Early Spring 2012
Message from the Director…..
I recently shared a cup of coffee and conversation with a member of our community. We talked about the Cancer Support Community, about new program initiatives, about how we both came to be here.
And then she made an interesting observation. “This place is like breathing,” she said. “And you breathe to live, so this place has given me life.”
Technically, breathing is the process that moves air in and out of our lungs. Breathing delivers oxygen to where it is needed in the body and removes carbon dioxide. It is the only bodily function that we do both voluntarily and involuntarily. We can consciously use breathing to influence the involuntary nervous system that regulates blood pressure, heart rate, circulation, digestion and many other bodily functions.
There are so many different kinds of breathing.
In T'ai Chi, breathing is used to exercise the diaphragm muscles and to train effective posture, which both make better use of the body's energy. In music, breath is used to play wind instruments or to pass over our vocal chords to sing. Laughter is simply repeated sharp breaths http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laughter. Hiccups, yawns, and sneezes are other breath-related phenomena. In yoga, the breath is known as a universal energy that can be used to find a balance between the body-mind. And in meditation you are encouraged to breathe any way you wish, in a form that is helpful to you spiritually.
It is thought by many cultures that the process of breathing is the essence of being. And when we stop breathing, we stop being. I like this image. The image that the Cancer Support Community is all about helping people breathe. Rapidly inhaling and exhaling to give yourself energy. Inhaling quietly through your nose, holding it and then exhaling to relax your breathing. Breathing with purpose or breathing without thinking.
No matter how you do it, you breathe to live. Stop by some time, sit for awhile, take in fresh air. Exhale slowly. Regain some energy and focus. Allow us to help you breathe to live.
Kimerly Hinkelman
Executive Director |
