You might well be wondering why it so useful and productive and helpful to stop three times a day and take three breaths. We are always thinking, not only when are awake, but when we are asleep. We are pondering past pains and past traumas, trying to make sense out of how in the world those traumas could have occurred. We are planning future events; the next ten minutes, the next day, the next week, the next year. We are, as it turns out, focusing our attention either on the past or on the future and not where life is really at––the present.
We never, as it turns out, really give our thinking minds a break. You are probably thinking,
“But I sleep and my mind rests then.”
I am afraid not my friends. When we sleep we dream. Our minds are actually more active when we are asleep than we are awake. We may not remember the thinking that occurred when we were asleep, but I assure you our minds are overly-active when we sleep.
The question then becomes:
When do we really ever give our thinking minds a break, a rest?
Some people who have acclimated themselves to doing daily meditations are able to give their minds a rest. This number of individuals is clearly in the minority. There is a formidable difficulty with beginning to try and practice meditation using breath as the focus. What is this difficulty? The mind begins to get scared and frightened, thinking that we’re about to undo its purpose.
The mind then will convince you that you are not doing it right, or that others are forcing you to do something you really don’t want to do. So, you stop meditating. The underlying meaning then of taking just three breaths here and there throughout the day is to trick your mind (and your subconscious) into becoming acclimated to the pleasure of taking a short rest now and then.
The mind actually does like to rest, so we simply invite it to do so over the course of just 20 or 30 seconds throughout the day. It’s a way to begin a mindfulness meditation practice, if that happens to be the direction you are interested in pursuing.
Three breaths also give you oxygen. If you really monitor how much you breath, I think you’ll be quite amazed to discover that there are periods of time when there is very little if any breath coming into your body. If your cells don’t get oxygen, you certainly aren’t going to have very much energy. Taking three breaths each day at least three times throughout the day will actually enhance your energy level. Think about adding a glass of water to that particular activity and you’ll bolster your energy level five-fold.
Three breaths, three times a day.
- It is free to do.
- It is easy to do.
- It is relaxing.
- It is enjoyable.
And why not add a sip of water for an extra energy boost. It will not have the side effects of energy drinks!
This simple act shifts your attention to that deeper place of profound and genuine healing––the place where it is possible to reverse neurological symptoms that are being aggravated by an over-active neurological system. Becoming more mindful means that you are aware of all of the senses––smelling, hearing, tastes, sights. When all of your energy resides in your head – from your thinking self – it is very challenging indeed to access all of the other senses.
Three breaths takes you to a place where you are able to activate an awareness of your immediate surroundings as you notice the:
- Colors,
- Sounds,
- Sights,
- Smells,
- Sensations.
It takes you away from a place in our minds where we tend to live all of our lives. Enrich your life; give your body an opportunity to reverse those neurological symptoms by taking three simple breaths several times a day.
Robert
© Parkinsons Recovery