Posts tagged ‘Bastrika’
Transformational Breathing – Part 2
Over the past few years I’ve survived some stressful times, and the stress led me to suffer a troubling fungal infection in my belly, which in turn disrupted my breathing .
I decided to start using Judith Kravitz’ CD on Transformational Breathing again, in order to restore my breath. I noticed that on following her breathing pattern on the CD, I was unable to keep in time with her. What I felt myself doing was pausing at either the outbreath or inbreath when the aim is to be continuously breathing. Judith says when we hold back or pause the Transformational Breath that the reason is fear. By fear she doesn’t mean being afraid of the technique but old fears that are embedded in the body and which are holding back the natural flow or rhythm of the breath.
In his book, The Miracle of the Breath, Andy Caponigro writes about how ‘breathing blocks can create a host of physical and mental problems, ranging from asthma to gastro-intestinal disorders to depression and psychotic breaks.” He says, like Judith, that “fear is the link that connects our breathing blocks with all forms of illness.” Caponigro also teaches techniques to reduce or eliminate these building blocks, and he calls his techniques Tarzan and Gentle Rapid Breathing (Based on yogic Bastrika breathing).
Another writer on the breath (can’t remember who) used the word ‘catch’ to describe these blocks that stop our breathing from flowing freely. This is what I felt, a slight ‘catch’ in my respiratory system, perhaps at the level of the diaphragm. These catches, blocks and pauses are the result of fears that we harbour in our body, and have probably kept them in place for many years.
What are the fears that I have been holding? One must be of poverty, another of loss of status, a third the fear of not fulfilling myself, and a fourth that of letting others down. Many people are afraid of loneliness, illness and death.
Fears that you experienced years ago are still with you, embedded in the tissues of your body. The emotional trauma at the time caused chemical and muscular changes to your body. Those changes often stay, especially if the trauma was strong enough or repeated enough times. Once lodged in your body, they become blockages to the flow of breath and chi, and can lead to pain and illness. To root them out is very difficult, and breathing, because it is so primal, is one way to disturb these blocks, shake them up and rid your body of them.
I believe that Transformational Breathing, if followed diligently, can have a real impact on these blocks and catches and lead to freer and more open breathing, with all the health benefits that entails. And no, I am not sponsored by Transformational Breathing.