Breath

When Dr. Andrew Weil is asked what single health practice he would recommend to people, were he limited to only one recommendation, his answer is to have them focus on their breath. Since breathing is something we usually do automatically, it may seem an odd answer, on the surface. If you have spent any time doing breath work or in meditation practices which attend to the breath, you will likely be less surprised by his answer. Dr. Weil says the four qualities to develop in your breathing over time are to make it deeper, slower, quieter, and more regular.

In many cultures the word for spirit and the word for breath are the same. That seems noteworthy to me. As a voice teacher, breathing is something I give a significant amount of attention to for a number of reasons, as I regularly teach students how to breath in a way that not only supports their singing but tends to be closer to the way they were born breathing than how they have been socialized to breathe over the years.

Still, I too often forget that this wonderful key to better physical and mental health is literally right under my nose. Today, I am setting an intention to focus more on my breathing--in exercise, in meditation, in singing, in simply being.