Practicing Spiritual Breathing

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Practicing Spiritual Breathing

An excerpt from

by Sharon Janis

Your breath is much more than just the simple movement of oxygen in and out of your lungs. Your breath is a vehicle for not only the physical oxygen that’s necessary for your body functions, but subtle energies as well. The air has its own aura or energy field. Sometimes, you can even see these tiny scintillating particles of light filling the air around you. (Please don’t tell me I’m the only one who sees them!) Indian scriptures use the word prana to describe this life force and their word for breath exercises that increase your life force is pranayama.

You've probably noticed that your state of mind affects the way you breathe. For example, when you’re agitated, your breath tends to get shallow and fast. When you’re feeling happy and peaceful, your breath becomes slower and deeper.

Just as your state of mind affects the way you breathe, so also the way you breathe affects your state of mind. Because your breath mirrors your mental state, you can create an intentional feedback loop where you guide your breath to become calm and slow, little by little. Calming your breath also calms the thoughts in your mind. As the agitation of your mind begins to subside, your breath naturally becomes even calmer, thereby making your mind even quieter.

Breathing slowly and deeply can lead you into more peaceful spaces within your mind, heart, and soul.

The soul is the divine breath.
It purifies, revivifies, and heals the instrument through which it functions.
—Hazrat Inayat Khan

Here is a way to experience healing life-force energy through breath control:

Sit quietly in a meditative space, allowing each breath to get longer and longer, deeper and deeper.

Slowly increase the length of each inhalation, as well as the pause at the peak of your inhalation while holding the air in.

Let the air out slowly with each exhalation, pausing again at the end of each exhalation as the air is retained outside.

You may have an easier time doing this exercise while counting mentally. You can begin by breathing in to the count of three, gently retaining the breath for a count of three, releasing the air to the count of three, and resting on the point of exhalation to the count of three. After the count of three is comfortable, you can add a number, and do the same cycle to the count of four.

Continue to add numbers to your breath rounds until the point where it would become uncomfortable. If you feel a need to take a few ordinary breaths here and there before continuing on, that is fine. Trust your inner guidance.

Breath exercises should give a bit of challenge, but no discomfort. Be careful not to force the breath, while gently guiding your breaths to become longer and deeper.

Various teachers give different suggested ratios of breath inhalation, retention, release, and rest, where your count for inhalation is different from retention or exhalation. As someone who likes to do my practices with minimal bookkeeping, I suggest starting with this simple straight-across count.

The important elements in this practice are your focus on the breath and on consciously expanding and softening your capacity to receive and release air and life force through your breath. Breathe in and feel that you’re breathing in light and filling your body with light. Breathe out and shine that light into the world.

More about Spirituality For Dummies

“This book bridges the gap between conventional experience and the spiritual life. Spirituality for Dummies gives practical advice for entering the path of spirituality, borrowing wisdom from a host of religious, philosophical, and comedic traditions. Insightful, wise, and humorous, this book can and should be read by all, from novice to saint!"

— Dr. Christopher Key Chapple, Loyola Marymount University

From the Publisher (Wiley):

Want to get in touch with your spiritual side? Spirituality For Dummies 2nd Edition shows you how to use spiritual principles to understand and improve your life, empower you mind, and nourish your soul. Complete with a CD filled with calming, spiritual music, it is your personal guide to serenity and spiritual healing.

Spiritual philosopher Sharon Janis shows you how to discover the deeper calling of your soul, survive and thrive through adversity, and look at the world with optimism. You’ll learn how to use meditation, yoga, prayer, and journaling for inward reflection and to spark new vistas as you unfold your own spiritual wisdom and move forward on your spiritual journey in your own individual way. You’ll find similarities and differences among a variety basic spiritual concepts from different religious and philosophical traditions, and you’ll discover how to:

* Find your spiritual path
* Uplift your body, mind, and spirit
* Fulfill your greatest dreams
* Spiritualize your relationships
* Cultivate your spiritual virtues
* Increase your inner peace and happiness
* Turn troubles into triumphs
* Recognize yourself as a co-creator
* Be a VIP: a very inspired person

The companion CD that accompanies this gentle guide brings you more than 60 minutes of inspirational music from around the world. It features the author and other artists performing songs and chants from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions in their native languages.

The Spiritual Guide that Comes with It's Own Ego Test

CLICK HERE if you are offended by the title

spirituality

Humorous, edgy, profound, and enlightening, Spirituality For Dummies brings modern-day spiritual seekers a view and approach to life that is universal, personal, and optimistic, with the dependable style, clarity, and friendliness of the “For Dummies” series.

User-friendly descriptions of spiritual teachings, principles and practices are brought to life with with humorous anecdotes and insightful quotes from great thinkers, scriptures, and texts from many traditions. With a friendly and conversational tone, Spirituality For Dummies gives readers tools tofind and enter the spiritual dimensions of their lives in today's unique world circumstances.

Spirituality For Dummies guides readers to the awareness of their natural and inherent identity with spirit and the all-pervasiveness of divine spirit in everything. It does this with a realistic and common sense approach that is scientific in nature, without asking readers to subscribe to fluffy or black-and-white ideas.

Reviews for Spirituality For Dummies:

“You can be sure you will no longer be a dummy if you finish reading Spirituality for Dummies. This 330-page primer provides a general overview of spiritual knowledge and awareness, and offers specific spiritual exercises and principles designed to expand one's universal consciousness. Author Sharon Janis fuses mystical traditions with "new thought" to encourage individuals to see beyond mere appearances and use intuitive perceptions to comprehend the spiritual laws at work behind the outer conditions in their lives."
— Sacramento Bee

“Spirituality For Dummies is a Mecca for those who are sincerely seeking the genuine meaning and practice of spirituality. Sharon Janis fuses mystical insights drawn from the east/west approaches, resulting in a volume that opens the heart, exhilarates the mind, and inflames the soul. No matter upon which rung of the spiritual ladder you now stand, expect to be catapulted to the next level of awareness through practice of the wisdom-offerings in this scripture of Truth.”
— Michael Beckwith, Agape and "The Secret"

“If you feel empty inside (and not because it's been six hours since your last burrito), it might be time to search for the meaning of life in Spirituality for Dummies… Even skeptics can gain self-knowledge from the thought and visualization exercises strewn throughout the book, which demonstrate how to take a positive view of negative experiences and let go of emotional baggage—like going to a therapist, but cheaper. Janis explains meditation, yoga, and other practices in a chipper, down-to-earth style, using everyday analogies and many an exclamation point, that won't scare off the novice.”
— Village Voice

More Reviews

READ SAMPLE PAGES:

The Table of Contents

Chapter 1: "Finding Authentic Spirituality"

The eclectic and extensive index

What makes Spirituality For Dummies different from other contemporary spiritual books?

Breadth and depth of coverage – It is rare to find a contemporary spiritual book that covers the breadth and depth of topics covered in Spirituality For Dummies.

It's Universal and Personal– The author brings quotes and ideas from many spiritual, religious, psychological, ancient wisdom, scientific, and philosophical traditions together with personal insight and advice.

Friendly, knowledgeable guidance with no strings attached – The author’s goal in writing this book is to share beneficial ideas and worldviews that are accessible to people from all walks of life.

About the Author:

Sharon Janis was brought up by psychology-teacher parents and studied neuroscience and film at the University of Michigan, before spending ten years living a monastic ashram life – studying, chanting, and serving in deep spiritual immersion, while producing and editing hundreds of videos for the worldwide Siddha Yoga spiritual movement.

After a decade of monastic life, Sharon moved to Hollywood for a career as film editor, director, and producer of popular television shows and films – including many evening news and news-feature shows, Hard Copy, X-Men, and The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers – winning a Los Angeles Emmy, an Associated Press National Board of Directors award, and many other accolades. With her combination of monastic life and Hollywood creativity, Sharon offers a fresh view and style that motivates, entertains, educates, and enlightens with a down-to-earth intimacy, touches of music and singing, and a generous dose of humor.

Watch a video about Sharon and Spirituality For Dummies

Excerpts from Spirituality For Dummies at
"Dummies.com":

Cultivating Spiritual Virtues

Exploring the Meaning of Spirituality

10 Small Things You Can Do to Uplift Your Life
             (with photos)

Living Spiritually in a Conscious World

Practicing Spirituality for Personal Growth

Transcending Life's Problems through Spirituality

11 Commandments for Living a Spiritual Life

5 Divine Forms to Check Out

The 7 Stages of Universal Creation Based on Kashmir Shaivism

10 Spiritual-Sounding Lines and What They May Really Mean
              (humor with photos)

How to Connect with the Divine through Prayer

Singing to the Divine

What Is the World Made of?

How This World Is Like a Movie

Dream Interpretation and Spirituality

The Laws of Karma

Should You Make Lots of Good Karma?

How to Clean Up Your Karmas

The Law of Attraction

How to Untangle the Web of Desires

10 Opportunities to See Your Life with Spiritual Eyes
           (with photos)

How to Rise Above Illusions

The Power of Affirmations

Remember That the Universe Is Always Listening

How to Use Manifestation Techniques

How to Clarify Your Spiritual Intentions and Goals

What Is the Supreme Surrender?

The Importance of Divine Guidance

How to Depend on Spirit

What Enlightenment Is Like

Find more info and video and audio clips of the author at:
Sharon Janis Speaking.

Every copy of Spirituality For Dummies comes with
A CD of inspiring devotional music!

The Spirituality For Dummies 2nd Edition music CD comes in the back of every book and gives a delicious taste of inspiring spiritual music, including Gregorian chanting, Christian songs, Buddhist texts, Jewish prayers, Hindu chants, Latin hymns, and gospel music, sung by artists including Erik Peterson, Cantor Kathy Robbins, The Eternal OM, the Desert Fathers, Kali Mandir, Premanand Trikannad, Swami Nirvanananda, and the author.

CLICK HERE to Play the
Spirituality For Dummies Music CD Tracks

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