Breath is a universal force that unites all living organisms. Everything that is alive, is said, to breathe.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Three Trees
Gray and barren,
A clean slate
For a new year
A new season.
Three trees have
Stood the test of time,
Elegantly planted in the earth,
With the fine lines of experience
Etched into their bark.
Three trees with space
Around them,
Silently ready
For new growth.

Breath Meditation
Wired and tired,
My body welcomes breath.
I breathe in company,
And those, who are
The pillars in my life,
Stand all around me.
We all breathe
As one.

In Greek, the word pneuma means breath, soul, air and spirit.  In Japenese, the word ki means both air and spirit.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Clouds
The earth is muted and quiet.
Up above, clouds, like soft
Cotton float by,
Gently caressing
The blue sky.

Breath Meditation
Pelvis and spine rock gently
With each breath,
Like a blade of grass 
Moved by a soft wind.

Inhalation takes me gently
Back
Exhalation softly undulates
Forward
The pause takes me deep into
The earth.

Morning Magic

The word "spirit" comes from the latin "spiritus" meaning breath.  In sanskrit, the word for breath is prana which also is used to describe universal life energy.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Morning Magic

The golden rays of light
Across a bench
And orange lit strokes
Painted across the stones.
A fleeting display
Of the sun's morning magic
The sun paints it's golden light
In this hour
And is slowly moving on
To those nearby.












Breath Meditation
Tension. Things to do. 
Armoured to accomplish.
Permeated by a single
Fresh breath of life.
In this moment,
Arms and chest soften,
My heart opens.
I settle back 
Into all the time in the world,
Letting go, being filled,
Trusting the source.

Optimal breathing can bring confidence and  strength without effort. Rather than pushing, one is moved.


Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Hanging Basket
A hanging basket of flowers
Red, purple,
Reach out into 
A gray winter's day.
Everything else,
Cold and quiet,
Has retreated inside.
The red flower is
Bold, 
And has Hope,
That soon the warm sun 
Will come.

Breath Meditation
Strong, full and centered,
My breath is like a large ocean wave,
Supported from all sides.
Confidence without tension,
Strength without effort.

After the Rain

Oxygen nourishes and cleanses our cells though breathing. In the alvioli sacs in the lungs, oxygen is picked up by the blood, and transported to every cell.


Three Breaths

Something Beautiful
After the Rain
Droplets hang
Like little jewels
From flowers, leaves, and branches.
A world within,
Full and Bountiful,
Reflects its essence
To all.

Breath Meditation
Waking up worried,
My breath, thin.
And then, each cell
Breathes, 
Becoming full,
Connecting me to
Nourishment.
Every cell,
Alive and radiant,
Is the solution.

Bronze Dancer

There is a still point after exhalation and before inhalation, where nature gathers energy and momentum.

Three Deep Breaths

Someting Beautiful 
Bronze Dancer
A bronze hanging dancer
Catches my eye,
Shining en point,
In arabesque.
Still, for only
This moment.

Soft tones of gray mist
Cover the hills like a blanket. 

Winter.

Breath Meditation
Fogginess inside.
Breath stirs life.
Shoulders and jaw release,
As breath begins to flow 
Throughout my body.
Each breath with its own momentum,
Builds power

As I begin to move and shine.

Giving and Receiving Gifts

 We breathe at least 17,000 times a day.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Giving and Receiving Gifts
The gift of life
A present,
A hug.
Genuine caring
To one another.








  

Breath Meditation
Breath, nature, this planet
Is a gift.
Each breath of life
That I take in
From the plants 
And air around me
And give back again
Is a gift
Letting me know 
That I am a part of
Something miraculous.

Trees Aglow

Breathing can transform the simpliest of daily emotions into joy and a sense of belonging.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
The tall trees are aglow
Warmed by rose colored light.
White whispy clouds
Travel across the sky.
Only a few leaves are left
To basque in the morning sun.
The song of a single bird
Reminds me to
Celebrate Winter.

Breath Meditation
Small breaths make their way
Up my neck,
Lengthening.
There is an inner silence,
and I am alone.
And then, my head surrenders.
I become part of the many.

Liquid Amber

Breath is the bridge between the involuntary and the voluntary, the unconscious and the conscious.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Liquid Amber

Branches highlighted against the blue sky.
There are no leaves now,
Only seeds of winter
And smooth, elegant branches reaching
Down into the earth 
And up into the sky.













Breath Meditation
Thoughts, desires, things to do, tension and fatigue.
Inhale, Exhale, Resting
Three distinct beats filled with 
Balance and motion.

Flowing inside, my body, like the Liquid Amber  
streams down to Mother Earth,
Letting go,
Embodied in the present,
Where there is everything that I need.

The Sun

Breath is connected to our thoughts, emotions and every physiological process in the body.


 Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful

After many gray days,
The sun is shining through the trees.
Leaves in the distance light up.
The whole day is brighter.

Breath Meditation

Thoughts racing! Ideas...
Breathing brings me quietude.
The still point connects me to life.
I become more the like sun,
Effortlessly illuminated and vast.
Thoughts can basque now.

Hibiscus

"Breath is the rhythm of life " Hippocrates

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Hibiscus

The orange flower is poised on its stem,
Like a small paper mache bowl
Taking in the soft rain.

 










  
Breath Meditation
As I breathe in, my breath is like the soft rain
that nourishes the inner surfaces of my being.
As I breathe out, my breath gently touches 
the world around me.
When I am in the brief rest that follows,
I feel the surrender of a child
rolling down a hillside.
Over and over, I am nourished, gently contacting
the world around me, and surrendering.
The worry, the work and the lists, all yield to a true vitality
and relaxed joy.

Dawn

"Breath is a connecting force. It creates a bodily equilibrium and balance. It connects the human being with the outside world and the outside world with his inner world." Ilse Middendorf 


Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Two pillows

Gary lies asleep
Eyes closed, head resting on a pillow.
It is dawn.
The light barely illuminates the contours of his face
And my pillow next to his.
Love fills the space.

Six years ago today, we met for the first time.

Breath Meditation
Breath courses through me.
Blood awakens.
Light touches my closed eyelids,
Touches the wave of my breath
and illuminates me.

Daily 5 Minute Breath Practice

Breathing affects us physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and energetically. Breath is the voice of the soul. Today, I begin a daily practice to give voice to the life force that brings me vitality, wisdom, balance and joy, My Breath. It goes like this:
  
Take 3 Deep Breaths: Inhale all the way in, Exhale all the way out, Pause for a few seconds and repeat.

Find Something Beautiful : Find something beautiful and write it down.
Here's what I found today.
The Buddha and The Maple Tree
The buddha sits under the maple tree,
Both in stillness, unmoved by a winter's day.
Leaves, brown and crumpled create a beautiful bronze like sculpture,
Hanging, reaching, resting
On delicate branches.


Follow the Inner Breathwave
Close your eyes. Release any tension and allow your breath to flow. The breath can flow through your being, wave upon wave. Your attention can be like a surfer, riding each wave, sensing, feeling, enjoying. Allow everything to float into consciousness without attaching to it. Let it ride on the wave of your breath.

Make a Few Notes 
Here's what I experienced today
I feel the release of tenion in my neck and shoulders. It's Saturday, I am relaxing into time and space and the luxury of maybe having a late cup of coffee. It's been a hectic week, full of work and deadlines. With time and space, there is joy. My breath expands into my whole body, front, sides and back. I rest in the pause, smiling.