Breathe into Being Awakening to Who You Really Are

by Lewis, Dennis

• ISBN13: 9780835608725
• ISBN10: 0835608727
• Edition: Original
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-19
• Publisher: Quest Books

Summary

These short, simple breathing practices will lead you to a profound awareness of your essential being through the miracle of the breath as it manifests now in your body. While most books on breathing explain how and why you should work with your breath to achieve some future goal, Breathe into Being explores how breathing itself is an ever-present gateway to awakening to who you really are in this present moment. A natural extension of Dennis Lewis's previous books, this new one has grown out of his engagement in various traditions over the years such as Taoism, Advaita, and the Gurdjieff Work-traditions whose fundamental aim is to discover and live the Truth. It also reflects his extensive work with individuals and groups and conveys how he actually teaches in a workshop setting. Breathe into Being will help you: 1) Awaken to a larger perspective in which you can receive new, direct impressions of the truth of your life. 2) Become conscious of your body-not as the one you think you know so well-but as a sacred temple that can lead you to the source of all being. 3) Release constricting physical and emotional tensions. 4) Enhance your breathing itself in the new conditions you create of comfort, openness, and ease of being.

Author Biography

Dennis Lewis is author of The Tao of Natural Breathing and Free Your Breath, Free Your Life. He teaches the transformative power of presence through Authentic Breathing(R), qigong, meditation, and self-inquiry and leads workshops nationwide. See http://www.dennislewis.org.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
The Mystery of Ourselves	p. 9
A Sense of Infinite Potential	p. 13
Working with Your Breath Begins with Awareness	p. 14
Check in on Your Breathing	p. 15
Our Breath Connects Us with All of Life	p. 17
Our Breath Connects Our Inner and Outer Worlds	p. 18
The Freedom of Simple Presence	p. 19
We Can Only Find Meaning and Happiness Now and Here	p. 21
Learning to Live in the Present Moment	p. 22
What Do You Really Want?	p. 24
The Longing for Relationship	p. 25
Following Your Inhalation and Exhalation	p. 26
Being Inspired and Expired	p. 27
The Importance of Breathing through Your Nose	p. 28
Breathing and Walking	p. 30
Carbon Dioxide Regulates Our Breathing	p. 31
The World of Sensation	p. 32
Densities of Sensation	p. 34
Finding a Comfortable, Erect Sitting Posture	p. 35
Going Deeper through the Sensation of Your Breath	p. 37
Becoming Free from Your Automatic Thoughts and Emotional Reactions	p. 38
Do Less and Listen More	p. 38
Contradictory Motivations	p. 40
Self-Sensing and the Breath	p. 42
Breathing Inside the Sensation of Yourself	p. 44
Following Your Breath into Silence	p. 45
Sensing the Welcoming Presence	p. 46
What Was Your Original Face?	p. 47
Living with the Questions	p. 48
Returning to the Unknown in Ourselves	p. 49
Looking toward the No-Thing that You Are	p. 50
Noticing that You Often Hold Your Breath	p. 51
Frequent Breath Holding Reveals a Fundamental Disharmony	p. 52
Following Your Breath through the Transitions in Your Life	p. 53
Your Body Has Many Breathing Spaces	p. 54
Observing the Tension in Your Eyes, Face, and Throat	p. 56
Becoming More Aware of Your Eyes	p. 57
Relaxing Your Eyes	p. 58
Becoming More Aware of Your Jaw and Throat	p. 59
Relaxing Your Jaw and Throat	p. 60
Awakening Your Center of Gravity in the Breathing Space of the Belly	p. 62
Allowing Your Belly to Expand and Retract on Inhalation and Exhalation	p. 63
Finding Your True Center of Gravity with the Earth's Help	p. 64
Sensing Your Weight Being Supported by the Earth	p. 66
Tension in Your Pelvic Floor Muscles Impedes Your Connection to the Earth	p. 67
Constrictions in Your Pelvic Floor Muscles Impede Your Breathing	p. 69
Squatting to Become More Aware of Your Pelvic Muscles	p. 70
Working with Your Perineum to Open up Your Breathing	p. 71
Breathing from Your Pelvic Floor	p. 72
Living in Front of Ourselves	p. 74
Sensing Your Spine	p. 76
Hug Yourself	p. 77
Organic Relaxation	p. 79
Awakening the Spine	p. 80
Stretching, Breathing, and Opening from Your Core	p. 82
The "Vitruvian Man" Position	p. 83
The Smile of Compassion	p. 85
Smile, Stretch, and Breathe	p. 86
Negativity: A Rejection of What Is	p. 88
The Childhood Breath	p. 89
The Diaphragm: the Spiritual Muscle	p. 91
How the Diaphragm Works	p. 93
How Your Belly Impacts Your Diaphragm	p. 94
Learning to Listen to the Functioning of the Diaphragm	p. 96
Filling a Cup that Is Already Full	p. 98
Exhaling Consciously	p. 100
The Emptiness of Presence	p. 101
Common Obstacles to Working with Your Breath	p. 102
Releasing Constrictions and Increasing Energy in the Upper Chest and Spine	p. 104
Being Lifted by the Breath of Presence	p. 106
We Are Two-Natured Beings	p. 108
The Conscious Body	p. 110
Connecting Heaven and Earth	p. 111
Awakening to Who You Already Are	p. 114
About the Author	p. 122
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.