Inula Austin Soul Growth

When was the last time you breathed properly?

When was it you last sat still and took a deep down, slow abdominal breath in and released a sighing exhalation?

Most of us only ever breathe in shallow chest breaths throughout the day and it is usually only whilst relaxing to fall sleep that we get anywhere near to taking in the calming and stress relieving breath that we need.

Shallow, chest breaths are often associated with anxiety and stress, so imagine the signals that we may be sending to our bodies when we regularly use these patterns of breathing.

Prana

Hindus have known and understood for millenia that the Life Force that sustains us and is vital for our being alive, is contained within the food we eat, the water we drink and in the air that we breathe. Ancient beliefs have taught that the more Prana we absorb the better our health and vitality.

Far from being some sort of magical ‘nothingness’ or a fictional nonsense, Prana is the life giving force that emerges as Cosmic Rays from the Universe.

Prana is everywhere.

Cosmic Rays fall upon the earth continuously from space, containing differently charged particles each of incredible amounts of energy. They reach and penetrate the earth from the farthest reaches of space and have even been measured thousands of feet beneath the earth’s surface (‘The Power of The Rays.’ S. G. J. Ouseley published by L. N. Fowler & Co. LTD. 1951).

Life Force or Prana exists as different qualities and in different quantities depending upon what food we eat, what we drink, what type of air we breathe etc. Obviously, the better the quality, the more life giving force these substances contain.This is why organic vegetables (often in their raw state), spring waters and natural, unprocessed organic fruit juices are the best sources of nutrients.

Fresh air contains Prana. It not only contains the chemical compounds and elements that are essential to the physical act of breathing. The air around us is also filled with radiations from the furthest stars. The air about us vibrates with many invisible energies, enabling each of us not only to survive, but thrive.

‘Fresh air’ used to be the prescription of choice of the Edwardian Doctor. One may argue that this was due to the infancy of pharmaceutical developments, though I believe it was advice based in much more ancient knowledge. (Let us not forget that natural medicines and folk cures have been systematically ridiculed and stamped out by big pharma worldwide after the Rockefeller family decided to invest heavily in pharmaceutical companies at the turn of the 20th Century).

Choosing a place where the atmosphere is at its cleanest (perhaps a wild coastline or ancient woodland), the quality of Prana will be at its most effecacious. Breathing in such an atmosphere in the correct way can have a very positive effect on one’s health and vitality.

As the Cosmic Rays are made of Light, Colour and Sound, we find that Colour Breathing can be a wonderful antedote to the imbalances within the modern person.

You, yourself are also made up of energy (of which light, colour and sound are but forms). Whether you are suffering from a sniffle or a chronic condition the symptoms are a reflection of an imbalance within the energy of your being.

Colour Breathing works with the deep, rhythmic breath, by visualising the colours of the 7 Main Chakra System.

Each Chakra is a vortex which draws in Cosmic Energy from the atmosphere and other realms to be utilised in different functions of the separate bodies of the individual, before expelling older, used or surplus energies.

Each of the 7 Main Chakras are located at the major glandular centres of the body.

The Crown Chakra is connected to the Pituitary Gland, the Third Eye Chakra to the Pineal Gland, The Throat Chakra to the Thyroid, the Heart Chakra to the Thymus, the Solar Plexus to the adrenals, pancreas and liver, the Sacral Chakra to the ovaries (in women) and gonads (in men) and the Root Chakra is located in the perineum/at the coccygeal centre.

Each Chakra has a Colour Ray associated with it. Such associations have been found to date back many thousands of years and have similarities seen in different cultures throughout the world.

The Crown is associated with Violet, The Brow is Indigo, The Throat is Blue, The Heart is Green, the Solar Plexus is Yellow, The Sacral is Orange and the Root is Red.

Visualising breathing coloured light into each energy centre (Chakra) can help to balance your entire being and bring rejuvenating and revivifying or calming and balancing energies into your system.

It is such an easy and relaxing practice to follow and one which can take from just 5 minutes or so.

Colour Breathing Exercise:

Find somewhere you can sit comfortably, undisturbed for a short while. With hands resting, back straight and eyes gently closed, begin.

Expanding your lower belly, take a slow deep breath in through your nose and reaching the very top of the breath, sigh the exhalation out of your mouth. Keep going until the complete breath has been expelled. Notice your lower belly fall with this exhalation.

Await the short, natural pause at the end of the out breath and then take an easy breath in through the nose once more.

Settle into a comfortable sense of stillness.

When distracting thoughts arise, simply bring your attention gently back to the breath.

Let any distractions be as fluffy white clouds, floating across a peaceful, clear blue sky. Just let them move away, effortlessly.

Relaxing into your natural breath, with no need now for any modification, simply inwardly observe the very top of your head. Picturing a Violet flower and it’s beautiful vibrant petals, take a nice deep breath and visualise breathing that colour into your crown.

Gently focusing now slightly above the mid point of your eyebrows, picture the velvety Indigo of the night sky. Taking a wonderful relaxing breath in, breathe out this colour into your Third Eye.

Letting your attention fall on your throat, picture a beautiful blue summer sky and as you take a deep belly breath in and as you breathe out, visualise that azure blue colour filling your Throat Chakra.

Gently drawing your inner awareness to the centre of your chest, picture a bright green grassy lawn in Spring. Take a deep breath in through your nose and as you sigh out, visualise that beautiful green colour illuminating your Heart Chakra.

Now focus your inner awareness on the fleshy part of the abdomen, above the navel and just below the breast bone. Picture the petals of a bright yellow sunflower. Take a slow breath in through your nose and as your sigh out, visualise filling your Solar Plexus full of that bright yellow colour.

Gently draw your focus down to your pelvic region, take a deep breath in and picturing a shiny orange, slowly exhale, out through your mouth, picturing the bright orange filling up your Sacral Chakra.

Finally, place your inward attention onto the base of your tail bone. Visualise a fresh summer strawberry on the in breath and as you exhale, picture the Root Chakra being filled with gorgeous, red light.

Scan through each center, from top to bottom, picturing each one lit up in its own colourful ray. From Violet, to Indigo, to blue then green, to yellow, then orange to red.

Be aware of how you are filled up with colour, bright and radiant. In perfect balance and harmony.

When you are ready, wiggle your fingers and toes to reactivate your circulation, take a nice refreshing breath in, exhale and open your eyes!

(NOTE: Please breathe at your normal rate between each colour breath.)

As with ALL things, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT so read through the exercise a few times to familiarise yourself with the process, then whenever you have a spare moment (and it’s safe to do so!) you can practice some peaceful, restorative Colour Breathing.

#chromotherapy#colour#cosmicrays#colourbreathing#practice