The power of breathing

We are currently witnessing a tumultuous period of immense energy changes in the form of job losses, a new American president, strife in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and of course, our internal troubles. All are energy upheavals of a kind that’s put our personal energy completely out of gear. How should you then, manage your energy in this scenario?

Have you noticed how you react when you read of upheavals of any kind? Let us assume your job is shaky. Do you find your breathing getting faster whenever you think about the future? Do you feel emptiness near your navel and a tightening of your buttock muscles when you wonder how you will manage your family?
Well, that is typically how the body’s chakras react to any kind of energy disturbance. In holistic healing lingo, your mooladhara and solar plexus chakras get affected. A chakra, according to holistic healing, is an energy centre located along the spine. There are seven major ones and 144 minor ones located all over the body. These chakras are connected to the endocrine system, which in turn releases hormones. Hence, a malfunction of the chakra is said to cause hormonal imbalance.
Changes in breathing patterns also affect one more thing: your frequency. The rate and type of your breathing determines the frequency you create within and around your body. Have you noticed on days when you are irritated, you find everything going awry, and on days, when you are peaceful, you find the world peaceful? That’s because your frequency affects the world around you. It affects the people near you. These ‘affected people’ in turn emit further disturbed frequencies and the final result, is complete turmoil – a state where the frequency is said to have gone completely haywire.
If you pause and ponder, you will realise that the only factor under your control is your breath. Nothing else is. The entire world functions on its own wisdom and you can only respond to it. You may think you will go to office and return in the evening. But even a simple action as taking a step is dependent on your body functioning properly, on an earthquake not hitting your city, on something not falling on your head, etc. Simply put, apart from your breath, you have nothing else under your control. And when you are faced with a situation, all you can and should do is control your breathing.
We generally breathe wrongly. It is a habit that is developed over the years. Have you noticed how a baby breathes? Its breathing pattern is completely different from adults. Being conscious about your every moment, your every breath, lends you a peace that will make these energy upheavals insignificant. You will feel happy in the knowledge that you are in control over the Big B – your Breath.
Try this: Every morning, sit straight facing the east or north, cross-legged, close your eyes, and watch your breath as it goes in and comes out. After a few minutes into the meditation, you will find your breathing rate decrease. When you reach a stage when you find yourself immensely peaceful, mentally count how many inspirations and expirations you are doing in a minute. Keep this count in mind, and throughout your waking hours, consciously relax your breathing so that you get to the inspiration-expiration count that you had during meditation. This exercise will alter your frequency and in turn alter the frequencies of things around you. If you consistently do this, you will find the energy in and around you getting harmonious and the so-called unmanageable events also getting streamlined.