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You spend about a third of your life on a mattress. Most of us do not sleep all that time. We are too tense, too emotionally worn to unwind and give ourselves the rest we need. We are in desperate need of stress relief (http://www.wilddivine.com/servlet/-strse-Biofeedback-Software/Categories). Unable to relax, we toss and turn, adding irritation to fatigue. Sleeping pills and all the tranquilizing aids, which are rapidly becoming a major national industry, do not always bring relief.
Sleep finally claims us and what happens then? Almost invariably we slump into the attitude mankind has inherited since time began. The spine curves into a prenatal huddle. The head droops forward and down; the knees creep upwards to meet it. The arms fold over the torso. This is the protective wary posture of most animals.
It was the posture of primitive man when he came out of the cave. Shrinking into itself as though for warmth, the body was ready for instant action in case of attack. It was correctly poised to roll over and fight, or run off—on all fours.
But what was necessary for humans in those days, is no longer suitable to man under modern conditions. That huddle is an actual deterrent to his present stance. He still is not completely adapted to walking upright with ease.
The truth is, most of us do not know how to sleep. We have not acquired the ability to stretch out relaxed, completely surrendering to the great healer, sleep. It is that vulnerable release that is emphasized in beginning meditation (http://www.wilddivine.com/wellnesslibrary/47.html) while in a relaxed conscious state.
Taut nerves and muscles show we are not at peace with ourselves. There is not enough core of unity within us to resist the pressures and fragmentation of modern living. Most of us are tied to a pattern of behavior established by a hundred trivial details.
Synonymous with life itself is the habit of breathing. Even in sleep, we never cease to breathe. We can do without food and even without water for short periods. But without air there is no survival. Stop breathing, and death claims us within minutes.
By filling our lungs, and nourishing our blood, air builds up a potent life-source. Every human activity depends upon the precious stuff. Without oxygen, food would do us no good, for it could not be oxidized and transmuted into healthy blood cells and body tissue.
We simply must be oxygenized. Machines burn fuel to produce power—we must burn the body fuel in our cells to produce the same combustion or explosive energy. Deep breathing drives the carbon dioxide out of the blood stream and rejuvenates our whole system by circulating fuel to cells and organs.
The importance of correct breathing is recognized by all the great teachers. The technology of biofeedback therapy is helping us learn more about how correct breathing revitalizes our starving blood cells. The Book of Genesis speaks of the mysterious energy, the Spirit (breath) of Life which animates the life process.
Oriental masters consider it the source of spiritual strength, prime mover of its abundant flow. Some Yoga adepts build a system of meditation around psychic exercises in inhaling and exhaling air. With practice and intense application they can perform seeming miracles, such as sending themselves into a trance and suspending normal functioning.