GO (cont'd)

Glucose and oxygen (GO) are the two most important molecules for life on Earth. Take one away and life ceases.

When you go about your daily activities GO goes to work where it is needed the most. As stated earlier, if you are working a particular set of muscles GO goes there. If you are thinking real hard it goes to the brain. When you get through eating a meal it goes to the stomach. By breathing correctly and using your mind correctly you can help direct and concentrate GO.  Here is how it works:

Breathing
  
When you are lifting, doing yoga, biking, etc. the idea is to breath in right before contracting the target muscle and breathe out as you contract it. For example, you want to breathe in before you do a squat and breath out as you come up from the squat. The target muscle in this case would be the thigh muscle (quadriceps). 

The reason for this is simple. When you breathe in, oxygen is taken into the lungs, diffuses into the blood, and ends up in the cells. When you breathe out during the contraction phase of the movement, your belly comes in and your diaphragm goes up helping to force oxygen into the cells of the working muscles. 

A simple exercise to demonstrate breathing with movement is the Namaste' Press. Bring your hands together in front of your heart loosly touching your finger tips and heels of your hands together as you breathe in. Next, press your hands together very tightly as you breathe out. Repeat the movement several times with your eyes closed and see if you can feel the target muscles.  The target muscles are the chest and shoulders.

The Mind  

The mind is very powerful but it is seldom used subjectively. The mind is used by most people to solve problems and think outwardly using the senses. When the mind is used subjectively you allow your thoughts to project inwardly into your body focusing on various aspects of the body such as movement, sensations, images, feelings, and even pain.

While doing the Namaste' Press, focus all of your attention onto the target muscles (chest and shoulders) as you breathe in with the hands relaxed. Visualize bringing your breath into the muscles. And, at the same time, visualize energy flowing into the muscles with your breath.  As you breathe out squeezing your hands together visualize energy being squeezed out between your hands. As you do this exercise you should experience your whole body become increasingly energized. That's because energy is moving outwardly from the target muscles to the rest of your body.  

Next time we will take a look at how the mind and breath can be used for healing.