The Tibetan Yoga of Breath: Breathing Practices for Healing the Body and Cultivating Wisdom (7 page)

B
ECOMING
S
KILLFUL

In a well-known story from the Buddhist scriptures, the question is asked, “If the ground around you was covered with thorns, how would you best protect your feet?” The answer is given in several ways, to illustrate the varying dispositions of spiritual practitioners. One answer is, “I would attempt to cover the ground around me with leather, so that no matter where I walked, the soles of my feet would not be torn open.” This method is not only impossible but it takes so much effort. We are constantly trying to control and influence the world around us so that what we perceive with our five senses does not bother us so much. The more skillful answer is, “I would make myself a pair of very thick-soled shoes so that no matter where I walk, I will be okay with whatever I encounter.”

Purifying the wind energy is similar to putting on a pair of shoes so we aren’t constantly pricked by thorns when we walk. The mind’s experience of “thorns” is eradicated by purifying the impure wind-mind so that we don’t need to exercise control over our environment and the people in our lives, such as covering the
thorny ground. We don’t need to shield ourselves from being hurt. Instead, we work at bringing the mind into balance so that we can deal with whatever life brings us.

Another possible answer to the question might be, “I would dig up the roots of the plant so it can no longer grow.” In other words, by looking for the root of the problem, we can try to eradicate it so it does not arise again. Delving into the “earth” of the past to address “root” issues can provide us with some relief, but it requires a lot of effort. And the relief offered is not complete. After all, it is not possible to completely control the environment around us so that we cannot be hurt by anything; nor is it possible to dig up the roots of each neurosis that arises in the mind so that we won’t be overpowered by it. And often we are not observant enough to make sure that we dig up each and every one. We simply do not have that much control over our own minds and the world around us.

As we transition toward becoming individuals more able to care for our own emotional needs, it benefits us to take up a practice like wind energy training. Once we master some of the techniques presented in later chapters, we can more skillfully deal with strong emotions and difficult situations moment by moment, each time the breath arises.

3

Understanding the Connection of Breath to Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

APPROACHING PHYSICAL,
mental, and emotional health from the point of view of the five elements and wind energy brings us to a new level of understanding the interconnection between body and mind. Through learning about wind energy, we have seen that we are each made up of intricately interrelated levels of physical, psychological, and emotional energy. This means that though we talk about the physical body as a discrete entity, we can never completely separate it from the mind and the emotions. Because of the body’s energetic channels, through which the wind-mind travels, physical health is the support system (and container) for mental and emotional health. And reciprocally, the flow of healthy mental and emotional energy supports a healthy body.

T
HE
B
ODY
-M
IND
C
ONNECTION

What causes the more extreme mental and emotional imbalances, such as chronic illness or anxiety? Harmony among the five elements in the body (air, fire, earth, water, and space) is disrupted when one element becomes disproportionately strong or weak in relation to the others. More often than not, stress, caused by a strengthening and increase of the wind element, plays a tremendous role in the development of mental and emotional imbalances. In our society, anxiety and depression are the most common of these imbalances.

Most of us suffer from stress every day. When we do not know how to cope with the physical and emotional results of stress, it affects us in a profound way. Studies show that 90 percent of all doctor visits are related to stress, because stress exacerbates so many medical conditions.
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Chronic stress contributes to breathrelated pulmonary and cardiac disorders such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries, the three health conditions that most threaten our mortality.
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Research also shows that stress contributes to emotional imbalances such as anxiety and depression.
³

Anxiety is the most common class of mental disorder worldwide, affecting millions of people. Anxiety is a broad term and includes panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, and separation anxiety disorder. Depression is another prevalent disorder, impacting people in all areas of the world. Depression and anxiety, both fueled by stress, are often seen together. Some research suggests that they are one disorder with two different faces.
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In one study, 5 percent of those with major depression were also diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder while 6 percent had symptoms of panic disorder.
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Some researchers even suggest that anxiety precedes depression, such that depression may be the result of long-standing anxiety.
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This research illustrates the interrelatedness of stress, anxiety,
and depression. Even though millions of us are touched by these painful states of mind every day, understanding the imbalances of body and mind in more detail may help take away the power these painful states hold over us. The good news is that through working with the breath, we actually hold the key to helping ourselves bring body and mind into balance.

No matter how out of control we feel, how low our energy is, or how large our problems seem to loom, wind energy training is an effective intervention for all emotional imbalances. When we work with the breath, we work with the root of the problem.

A P
ROFILE OF
S
TRESS

Stress perpetuates the survival of every species and it is the body’s natural response to danger. The release of stress hormones enables us to have almost superhuman responses when they are needed most—like single-handedly lifting a car a few inches off the ground to save the life of a child trapped underneath. When we feel stress, our senses heighten and blood rushes to the major muscles of our arms and legs so we can run or take quick action.

Stress hormones give us a charge of strength and agility. Once these hormones are released, they
do
throw the body and mind out of balance, but this imbalance is necessary to face short-term dangers. Under ordinary circumstances, we physically exert ourselves in order to face the danger. Then, when the immediate danger is no longer present, the chemicals disperse and the system comes back into balance.

But what happens when the danger we face is not immediate? What if the dangers we perceive are actually coming from the mind rather than the world around us? Like every other kind of strong reaction, stress has to do with how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. Most of the time, stress is caused by a fear or mental obsession of some kind, whose presence continually triggers the stress response.

We could respond to this statement by saying that some causes for stress aren’t just tricks of the mind. There is actual, real suffering that each of us experiences in our lives. However, as we will discuss in later chapters, if we are spiritually healthy, if we have thoroughly contemplated the impermanent nature of all phenomena—including ourselves as well as our loved ones—and if we have accepted that there is no way for any living being to avoid the experience of suffering, then even the ordinary suffering of our lives need not be cause for stress. Instead, we can bravely face what unfolds in our lives with patience and acceptance.

Stress causes problems when the chemicals released into the blood have no chance to disperse, such as when we experience the non–life-threatening stresses of ordinary life, like fighting with a friend or loved one or getting cut off in traffic. For the most part, these ordinary stressors do not require a physical response. When we do not physically exert ourselves to resolve a “dangerous” situation, it takes longer to restore the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. This is because stress hormones do not disperse quickly without physical exertion. Additionally, when a stressor is mentally relived as part of a cyclical thought pattern, then the same stress is perceived over and over again, and the body does not get adequate time to relax, rebalance, and reset itself.

When stress hormones remain present in the blood over a period of time, the system falls out of balance and stays that way. Our heart rate increases and we tend to hold our breath.
⁷
As a result, we are unable to breathe deeply, and we engage in short, shallow thoracic breathing. Thus, the same responses that save us from immediate danger can also suppress the immune system, restrict blood flow, and drain us of physical, mental, and emotional energy.
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Stress is an imbalance that exacerbates every other extreme tendency. In other words, when we are under stress, it is more likely that we will fall into some other imbalance—whether it be physical illness, anxiety, or depression.

Stress and Western Culture

We experience many kinds of stress because we live in an economically and technologically developed society. Material convenience and a high standard of living make Western life fast-paced and gratification-oriented. We are used to getting what we want when we want it. Technology, such as cellular phones and the Internet, provide us with so much information so quickly that we forget what it is like to have to wait for anything. The high-paced and instantaneous nature of our society may offer us many conveniences, but it also increases our stress level. Research actually shows a higher prevalence of stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression in economically developed countries. According to the World Health Organization, unipolar depression was the third most important cause of disease burden worldwide in 2004. Unipolar depression was in “eighth place in low-income countries, but at first place in middle- and high-income countries.”
⁹
Estimates of the prevalence of anxiety disorders are also generally higher in developed countries than in developing countries.
¹⁰

In developing countries, the majority of the stress that people experience has to do with mere survival. Food, water, and shelter are basic needs that often require daily physical labor. Of course, people do suffer and feel stress as a result of having to work hard despite harsh weather conditions, or if it appears that they will not be able to feed their family in the coming winter. However, people are so busy laboring to support themselves and their families that they have little time to reflect on these feelings.

After meeting such cheerful people relatively unburdened by stress, travelers who visit countries in the developing world often idealize and romanticize life in economically poor societies. We see evidence of this idealization when people who live in affluent countries reject the material world and pledge to live simply. However, if they have not changed their habitual way of thinking, feeling, and responding to inner and outer conditions, this will not bring lasting happiness. There are no shortcuts when it comes to mental and emotional health!

In some ways people are happier in less-developed societies. People from North America or Europe are often shocked by life in countries like India, which seem to run on their own schedule. For example, it is not unheard of to arrive at a rural airport to catch a flight only to find that it has been canceled and rescheduled for an unknown time and date, or to be sold a seat on a train that does not exist. Even in the face of such apparent stressors, local people laugh and smile at these events, and feel relatively undisturbed by the changes of course. Imagine the stress and display of emotion if a flight was canceled in New York City and everyone was told to go home and come back the next day to check when the flight would depart!

Craving a lighthearted mind-set, we tend to ignore the abundance of physical hardship and suffering in less economically developed societies. Lacking technology and medical care, people experience the sweeping sufferings of famine, illnesses associated with unsanitary living conditions and water, and a high infant mortality rate. As we will discuss in later chapters, any particular set of life circumstances brings with it its own suffering. There is no escape from the painful realities of life for any of us.

The economic benefits of life in developed countries mean its citizens are not consumed by thoughts of how to survive. Our main concerns are whether we like the way our lives are going and if what we have seems to be fair and desirable. Because our basic needs have been met, our desires dominate our minds. In this way, we are both lucky and cursed. Our minds are free to find things to worry about. And this we do, over and over again.

Stress and Societal Roles

Another cause of stress we experience in developed countries has to do with the flexibility of our societies. In most developing countries, the traditional culture is still intact. The traditional culture assigns strict roles to each member of society. In turn, each role in society is associated with a routine and a set style of behavior and conduct.

Take the example of Tibet. Traditionally, people take on the role of being either a monk or a nun, a family caretaker, a nomadic herder, a farmer, or a spiritual retreatant. No matter which role people take on, they understand how their role is to be carried out, and what they should and should not do along the path. Such roles do not allow for much variation, or much individuality. Whatever their role is, it has to be carried out each and every day in the same manner. As a result, there are not a lot of choices to be made. There is not a lot of thinking, “Should I do this?” or, “Should I change that?” They cannot think in this way because they have to carry out their role to survive. If they try to be something or someone else, what will they eat? Where will they live? What part of society will accept them?