Glistening Tulip

The way we breathe is the way we live. Breathing fully is our birthright.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
The glistening tulip
Held by the cool moist air
Inspires.
It's tiny pores
Breathe in
Life.
Our air,
So precious to all of life,
Nourishes a flower who
Cannot live without it.
A tulip celebrates
This pristine moment
We breathe together
As one.














Breath Meditation
Morning air
Breathes me
To a birds song.
The boundaries of being separate
Dissolve.
I am the tulip in the garden
The new leaves on a tree
Loving the clean air.
Full deep breaths happen
Effortlessly
I don't have to think about it.
It is natural to breathe.

Colors at Dawn

Breath is connected to the air that we breathe. Becoming more aware of breathing can bring more awareness to the importance of good air quality. The air that we breathe travels in streams (like the jet stream). Pollution anywhere on the the planet affects us all and makes it hard to breathe and live.


Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Morning light
Paints the sky.
Orange, yellow, pink and gray
Beckon
Bare feet on the cool 
Earth
And the song of birds
Joyously awakening
To a new day

Breath Meditation
The cool air
Awakens the contours of
My body and flows
Deep into my lungs.
A true breath
Of morning.
Without walls
In open space
Freshness fills
My being
Without effort
I am filled with breath
And joy.

Pink Rhododendron

For breath is life, and if you breathe well, you will live long on earth. Sanskrit Proverb


Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
First bloom
Bursts open from a plant 
In the earth
Not yet a year.
Low to the ground
Brilliant petals of pink
Cluster together to 
A boquet
An offering 
Waiting to be seen.

Breath Meditation
My breath, swirling light
Reaching inward to
The recessess of 
A deep wound.
The doors, open now
by love.
She can receive and breathe.
Quiet and dark
A child
Longing to be known
By those who
Value life
Sits
Receiving what was meant 
To be.
In the stillness of a breath
I am embraced.

Blooming Trees

Adults breath between 12 and 20 breaths per minute at rest.  However, recent research has shown that 10 or fewer slower, deeper breaths per minute is best for overall health.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Blooming, becoming
Flowering,
Each tree is
Free to express,
And open outward
Displaying it's own unique 
Pattern of flowers

Breath Meditation
Shoulders tight and 
Mind held
Become evident
With closed eyes
And flowing breath.
Waves of body tension
Melt in the pause between breaths
A life source
Awakens
There is support now.

Bright Green Buds

"Breathing–I know that I am breathing in; breathing–I know that I am breathing out." If you do that with a little concentration, then you will be able to really be there, because in our daily life our mind and our body are rarely together. Our body might be there, but our mind is somewhere else. Maybe you are lost in regrets about the past, maybe in worries about the future, or else you are preoccupied with your plans, with anger or with jealousy. And so your mind is not really there with your body.
The moment you begin to practice mindful breathing, your body and your mind begin to come together with one another. It takes only 10 to 20 seconds to accomplish this miracle called oneness of body and mind.” Thich Nat Hahn

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Bright green buds
Unfold
On smooth slender branches
New growth
Emerges 
A celebration
Of Spring.

Breath Meditation
The right side of my body
Breathes
While the left side is
In the dark.
The back door of my heart
Opens between shoulder blade
And spine.
In the letting go,
I find a new center.
Joy returns.

White and Gray Clouds

The essence of life resides in the breath along with our whole life story, moment by moment. Breathing can indicate how we feel and think as well as point us to deep essential truths.

Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Clouds
A wide brush stroke of 
White displays itself
Between clouds of 
Dark gray
There is blue sky
For a moment
A promise of light

Breath Meditation
Smoothe and soft
Flowing streams of breath
Calm my mind 
And body.
The importance of 
Many things to do
Yields to a greater flow
I become a raft
On a journey,
supported by a
Great river.

Dorje

Our lungs are essentially, a network of connected tubes that bring oxygen from the air into our blood, nourishing the trillions of cells that make up our bodies. The lungs also clena the blood of carbon dioxide waste created when cells use oxygen. We breathe in and out some 22,000 times per day, processing about 300 cubic feet of air.  National Geographic


Three Deep Breaths

Something Beautiful
Dorje
Sitting on bench
Watching and participating
In the morning.
It is quiet now
A time of 
Being.

Breath Meditation
Tired and foggy,
My breath is thin.
Presence flows 
Downward to the
Soles of my feet
Longing for the contact of
Earth
Wet grass 
Vitality.
My breath
now grows into
Fullness