Breath Talks

Breathing (spiration or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.

All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular respiration, which extracts energy from the reaction of oxygen with molecules derived from food and produces carbon dioxide as a waste product. Breathing, or external respiration, brings air into the lungs where gas exchange takes place in the alveoli through diffusion. The body's circulatory system transports these gases to and from the cells, where cellular respiration takes place.

The breathing of all vertebrates with lungs consists of repetitive cycles of inhalation and exhalation through a highly branched system of tubes or airways which lead from the nose to the alveoli. The number of respiratory cycles per minute is the breathing or respiratory rate, and is one of the four primary vital signs of life. Under normal conditions the breathing depth and rate is automatically, and unconsciously, controlled by several homeostatic mechanisms which keep the partial pressures of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the arterial blood constant. Keeping the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood unchanged under a wide variety of physiological circumstances, contributes significantly to tight control of the pH of the extracellular fluids (ECF). Over-breathing (hyperventilation) and under-breathing (hypoventilation), which decrease and increase the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide respectively, cause a rise in the pH of ECF in the first case, and a lowering of the pH in the second. Both cause distressing symptoms.

Breathing has other important functions. It provides a mechanism for speech, laughter and similar expressions of the emotions. It is also used for reflexes such as yawning, coughing and sneezing. Animals that cannot thermoregulate by perspiration, because they lack sufficient sweat glands, may lose heat by evaporation through panting.

From Breathing on Wikipedia

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Nobody's Perfect, and There Is Perfection

Nobody's perfect but there is perfection. "The Way is perfect and all-pervading" It pervades everywhere including suffering. It is the Non-duality of peace, ease and suffering. Luis...

Luis Gomez, Manjushri, Fayan, Suzuki Roshi, self-improvement, Faith, Breath, Zendo,...
Mar 04 2023
AM
No Abode Hermitage

Stories of Enlightenment

In our class this fall we will contemplate and converse about several stories of Zen practice and enlightenment. Our contemplation and conversations will naturally bring up questions and concerns...

YRB-2019-Fall, Four Noble Truths, Book of Serenity, Daily Life, Suzuki Roshi,...
Oct 10 2019
2/7
The Yoga Room

Chapter Three, Shoveling Dung

Confession and Repentance, Breath, resistance, Repentance
Sep 14 2019
AM
No Abode Hermitage

Teachings for the Welfare of the World

In this summer series, teachings will be offered for those who aspire to embrace and sustain the great earth and all living beings in order to realize peace and freedom in our troubled world.
...

YRB-2019-Summer, Silence, Funeral, Emotions, Interview, soto, Practice Period, Birth-...
Jul 09 2019
3/7
The Yoga Room

Generating Energy

resistance, Patience, practicing generosity, Enthusiasm, Tassajara, Emotions, Breath...
Mar 09 2019
PM
No Abode Hermitage

Silent Sitting & Social Action

Zen students often ask how our practice of silence and stillness relates to injustice and our environmental crisis. In this class we explore this question and study the intimate interplay of...

YRB-2018-Fall, Silence, Bodhisattva Vow, Ego, Priest, Breath, Letting Go, difficulty...
Oct 30 2018
3 of 7
The Yoga Room

On Breathing 

Emotions, Breath, Suzuki Roshi, Enthusiasm, Posture
Aug 29 2013
The Yoga Room

On Breathing 

Breath, Posture, Greed, Hate, cognitive process
Aug 22 2013
The Yoga Room

On Breathing 

Posture, Breath, Bell, Nirvana, Daily Life
Aug 15 2013
The Yoga Room

Observing the Breathing Body and the Mind of No Abode 

Breath, Posture, zen meditation, Heart Sutra, Observe
Aug 10 2013
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Observing the Breathing Body and the Mind of No Abode 

Posture, Breath, Perfect Wisdom, Observe, Mindfulness
Aug 10 2013
Morning
No Abode Hermitage

On Breathing 

Posture, Breath, Confession and Repentance, Mindfulness, Observe
Aug 08 2013
The Yoga Room

On Breathing 

Breath, Posture, Observe, Emotions, Building
Aug 01 2013
The Yoga Room

On the Body 

Breath, Karmic Consciousness, Posture
Nov 15 2012
The Yoga Room

The Four Aspects of Practicing the Threefold Ethics of Bodhisattvas 

Precepts, Bodhisattva Precepts, Breath, Dharmakaya, Mahayana
Feb 04 2012
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

The Bodhisattva's Creativity and Freedom 

Letting Go, practicing generosity, Mindfulness, Breath, Practice Period
Nov 17 2011
The Yoga Room

Embracing the Mahayana: Do You Want to be an Artist? 

Breath, Dogen, Community, Lineage, Evil
Jul 16 2011
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Practicing the Four Frames of Mindfulness as Gates to Totality 

Mindfulness, confusion, Attachment, Breath
Sep 06 2008
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Yunyan Sweeps the Ground 

Hate, Bodhisattva Way, Perfect Wisdom, Breath, resistance
Jul 26 2008
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage

Embodying the Lotus Sutra 

Lotus Sutra, Emptiness, Posture, Breath, zen meditation
Mar 27 2008
The Yoga Room

Prajna Paramita

The "Perfection of Wisdom" is the bodhisattva's understanding of emptiness, which is available to those who are settled in the conventional world.

Emptiness, Discrimination, Breath, Observe, practicing generosity
Jul 14 2007
Afternoon
No Abode Hermitage