The One Breath of the Universe
Prayer is inhaling and exhaling the one breath of the Universe.
~ Hildegard of Bingen
Dear Friends,
What would it be like to inhale and exhale the one breath of the Universe? How would it feel to experience your breath as prayer?
To me, it feels like this: It starts with just pausing -- somewhere in my day -- and feeling my desire for peace. For a peace that settles me and pervades everything and everyone.
And then, to breathe. To keep letting go of thoughts and returning awareness to the breath as it comes in and goes out. Knowing that the peace is real and is always here, I make space for its presence. I tune out the other channels and attune to the one wave-length that carries me home. The Oneness that is home.
These days, we know of so many practices that can help us get there. Below is one that works quickly to ground us in our bodies and to reset our stressed-out nervous systems. And with just a few breaths, we can access some calm, clarity and reconnection.
This practice is called the Physiological Sigh, or Two-to-One Breathing, because you take two inhales and one long exhale. If you can, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, but it will still work if you can only breathe through one or the other.
With the first inhale, fill up much of your lungs, and then top it off with the second inhale (this one can be quick). Then exhale and empty the lungs completely. Take a tiny pause before inhaling again. You can repeat this two or more times but it will begin working in your system with the very first breath.
To go a little deeper with this practice, try this: When you exhale, make an audible sigh. Feel the pleasurable sensation of the sound moving through you head to toe. Our bodies hold constrictions that can be from unprocessed emotional pain and/or habitual ways of tensing up. Allow the sound of your own voice -- your sigh -- send waves of self-compassion to soften the hard places and soothe the tender ones.
Here's one last variation: Instead of the sigh, try pursing your lips as you exhale. It will create a sound like a whoosh or the whistle of the wind. Some traditions teach that the wind acts a messenger of Great Spirit. This has been true in my own experience more than once -- that on a very still day, a strong wind has come out of nowhere and swept through the space,through me and lifted the heavy emotions I'd been carrying. And it felt like a prayer was answered.
May our breathing become more and more a sacred invocation . . . and bring peace to all Creation.
With affection and blessing,
Elizabeth
Top Photo:
Cattleya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds by Martin Johnson Heade.
Heade was a major American artist of the 19th century who finally found personal and professional happiness and success in his '60's when he moved to St. Augustine, Florida. There he married his wife and also found his first and only important patron, Henry Flagler, who bought many of his paintings for the next twenty years. Photo taken by me at National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Quote:
Hildegard Of Bingen was a polymath and mystic from the Middle Ages. Born in 1098, she began having visions at age five and went to live in a small nunnery when she was eight. As a young woman, she became the abbess of her convent, and was also a writer, philosopher, composer, physician and medical writer. Her music is still being performed and she has 137,000 monthly listeners on Spotify! Take a listen here.