The Breathing Breakthrough: Everything You Need to Know to Sharpen Your Focus, Worry Less, and Live Longer

By Bija Bennett

The Breathing Breakthrough: Everything You Need to Know to Sharpen Your Focus, Worry Less, and Live Longer

Evidence-based research strongly shows that by adding mind-body and self-care techniques, you can significantly create an impact on a diverse range of health responses from energy, aging, brain and immune strength, to sleep, happiness, family, intimacy, and even sex.

The Breathing Breakthrough offers compelling insights, practical examples, and cutting-edge science on how the power of your breath can change how you think and feel.

Learn how to use your breath for rest and recovery, focusing and meditation, energy-management, and as a wellness practice to help reduce the burden of stress-related disease, both in the workplace and at home.

Bija has a profound gift for making the spirit of yoga accessible. Deepak Chopra

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504343695

Bija Bennett

Bija Bennett is poet, performer, philosopher, and athlete of the inner self— and outstanding communicator who is able to convey the tenets of mind-body health in remarkably accessible and engaging and ways. An internationally renowned yoga therapist with a Master’s Degree in Dance from UCLA, Bija is the author of Emotional Yoga (Simon & Schuster) and Breathing into Life (HarperCollins). A visionary leader for the post-modern spiritual set, Bija created YogaAway, LLC, an international wellness brand for the hospitality and spa industries, and has worked closely with Deepak Chopra, MD at his Ayurvedic health center and co-leading his seminars around the world. She is currently at work on The Dad Project, an art and film project featuring consecrated conversations between fathers and daughters.

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Copyright © 2016 Bija Bennett, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Black and White Photographs: Lois Greenfield

Author Photograph: Todd Rosenberg

Other Photographs: Bija Bennett Films

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4368-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4369-5 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 1/20/2016

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Contents

The Breathing Breakthrough

Risking Stress

Evidence-Based Practices

The facts

The solution

Ancient Science, Modern Results

The sciences of Panchamaya

This is the Art of Yoga

The Breathing Breakthrough

Breathing as Stress Reduction Therapy

Breathing Lessons

The Basic Components of Breathing

Guidelines for Breathing

Strategic Breathing: Five Practices for Life

Practice 1: Breathing Awareness

Practice 2: The Whispering Breath

Practice 3: The Wave

Practice 4: Balancing Breath (Sama Vritti) – When the Components of the Breath are Equal

Practice 5: Reducing and Nourishing Breaths (Visama Vritti) – When the Components of the Breath are Not Equal

Breathing Rituals: For Body-Mind Recovery

Your Body and Your Breath

Your Mind and Your Breath

Your Emotions and Your Breath

Your Immunity and Your Breath

Breathing into Life

The Breathing Breakthrough

You probably think you already know how to breathe. Isn’t breathing one of those things that, under normal circumstances, you never have to think about, like hearing or seeing? Yes, but it shouldn’t be. You can go through your whole life and never give your breathing another thought, and that’s why it might never occur to you that you’re not breathing maximally or getting the most out of your breath.

Did you know that your breathing can release stress, maximize energy, strengthen immunity, increase circulation, improve digestion, align posture, promote relaxation, help you focus, reduce pain and fear, and therefore, lead to a longer and healthier life?

The breath is remarkable. You can learn a lot from the breath. It is profoundly wise.

Every emotion, physical condition, resistance, disturbance, or tension you have is connected to your breath. Do you ever notice that you’re holding your breath? Remember what you do when you’re afraid, tense, or worrying about something? Or how