The Breath that Cleanses

Peggy La Cerra PhD writes a column in Spirituality & Health Magazine, and I really enjoyed this excerpt from the May-June 2012 issue:

“Although we rarely stop to think about it, we are cleansing and revitalizing ourselves with each and every breath we take. Our bodies are designed to expel an impressive 70 percent of their toxic load via respiration. This cleansing process begins at the cellular level. As our cells convert sugars unto a simple form of usable energy, carbon dioxide is generated as waste. This toxic gas is then absorbed into our bloodstream, transported to our lungs, and released into the atmosphere, when we exhale. Then the plants, with which we share the planet, take in our expelled carbon dioxide and use it to create the energy that fuels their existence. And, fortunately for us, they then release the waste product of this photosynthetic process into the atmosphere – the oxygen that sustains our own existence. “

You remember, it is the science of life we learned in elementary school.

But read on, for she so eloquently illuminates and describes the web of life that this simple lesson reveals:

“In this unparalleled display of the elegance of co-evolutionary design, the plants and animals of the earth are cleansing and nourishing and renewing each other, every moment of their lives – a quintessentially physical phenomenon that displays all the hallmarks we usually ascribe to acts of divine grace and spiritual love.”

I love this reminder that we are always already giving and receiving such nourishment and grace – with every breath we take and give!

So keep breathing, and bring to you what you need.

Til the next move,
Enjoy your practice

Dorian