For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth. ~Sanskrit Proverb
The word spirit comes from the Latin "spiritus", meaning breath. As long as we are breathing we have life. The quality of our lives can be regulated by our breath. Breathing is one of those things that we do automatically. When we are born we breath in life, when we die our breath leaves us. If we are fortunate those moments of breath between life and death are filled with love and laughter, pain and joy, darkness and light. Life is like a roller coaster of breath; some moments our breath is taken away by sudden drops or tragedies, other moments are filled with the most unimaginable highs that radiate through every fiber of our being. We don't always choose what the moments will bring but we can choose to breath in, breath out in a calm and centered manner.
If you are like me, at times your mind races uncontrollably from images of impending doom to possibilities of lost love; from questioning your very existence to pondering the mysteries of the universe. In moments such as these my meditation experiences have taught me to become consciously aware of my breathing and much to my amazement my breath is racing as quickly as my mind! Once the awareness of my breath becomes the focus of my thoughts choices are made. To be here and now in this very moment, to become mindful of the earth beneath me brings my mind back to the present moment.
There are many kinds of meditation that focus on the breath. The Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, has a mindfulness meditation in which he uses the phrase arriving home as he breathes. When you breath in you mentally say to yourself "arriving, when you exhale you say "home". This meditation can be used with any type of meditation you are comfortable practicing - from walking to seated. It does not require you to formally sit in lotus pose for a defined period of time. You simply become aware of your breath and mentally say to yourself - (inhaling) - arriving; (exhaling) - home.
