only help the heart (and
therefore the body and mind) to be healthy but also bring us into union with the
Source of Life, Our Creator, no matter what we call that—Christ, the Father,
Ishwara, God, etc.
If we are serious about an internal call to be one with “God,” then our task is to
pay attention to our breathing, every minute of the day.
I bow to the divinity within you!
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