Breathing

Only just last Thursday have I begun to start running again. I wasn't really nervous about my hamstring when I was playing soccer the night before because the muscle groups are in use are totally different. However, I was anxious about how the leg would hold up just going on a normal run. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get right back into a regular pace with running. I worried as I pushed the speed and distance back to almost normal levels. I just kept waiting for the twitch that would signal that I would have to take more time off and not even worry about trying to train for the Long Beach Marathon in October. But I was able to do it without much trouble. The most pleasing part was realizing that my breathing was not affected by the layoff.

I have been thinking a lot about breathing recently. In a lecture that I heard earlier in the year, one of my professors was talking about how there is a certain amount of satisfaction and wellness that is derived from simply taking a deep breath (I guess other than the fact that breathing promotes living).

In the last year or so I have been wanting to take up both swimming and yoga, albeit for mostly different purposes, but one main draw is how each of them would help me better be able to control my breathing. I was talking to someone recently about how one of the hardest parts about swimming for me is learning how to breathe correctly. He mentioned that it eventually gets to a point where it becomes automatic, much like it is when you are completely at rest.

The act of breathing is interesting in the fact that it can be either something that is consciously monitored, as it is when you start out swimming or running, or it can be entirely subconscious and automatic. I want yoga because of the soft muscle tissue work that it provides that would offset the running and weightlifting I do, but also primarily for the meditation, breathing, and relaxation techniques that it provides.

With people that I know that deal with anxiety issues, the most common complaint about when the anxiety surfaces is how it becomes such a struggle to breathe. In a somewhat similar vein, I was watching the Wimbledon final this morning and while trying to compose himself, I could actually see Andy Roddick collect himself by taking deep breaths before each point, especially each serve. Learning how to control breathing in these examples helps these people regulate themselves in order to function properly.

I think breathing can be equated to righteous living. As breathing itself delivers oxygen that is delivered by the circulatory system to fuel the brain, organs, and muscles, righteous living provides the condition whereby we can experience peace, joy, and contentment. Sometimes breathing is automatic where it requires no thought and no conscious effort. Other times, it demands every bit of concentration and effort that we have available to us. In each case, breathing allows for harmony to prevail within the organism.

Occasionally, we stumble along - we take many missteps or the same ones over and over. Regaining our footing then becomes entirely a matter of stepping outside of ourselves and taking a deep breath that will lead to returning it to an automatic act.