Our breath has always, in all cultures, been seen as the sources of our life. In Western culture, dominated by Christianity and Islam, religious tomes speak of "God" breathing life into its creations. In Eastern religions’ breathing is used to both generate energy and move it throughout the body. If this is too esoteric for you consider that if your breathing stops, your body will die in minutes because the brain needs the oxygen that is carried in the blood. No matter what culture you grew up in, whether you are religious or not, the breath really is the life.

But there is breathing and there is breathing. We normally breath without thinking about it. It is an autonomic reflex action Normal respiration in a healthy adult at rest is between 15 and 20 breaths per minute. We take a new breath about every 3 seconds and most of us never notice. Breathing on the other hand is a focused, directed activity (free audio download) that provided many different benefits. Qigong breathing is an excellent example of this. Practitioners find that when they begin t heir study they still lose track of their breat hing but as they continue to practice they become more and more aware of their breath at all times.

When we become conscious of our breathing we become conscious of our shen, or soul. The concept does not have to have religious connotations. If you have a more scientific mind, call the shen the energy field composed of the information that is uniquely us. When we are able to connect with ourselves our problems, be they physical, emotional or mental, become much clearer. We are able to disconnect with our bodies on a mental level and look at it, and the things that are causing it problems, dispassionately.

It is this dispassionate connection that is one of the most important aspects in so many of the Eastern exercise programs. Even practices like some yoga disciplines that use a mantra as a focus. They still use the brething, and regulate it as a way to calm the mind. Our wandering minds must be calmed before we can access deeper levels and bqigong breathing offers this in just a few short steps. Meditate on the importance of your breath, all of the gifts that it gives you and consider what you would lose without it being there.