Breathing and Relaxing into Health—Part One

by Michael Ketterhagen

During my time with cancer and the healing that I am beginning to experience, I have learned that two skills—breathing and relaxing—bring me closer and closer to my complete healing. Each is absolutely necessary for us human beings, according to the yoga sages, the Chinese mystics, the Sufis of Islam, the Jewish Kabbalists and the Christian saints.

Each of these religious/spiritual traditions believe that the Divine Source of Life resides within. That divinity, called different names in each of the different traditions, is totally alive, vibrant, joyful and desirous of only living forever. At the core of every human is a powerful life-giving force, called “prana shakti” in yoga, “the Breath of Allah” in Islam, “chi” in Chinese, “ruah” in Hebrew, and “the Holy Spirit” in Christianity.

That force always wants the best for us, always wants healing, and longs for wholeness in our lives.

However, somewhere along our individual and collective human journeys, for many different reasons, we begin to lose our ability to breathe in a healthy manner. This unhealthy breathing leads us to live very stress-filled lives. We begin to lose our ability to relax, even while we are sleeping.

According to the yogic sages, who are the ancestors to each of the other spiritual traditions, breathing that is smooth, continuous, even, deep and quiet is the healthy breath. It all starts with attending to the effortless and seamless diaphragmatic breathing, which on our deep, subtle levels becomes a breathing pattern that is eventually “breathing that is almost not detectable,” as the yogic sages say.

The healthy breathing pattern begins with awareness of the breath at the tip of the nostrils, specifically at the septum which divides the right from the left nostril. As we follow the flow of the breath up both nostrils, we come to a feeling of sweetness in the corners of eyes and then an upward sensation at the bridge of the nostrils. This is where the two flows of breath in each of the nostrils joins. It is like a honeymoon of togetherness, as each of the nostrils, according to the yogis, represents the masculine and feminine energies in the body.

After they are joined at the point between the eyebrows (the bridge of the nose), the union of the breath brings a sensation light, peace, joy, and enthusiasm. This is our union with the Source of Life within. This is our goal. This is healthy breathing and at this point the divinity within takes us to the necessary healing in the mind and body.

I encourage all of you to practice this skill daily for at least 5 minutes. We all need healing and this practice will bring us closer and closer to the awareness that we can truly allow the God within to heal us and our world.

Namaste’