The Power Of The Breath

Hello,

And welcome to the Love and Compassion podcast with Giselle.

We believe that love and compassion have the power to transform our lives in our world.

Don't forget to like and subscribe for more amazing content.

In today's podcast,

We'll be discussing the power of the breath.

It feels so you know,

We feel like we're breathless during this time,

We were just coming out of COVID.

And now it feels like you know,

The world is at war,

It just feels like we can't catch our breath and we keep holding our breath.

It just feels like,

Oh,

What's going to come next?

So today,

I'm hoping we can have a great conversation about how to get back to our breath and you know,

Be in a state of relaxation and love and compassion.

Dr.

Hitu Jageser has over 20 years experience in teaching yoga meditation programs offered by the Art of Living Foundation.

She's currently based in Canada,

But has taught the art of living programs in many parts of the world,

Including over 20 African countries.

She has a wealth of experience in teaching in very diverse socio cultural settings.

Please join me in welcoming Dr.

Hitu.

Hi.

Thank you,

Giselle.

Now,

How are you?

Good.

Thank you so much for being on the show.

You know,

We're here to talk about the breath,

Which is very important.

Can you begin by telling our audience how you kind of got into this work?

Yeah,

So it was 22 years ago,

So and I was writing my thesis at the time,

They were very stressful times and a friend of mine had,

Had suggested to me,

Oh,

There's this workshop that you need to do.

And that's how it began for me.

And the transformation was so,

You know,

Palpable and dramatic,

Just within a day of the workshop that I it was very clear to me that this is what I need to be doing for the rest of my life.

So that's what I do.

I share these programs.

Wherever we go,

Wherever I travel to.

Yeah.

And the Art of Living is based on the works of Sri Sri Sankar.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder and spiritual master.

Yeah.

Can you tell us a little bit about him and some of his philosophies and how kind of the Art of Living came about?

Yeah,

So he's a global leader peacemaker,

If you will,

Few many people have heard about him,

He,

You know,

He has done tremendous work in conflict resolution,

Mediation in times where places,

Parts of the world where the need has been there.

But the philosophy,

The mission rather,

Is to uplift human values in society,

And to create more compassionate,

Loving,

Peaceful societies,

Through by giving individuals the tools,

Very concrete tools to handle themselves to master their own mind and emotions.

And that is how the communities are benefited and transformed.

Thank you for that.

I was just wondering how the actual breath actually helps us be more compassionate and loving to ourselves.

So breath is connected to our state of mind.

It's very fundamental.

And you may have noticed that for every emotion that you experience,

There is a corresponding pattern corresponding rhythm in your breath,

Breath.

When you're angry,

You breathe in a particular way.

When you're sad,

Your breathing changes when you're anxious,

It changes again.

So for every emotion that you experience,

The breath changes.

Now it's very hard to handle very difficult to handle the mind at the level of the mind because it's so intangible.

This is where the breath comes in.

So by using the breath,

We can bring the mind into a more calmer state,

A more present state,

And being more in the present moment,

More joyful,

More happy,

And also dissolve the negative emotions that we carry with us.

So we become more resilient to stress.

And whatever stress is there,

We're able to shed it more in a more effective way all through the breath.

And there is science that,

That,

You know,

Backs this up,

You know,

It's been known there in the system of yoga for thousands of years,

But now science recognizes that the breath has a role to play,

You know,

And it's connected to how you're feeling how what emotions you're going through.

So for compassion to manifest in one's life,

One needs to be happy from within,

One needs to be connected from within and then connected to all those around one needs to be in an uplifted state of consciousness.

And then it's a natural expression of one's life is love and compassion.

When stress is there,

Then we're not even connected to ourselves,

Our true nature.

And we behave in,

In ways that can negatively impact societies and people around us.

So dissolving the stress and how to do this,

This is where the breath comes in.

And we're seeing this kind of disconnection and stress right now being played out in our world.

And I think one of the best things about the breath is that it's,

It's within us,

Right?

Like,

It's something we it's something we already do naturally.

And I think that it reminds us that we already have everything that we need.

How do we know we're doing it right?

Because you know,

Like,

When you when you do yoga,

When you do kind of the mindfulness or even meditation stuff,

There's kind of different ways that you can do it needs to be learned under the guidance of our trained instructor,

A proper teacher who can guide you who has the experience,

The training,

Who knows the nuances,

The skill,

Who has the skill.

Thank you for sharing that.

I was just wondering in terms of the breath naturally occurs in when we're in our most relaxed states,

We don't have to actually think about breathing,

We naturally breathe,

Right?

Well,

It's the first thing we did when we were born,

Right?

We took a breath in and the last thing we will do when we die is the last breath out.

But we don't actually pay attention to it.

Through the whole course of life.

We're not even aware of it.

Unless we run out of breath,

We're,

You know,

Out of breath,

Or we're exercising,

That's when the breath comes into the forefront,

Then we realize,

Okay,

I am breathing faster,

Or this is what's happening with my breath.

How did you come to do this work in over 20 African countries?

And what did you find out when you were doing this work?

Well,

The people,

Human beings anywhere in the world,

Are looking for the same thing.

You know,

We are all searching for happiness,

We want peace of mind.

And so during my travels,

You know,

The experience is the same human experience.

People go through stresses,

Maybe in different contexts,

In different ways in different parts of the world,

But ultimately,

We want the same thing.

And we're looking for it,

Not knowing where to look for it.

And once they experience the benefits,

There's immense gratitude and,

And recognition.

And you know,

You see,

When you see the smiles on people's faces as they,

As they come to the end of the workshop,

That gives us that gives me immense joy and gratitude as well.

Does the work that you do help you increase your awareness of how you're breathing and also use different strategies for breathing?

Yeah,

Different breathing techniques that can shift the state of your nervous system,

Right move you from a fight flight system to a more rest and relaxed state of mind.

And state of mind.

So the breath is connected to your nervous system.

Right?

We know this,

You know,

We know we now there's a lot of information that shows how the vagus nerve also works.

So different breathing techniques impact our system in different ways,

Physiologically,

Biochemically,

You know,

And there's one particular technique that we teach called the sky breathing or the acronym sky,

But it stands for Sudarshan Kriya.

Sudarshan Kriya breathing,

It's a rhythmic breathing processes that realigns the biorhythms.

So in so in more general terms,

The the stress that we're carrying at the cellular level,

Those things get shed,

You know,

Whether it's physical or emotional,

And there's a renewal from within,

There's more energy,

You know,

You feel more energized,

There's more clarity in the mind.

So all of these techniques are impacting physiologically as well,

Definitely,

Right?

I mean,

It's a physiological mechanism.

And it's regulates the state of mind,

You know,

Emotional regulation is tightly connected through the breath.

Hmm.

Yeah,

That's so true.

And how does the sky breath differ from other types of breathing,

I guess,

The sky breath is taught in over a few days.

Specifically,

You know,

Right now online,

You know,

Three consecutive days.

So what happens during the workshop is you learn the technique,

Then you have a daily routine 20 minutes of the breathing that you incorporate into your day to day practice that maintains that state of centeredness,

Serenity,

Calmness,

Despite your environment.

So you're carrying that,

That expanded state of mind,

Wherever you go.

So where normally,

Something would trigger a stress response in you.

This doesn't happen to that degree.

Or if it does happen,

You're able to after a few minutes of breathing,

Shed it.

And so it becomes like a shield around you.

That doesn't allow the stress to penetrate.

And if it if it does,

It doesn't,

The impression of it doesn't stay that long.

Yeah.

How can we become more aware of how if we're breathing kind of the right way?

I know that there's the specific training,

But just in everyday life for people,

How can they become greater?

Just notice,

See when you're angry,

What happens to your breath,

It's going much faster.

It's erratic,

It's interrupted,

Isn't it?

If at that time I said,

You smell this flower,

You won't be able to do it because your breath is so shaky.

When you're sad or depressed,

There's more emphasis on the exhalation.

You know,

It's heavier.

When you're anxious,

It's very shallow,

Superficial,

Fast.

When there is fear,

For a moment,

The breath stops.

And when you're happy,

How do you breathe?

And you noticed?

Yeah,

More from my stomach and It's long and deep.

There's more emphasis on the inhalation,

Joy,

More inhalation.

So you just become aware,

Oh,

You know,

This is what's happening to my breathing right now.

We know this,

It's so inherent to us.

But we're just not paying attention.

But it's very hard to then say,

Okay,

I have to stop feeling angry,

Or I shouldn't be feeling this way,

That you can't handle the mind like that.

This is where you need to sit down,

Do the breathing techniques that we teach.

And then it comes back to the present moment.

Your mind,

It's either you will notice it's either caught up in the past,

Even,

You know,

In a moment,

It moves from past to future,

It's doing this constantly.

And more your nervous system is stressed,

More there's this tendency for the mind to vacillate from the past to the future.

You're not in the present moment.

So the breath is in the present moment.

It is the only it's happening right now.

So it's the tool that tangible concrete tool that you can use to manipulate you manipulate the breath,

Then you notice the mind automatically comes back into the moment.

Yeah,

In mindfulness is so important in terms of like you were mentioning,

So often,

We're either living in the past or in the future,

Never really living in the present moment.

But really,

The present moment is where our power is,

Right?

It's where life is happening,

Right?

You can be optimal.

Right now,

This moment,

You can whatever action you need to do to take,

You take it right now.

This is where life is like this one.

What happened five minutes ago is not there.

What was coming in two minutes from now is not here yet.

So living mindfulness is what is more and more conscious,

Being more and more conscious of the present moment as it is and moving in that with the flow of that.

Yeah,

Definitely.

And wouldn't it be like a better world if we just all were able to kind of hold space for ourselves and ground ourselves?

Has the breath work that you've done actually helped you engage in challenging?

Why I don't start my day without my practices.

That is my way of taking care.

I can't be teaching something that I don't practice myself.

Right?

This is how it's tremendously beneficial,

You know,

In keeping you in a calm state of mind.

Because you see,

Like everybody right now what's happening is,

We are seeing that we're more,

There are more demands on us.

Whatever is the environment,

The situation we're throwing at us,

And the pandemic taught us a lot of that is teaching still.

And we have to deliver within that,

That atmosphere,

That environment.

So the only thing that you really have control over is your internal environment.

And that's where self mastery comes in,

Because life is going to throw you all sorts of things.

But how you handle yourself in those situations,

That's up to you.

And that needs to be learned.

That's a skill that needs to be acquired.

In a state of mind where you're frazzled,

Where you're upset,

Where you're agitated,

Stressed,

Burdened,

Or burnt out even,

Then you cannot do what you want to be doing,

Or even relate in the proper manner to people around you.

Relationships get affected when we are feeling unhappy or stressed from within.

So everything we experience is a reflection of what state of mind we're in.

And how,

You know,

We're dealing with ourselves,

How we're conducting ourselves.

It starts from within.

So you want a society that's more compassionate,

Free from violence,

Where there's more harmony,

There's more love and caring for one another,

You need to start with yourself.

You cannot even envisage,

You know,

It remains a far-fetched reality to have a world without conflict,

If the individual is not happy,

Is not peaceful from within.

Yeah,

And completely agree.

I think that's one of the things that we teach at Maitri Center,

Which is really,

It's about starting with ourselves.

We can't hold space for someone else if we don't do that for ourselves.

It makes it really,

Really challenging.

And I think that's why focusing on the breath and seeing where we're at as a barometer of where we're at is so important in being able to support ourselves.

The meditation,

Yeah.

In all the,

Like you've done this work in over 20 countries,

Can you share some of the more powerful stories around like how you have seen some transformations in terms of some of the work that you've done?

I taught in a few conflict areas in Central Africa.

And there,

There were often,

You know,

People sitting in the workshops who had post-traumatic stress,

Had seen loss,

Tremendous loss,

And all who had experienced violence themselves.

And,

You know,

Just to hear stories of how they were able to sleep better,

Or those flashbacks that used to come to them,

That they were not there anymore,

That they could,

You know,

That they just the feeling of comfort and security from within just after a few minutes of breathing,

You know,

These are common stories,

You know?

Yeah,

Many,

Many instances.

Yeah,

I mean,

If you think about it,

If that's possible,

Even on a smaller scale,

How much of it could be possible right now,

If you know,

The world leaders and the people that,

You know,

Have quote unquote,

Power,

Would be able to sit down and just breathe through and have feel safety from within without needing,

You know,

Weapons and war.

And every leader,

Every leader,

Every individual on this planet needs to experience peace and expansion and connection from within,

Right?

That's what is spiritual growth,

Right?

When you're feeling connected from within,

You're feeling uplifted,

And you're feeling that the oneness with everything around you,

With everybody around you,

It is the mind that creates the division or the judgment or the barriers or the identity,

Limited identification,

Or by race,

Religion,

Culture,

Etc,

Etc,

Gender,

Whatever it is,

That's limited identification.

But to recognize that we're all the same spirit,

The same human humankind,

We all share that that common humaneness is the same life energy that's in me,

It's in me,

It's also there inside you as well,

Then there's a different world,

Right,

Then there's no space for conflict and violence and harming somebody else taking somebody else's life,

When you know that it's the same life force that's in me that's there in you as well.

So the whole world would be a different place.

That's what the work of the foundation is.

Bring that information,

Which is so important,

Because I think part of the issue,

What we have found is really that is we become more harmonious internally,

You become your whole world becomes more harmonious.

And I think when we start to recognize,

And that's one of the things that is the power of compassion,

Which is seeing the common humanity and seeing that I'm not separate from you are we are all interdependent on one another.

And I think COVID has shown us that that Yeah,

To agree and many times it takes a disaster to wake us up.

Right?

That's fortunately,

Right?

Yeah,

That's you.

You see people coming together and,

And,

You know,

Rallying together to help one another.

But,

You know,

If we could live our life on a day to day basis with that awareness,

That we're all the same,

Not just at the level of the words,

But actually living life like that,

You know,

Authentically living with that connection with that oneness,

Then it's a different story.

Yeah,

Yeah,

For sure.

So I think,

What do you think is stopping us?

I mean,

How do we overcome this fear that we have of one another?

It's the mind is the mind that creates.

And that's where we need tools to go beyond to recognize who we are beyond the mind.

We were not just this.

See,

There are seven levels to our existence.

From going from the most gross to the most subtle,

We have the body,

The breath,

And then going more subtle is the mind that perceives through the senses,

Experiences,

Then going even more subtle is the intellect that judges and divides and analyzes,

Then going more subtle than that is the memory.

More subtle the ego and the spirit.

So if you can recognize that you're not just this physical body,

This color,

This shape,

The size,

Your likes and dislikes,

Your,

Your,

Your patterns,

Your habits,

And that your spirit,

Your love,

That is what it is love,

Spirit,

Compassion,

It's all that those innermost qualities that we all are.

To recognize that you need to shed your stresses,

You need to go beyond the mind.

And that's where meditation is critical.

Yeah,

I agree with that.

It's so interesting.

You know,

One of the things that we see in our community and in the people that you know,

We work with and in the,

You know,

Environment out there is people's focus on the body.

Right?

We are very,

Very body focused,

Very much,

Which is interesting,

Because you separate the breath from like,

As you were talking about the different levels,

You separated the breath as part of something.

But we see this part of the body in there.

So it's,

We're so focused on the physical body that it makes us afraid,

It makes us afraid of lack and makes us afraid of death.

That's what spirituality is,

Right?

Recognizing that you're not just this limited identification with whatever it is where your body is going to perish.

But inside,

Deep inside is energy.

Just think of it as energy,

If you will,

If it's too intangible,

That life force in you,

That's energy.

And energy doesn't get created nor destroyed.

We know that.

It's eternal.

So your body will perish,

Whether you're beautiful today,

Whether you know,

Your,

Your skin is tight today.

In this time,

It will change your habits have changed,

Your likes and dislikes have changed your,

Your attitudes about things have changed,

Everything is impermanent,

It's transient.

And when you recognize that,

That there's something deep within you that doesn't change,

That is the spirit,

That is who you really are.

Then you see life from a bigger perspective.

And you start living your life in a different manner that is more life supporting for others as well as for yourself.

More in connection more in harmony with others with nature with society.

You know,

Everything is different when you're when you wake up to that reality that you're not just this body.

Yeah,

That is so true.

It but the interesting part about it is that we believe this reality so much,

Right?

We really,

Really,

Really believe because the thing is that the book the spirit is it's not visible.

So we're so used to that's right.

So we're so used to the tangibility,

I have a computer,

I can see you.

So therefore,

I give a lot of credence and energy and attention to what is in front of me,

Then the the intangible,

But the intangible is way more powerful,

Which is,

It's powerful,

And it's,

It's magnanimous,

Right?

What you see or experience through your senses to your mind is so minuscule compared to what it is that you cannot experience or cannot even fathom.

You know,

It's it's beyond comprehension.

So that's where that journey that spiritual journey begins when you recognize that that sense of wow happens inside you.

And as children,

You will like that,

Right as babies,

Or small children,

They have that sense of amazement or Wow,

Wonder,

You know,

They will see the moon and then this they see the stars or they'll pick up a flower and there's a sense of wonder,

Right?

Because you're seeing things from a different way,

Different angle,

You know,

There's a there's a there's a total union,

That sense of wonderment inside you.

They don't just observe babies,

Sense of wonderment,

They put their foot on the grass for the very first time.

And that sensation creates that sense of what they discover their fingers and toes for the first time is that sense of wonderment.

And you've lost that,

Right?

We've become so programmed and so wired in a particular way to function in a particular way to achieve things in a particular way,

We need to do ABCDE.

And we're looking at life from a very,

Very narrow perspective.

And this is what we see in society today,

Right?

And that's what's creating divisions and conflicts and prejudices and values,

You know,

Love and compassion,

Those get going to the backdrop.

That's very true.

And it's,

It's so funny that,

You know,

We kind of lost the joy of living like,

You know,

Like,

You see so many people surviving,

It's just about surviving.

But when you get to the end,

Right,

Like,

You don't want to have survived your life,

You wanted to have,

You ideally would have liked to have lived it in joy and cherished it and,

And have that kind of wonder.

But I think,

Again,

I go back to fear,

We are with some people are afraid to really relax and let go because it takes a level of trust in the intangible that is his heart.

Very true.

Yeah.

But if you can,

The moment you wake up to the fact that you're going to die,

Something else opens up in you,

There's another state of awareness that all you know,

Just we live in fear and insecurity,

Because we think we're going to be alive forever,

That this is good,

This body,

This physical form is going to continue forever.

We were afraid of losing something that we have acquired,

Or we're afraid of judgment,

Or we're afraid of comparing,

We compare ourselves to other people,

You know,

That this,

This living in a very,

Very small minded kind of way,

Right?

The moment you recognize that life is much bigger than all of this,

This,

You're just a spec,

What are what are you and I,

You know,

In the spec of this in the context of this universe,

What are we few,

Few years,

80,

90,

Maybe 100 years will be here.

But what is that in the context of time and space?

It's nothing like here,

A moment and then it's gone.

We're gone.

It won't matter.

Few years after you die,

People forget about you,

You won't even matter,

You won't think it will be over.

So how you have lived your life while you've been here,

You know,

Whether you've lived it joyfully with living those human values of love and compassion,

How much love have you given?

How much have you cared for this?

How much have you uplifted?

That's the other people.

That's the only thing that really matters in the end,

You're not going to end in your deathbed,

You're not going to worry about your bank balance,

Or,

You know,

How famous you were,

Or how successful we were,

That those things will not matter.

It's so interesting,

Because as you were talking,

I think the word that keeps coming out for me is is the allowance,

Right,

Allowing ourselves to not resist death,

And not resist,

Like,

You know,

Lack and not resist,

Just allowing our lives to be like,

You know,

If you believe that,

You know,

Our life ends,

And then it doesn't,

Then just accept that and you're allowing it.

Sorry,

Let me backtrack,

You resisting it will prevent you from living life fully,

Because there's nothing you can do about death,

Right?

Like you're going to transition whether you believe there's nothing out there where you do believe that the you know,

Like,

We are energy and we will go on.

You don't need to even believe in you that forget about that.

You don't believe in you just know that you're going to die.

This is a fact.

You know,

You don't need to have any,

You know,

It may sound a little frou frou and esoteric,

You don't even need to Okay,

Finish,

This body is going to die.

That's a fact of life,

You were born and you're going to die.

And in between,

You have these few years that some of you are living.

That's so are you going to choose to live them with joy into the best of your life?

Or are you going to drag your heels until the very end,

I guess,

Fear and security and,

You know,

All of those things that that's why it's so important to,

To have spiritual knowledge,

Right to know what it is when you start asking yourselves questions about who am I,

You know,

What is my life about?

What is my life about?

That's when you really start to wake up.

Otherwise,

You just leave living in slumber,

And life just goes by and you're in total slumber.

Yeah.

So I'm not familiar with a Sri Sri Shankar.

But one of the things that you know,

David and I,

Who is my husband talk about is embodied mastery,

Which is like being the human being,

But also connected with your spirit that you are in your mastery and are in your,

Your power.

Was that something that maybe he would,

Like,

Would talk about?

Or I mean,

He must have been in his mastery and able to create kind of the art of living.

Yeah,

Something you can ask him one day,

He's a spiritual master.

He's,

Yeah,

He's,

He's brought love and joy to millions of people.

And,

You know,

It's like the example of somebody who walks the talk,

Lives by example.

And we need more,

I think people kind of advocating for greater love and compassion and peace and inner power,

Right?

I was wondering if you could show us kind of like,

Not the sky breath,

But just like an example of a breathing technique that maybe we could that our listeners could do if you if you are driving,

Please do not drive,

Please pull over or listen to the podcast later so that you do not get into an accident.

So I'll show you the bellows breath,

Which is an energizing breath.

Just adjust my camera.

So in this one,

You're breathing it out through the nose.

It's a vigorous inhalation.

And of course,

Maybe you can do it as well with me.

Yeah,

Of course,

Forceful exhalation through the nose.

And as we breathe in,

We raise our hands up,

Open the palms,

Right?

Arms open to the sky.

And as we breathe out,

The fists in front of the shoulders again.

Okay,

So vigorous inhalation,

Forceful exhalation,

Maybe some tissue.

I actually blew my nose before this,

So we're pretty good.

Just have it next to you.

Let's close our eyes.

The shoulders relaxed,

Gentle smile on the face.

Take a long deep breath in and breathe out completely.

And for bellows breath,

Breathe in,

Out,

In,

In,

Relax your hands.

Open the eyes.

So,

Okay,

So breathing in and out.

Okay,

With the eyes closed.

So we'll do three sets.

And in between each set,

I'll ask you to keep your eyes closed and you can just rest your palms on your lap.

Just observe the sensations.

You may feel some tingling,

Maybe little lightheadedness,

It's all fine.

Okay.

All right.

So,

Eyes closed,

Hands in,

Loose fist in front of the shoulders.

Okay,

Elbows are touching the sides.

Take a transition breath in,

Breathe out.

And together,

Breathe in,

Out,

In,

Out,

In,

Out,

In,

Out,

In,

Out,

In,

Out,

Continue.

Relax your hands,

Keep the eyes closed.

Body still.

And observe the sensations.

Keeping the eyes closed,

We'll do a second round.

So,

Hands in starting position,

Shoulders relaxed,

Loose fist in front of the shoulders and the elbows touching the body.

Take a transition breath in,

Then let go.

And let's begin.

In,

Out,

In,

Out,

Together.

And relax,

Keeping the eyes closed,

Palms open on the lap.

Get ready for a final round,

Hands in starting position.

Take a transition breath in,

And let go.

And let's begin.

And relax.

And slowly,

Gradually,

As you feel ready,

You may open the eyes.

That was lovely.

How was that?

It was good.

It was,

You really have to be in the present moment to be able to figure out the,

Right?

So,

It was intense,

But it was really lovely.

How is my brain right now?

Why is it called the bellows breath?

No,

The bellows that was used in Sanskrit is bhastrika,

The actual term.

In English we use bellows.

You know those bellows that you flame the,

The,

The flame fires with?

Oh,

That's interesting.

Thank you so much.

That was really,

Really lovely.

So tell us a little bit about some of the work that you're doing right now.

What do you want to share with the listeners?

Where can they find you?

Right.

So the,

Yeah,

All our workshops,

I'd like for listeners to know that we're here and available.

I know people are going through a lot of anxiety and depression even right now,

Burnout also.

So we're here and offering everything.

All our workshops are online.

And you can connect with me personally on my Instagram handle,

Coach hitu,

Coach hitu.

And our website is art of living.

Org.

And to,

To,

If you want to check out the workshops that we're offering,

Wherever you are globally,

You can,

You can reach out.

Well,

Thank you very much for your time.

It was a lovely conversation about the breath and about kind of spirit.

And thank you everyone for listening to another episode of the loving compassion podcast.

And we hope you join us very soon.

Thank you.