The Connection Between Breathing and Peace

No matter what is going on in your life, you can always take a moment to focus on your breathing.

When you find yourself in a tense situation, for example, you may notice that you are holding your breath.
Putting your attention on your breathing can help you relax and immediately be in the here and now.

This practice, found in many spiritual traditions, is often referred to as mindfulness, being present, or living in the now.You may ask, since we’re breathing all the time, why do we need to practice it?

What we’re practicing is conscious awareness of the breath. Then breathing becomes a concentration exercise that not only focuses the mind but brings many healing benefits as well. – John-Roger with Paul Kaye -(From: Momentum, Letting Love Lead – Simple Practices for Spiritual Living, p. 61)

Vibrational Healing: It works!

Vibrational healing is a process whereby vibrations are introduced or transferred into a human being’s physical and energetic bodies, so that the vibrations which have become unbalanced in the human physical or auric body are adjusted. This is based on the idea that illness or disease in the human and auric body is characterized by blockages and imbalances. These blockages and imbalances causes a cell, organ, system, or energetic body to slow it’s vibration. Slow vibrations result in disease (dis-ease) or illness. The process of vibrational healing adjusts these unbalanced vibrations.
To be healthy, an individual needs to have a high rate of vibration in their physical and auric bodies. This vibration is nourished in many ways including what we think, feel, believe, see, hear, smell, touch, eat, drink, breathe, and are exposed to. As an individual becomes ill their rate of vibration lowers. As the rate of vibration lowers the individual becomes more susceptible to other negative energies and invaders and the cycle of poor health becomes self-perpetuating.
Many internal developments affect the rate of vibration of a human body. Each cell, organ and system has its own vibration. Each emotion that one feels, creates a separate vibration in the human body; each thought we have creates a unique vibration; each color has its own vibration; every sound carries its own vibration; each smell has its own vibration.
Many external factors affect the vibration of the human body. We are bombarded with electromagnetic frequencies that can influence the vibrational rate of our physical and etheric bodies. Each household appliance, television set, cell phone, microwave oven is sending out these vibrations. Mother Earth is surrounded by various electromagnetic grids that can also affect our vibrations. Underground water can also disrupt the healthy vibration of the human system. And finally, there are many entities which can rest in our auras, homes and offices which can seriously affect our rates of vibration. The following provides a more detailed description of what can affect our vibrations and a brief look at different types of vibrational healing.
The relationship between the body, emotions, mind and spirit is not always with us. The additional mystery of the relationship of Mother Earth and the broader Universe is also never ending. It’s quite fascinating to realize that the human body is able to automatically balance the complex world of internal and external vibrations and find its own equilibrium. Illness occurs when our vibrations become unbalanced and this equilibrium is disturbed.
Different Types of Vibrational Healing
Vibrational healing has been used for thousands of years in ancient civilizations. Egypt is said to have used sound and color for healing and that many of their healing centers had special rooms devoted only to healing with color and sound. The Chinese have used acupuncture, another form of vibrational healing, for centuries.
In the United States today, acupuncture is becoming a much more common method for dealing with illness. Reiki, another form of vibrational healing is being practiced by many energy practitioners in North America and Europe today. Homeopathy is another form of vibrational healing. This uses the principle of “like cures like” and introduces minute amounts of certain substances at varying energy levels to activate the healing vital force of the human body. A simple form of hands on healing is another form of vibrational healing. An individual places their hands so that their vibration which is stronger, is transferred into an individual who has been weakened or fatigued. There are many other examples of vibrational healing which work effectively.

excerpted from http://www.mkprojects.com/fa_WhatIsVibrationalHealing.htm

Vocal Toning is different from traditional chanting, and allows for more flexibility and creativity. Because it is hard to drum and sing at the same time, you may find that vocal toning is easier than chanting. Instead of using words we use tones (such as om, ah, hey). Vocal Toning is about releasing. Toning in a circle with others is empowering. You will feel inspired by the others in the group. Using tones instead of words allows the mind to relax and take a rest from thinking. This allows the brain to be refreshed. After each session, you will find yourself feeling totally energized! The combination of vocalizing and drumming has a dramatic effect on your mind and body. If doing both at the same time is difficult, an option is to alternate. With a little practice you may be able to do both simultaneously.

Vocal Toning is different from traditional chanting, and allows for more flexibility and creativity. Because it is hard to drum and sing at the same time, you may find that vocal toning is easier than chanting. Instead of using words we use tones (such as om, ah, hey). Vocal Toning is about releasing. Toning in a circle with others is empowering. You will feel inspired by the others in the group. Using tones instead of words allows the mind to relax and take a rest from thinking. This allows the brain to be refreshed. After each session, you will find yourself feeling totally energized! The combination of vocalizing and drumming has a dramatic effect on your mind and body. If doing both at the same time is difficult, an option is to alternate. With a little practice you may be able to do both simultaneously.

Tonight I spoke to a delightful audience of holistic nurses about the use of music in a clinical setting.  The nurses were amazed to find out how simple and yet powerful music can be in an ER, an OR, a neonatal nursery or a hospice unit.  Music is one of the oldest means for healing individuals, couples, families and even entire groups.

To illustrate the power of music in a groups we did some drumming, toning and chanting.   We had access to some beautiful, large djembes, and with the addition of some tambourines, bells, and a wooden frog, we made some awesomely beautiful music!  As I told the group repeatedly, it’s nice when you’re “preaching to the choir.”  These were all holistic nurses and did not need convincing of music’s power.

I’ll be speaking to their State Convention next month.  Stay tuned for more information about that.  Barbara Dossey will alsobe speaking there!  Keep the music playing.

About this time of year many of us begin to think of Spring Cleaning. The weather is getting warm, doors and windows are staying open more and there is a strong desire to sweep away the accumulated dust, dirt, and pet hair that gathered over the winter. But have you thought about doing that for your body? Thanks to the powerful technique of vocal toning, we can get the “cobwebs” out of many of our body systems.Think of your Respiratory system: over the last six months you might have had two or three common colds. You might have even had the “flu.” Sitting or standing with your legs about shoulder’s width apart, take a deep breath from the bottom of your lungs and exhale it very slowly on the syllable “ah” using a tone that is comfortable for your voice. Probably 4 or 5 deep breaths and exhalations on “ah” each morning and evening will begin to clear the lungs and also the mind. Now lets take the Circulatory system: many of us like to hibernate during the winter and not even stick our noses out if the temperature is below freezing. Therefore, our bodies and our circulation find it hard to get going when Spring first appears. Try some toning on a slightly higher pitch and the syllable “ehhhhhhhhhhhh.” At first just try it sitting in a chair or on the side of your bed. Then as you begin to move around in the morning, continue the toning on that syllable. You’ll find yourself beginning to feel strangely invigorated and more motivated to begin your day happily. Finally let’s look at the Musculatory-Skeletal systems. Again, winter has done a bit of a number on us and we’re feeling (I’m feeling!) a bit creaky. Every time before you get up from sitting or lying down, take a deep breath and as you lift your body from its resting position, take a deep breath and let it out slowly on the “ouuuuuu”(rhymes with shoe) vowel. When you’re ready to sit again, tone on “ooooooo” (rhymes with toe). You’ll find the soreness disappearing faster and the joints feeling more limber. I do this most every day lately and am beginning to feel the benefits of my “Sonic Spring Cleaning.”  To learn more about vocal toning, go to my Toning and Chanting blog.