Breath, Connection, and the Systems We Forget About

The invisible threads that hold us together, and how we find them again.

The First Breath I Heard Was Through Music

I remember sitting in the back seat of my dad’s Oldsmobile.
I must have been five or six years old.

Music was a big part of how we connected.
We listened to all kinds of stuff, but back in the late ‘80s, MJ was definitely my favorite.

That day though, he wanted to show me something different — jazz.
I think it was Pat Metheny.

I wasn’t too impressed at first.
It sounded weird.
No singing, no hooks I could follow.

I told him I didn’t get it, and he said:

"The instruments are the voice. Listen and breathe with it. Let it sing to you."

So I did.
I listened.
And I floated away into calm.

Later, growing up, I realized that way of listening — and breathing — never really left.
I’d lay in bed at night with music playing, just breathing,
watching my mind fill up with color and quiet.

Even before I understood what yoga really was,
breath was already pulling me back to center.
It helped me when things got hard, when I felt lost,
or when I just needed to feel something real again.

My mom actually practiced yoga too,
and she taught me another way of breathing —
to calm myself when I was overwhelmed.
Something I realize now was connected to being overstimulated, even neurodivergent.

Over the years, breath kept weaving itself into everything —
hiking, biking, running, lifting.
Breath was always part of the rhythm.

And when I finally got serious about my practice just over ten years ago —
bringing in mantras, kirtan, and focused movement —
it was like something clicked.
Everything lined up.
The breath, the heart, the mind — all finally singing together,
just like my parents had taught me without even knowing it.

These days, this is what I do.
I help people find their breath again.
Find their center.
Find that place where life doesn’t feel like it's running them over anymore.

And yeah — it’s a lot deeper than just doing a few stretches or trying to "relax."

Why Breathwork?

Isn’t Yoga Just Stretching?

You hear that sometimes —
"Isn’t yoga just stretching?"

And honestly, with the way it's packaged today,
it’s a fair question.

But if you look at the roots — the old teachings —
it’s clear that’s not what yoga was ever meant to be.

The Yoga Sutras say it straight in the second verse:

"Yoga is the control of the mindstuff."

And even the word yoga means to connect.

Connect to what?
Depends who you ask.
Ask a hundred yogis, you’ll probably get a hundred different answers.

For me, it’s not just about connecting to some divine thing floating out there.
It’s not just about the "higher self" either.

Yoga is about connection to everything.

Your body.
Your breath.
Your mind.
The way your heart beats when you’re scared, alive, grateful, or broken.
The way the wind feels against your skin when you step outside after a hard day.

It’s about learning the systems that carry you —
and actually living inside them instead of fighting them.

In yoga, prana — life force — rides on the breath.
It’s what links you to life itself.

And pranayama — breath practice —
isn’t just about breathing "better."
It’s about understanding how your own system actually works:

• How your breath shifts your heart rate.

• How your heart rhythm sends signals back to your brain.

• How your brain changes the way you feel and move through the world.

A strong practice doesn’t just make you flexible.
It doesn’t just make you strong.
It reconnects you to the systems you forgot you even had.

When you start looking at it this way,
you realize yoga isn’t just about poses —
it’s about working with the systems that control your body and mind.

A good yoga practice resets your nervous system.
It brings you back to center.
It reminds you to move with your breath — and sometimes just to stop.

And there's science behind all this too.

Think about it —
when you’ve been panicked, how’s your breath?
When you’re depressed, how’s your breath?
When you’re calm, how does your breath sound?

It’s all connected.

Recently, I filmed a 21-minute slow yoga practice and a 5-minute breathing session.
They’re both good starting points if you want to experiment with this yourself.

When you practice:

• How do you feel?

• Does your mind wander?

• What thoughts come and go?

21 Minutes to Come Back to Yourself

Everywhere Is Sacred

This is why journaling alongside practice is so powerful.

It doesn’t have to be a lot —
just a quick note about what you did, what you felt, what came up.
Some days it might be a paragraph.
Some days it might be a single word.

If you like working with tech, you can even use an AI assistant to help track your reflections.
A few simple prompts can turn a random thought into a deeper conversation with yourself over time.

Here’s a simple one you can try:

"Help me reflect on my breath, my emotions, and my body after today's yoga or breathing practice. Ask me three gentle questions.”

If you want to explore a little more, here are two simple prompts you can use with an AI assistant:

Yoga Practice Suggestion Prompt:

"Based on my current mood, time available, and energy level, suggest a short yoga practice I can do today."

Breath Practice (Pranayama) Suggestion Prompt:

"Based on my current emotional and physical state, suggest a pranayama practice that would help me balance and reconnect."

Let it offer you a few ideas.
Use what feels right.
Leave what doesn’t.

The more you listen to where you are,
the more the practice becomes yours.

Let it guide you.
See what comes up.

If you’ve been working alongside me through AI or just finding your own way,
these little reflections can help deepen your yoga and meditation experience.

Feel free to message or comment if you want to share what you’re experiencing —
I’m always open for real, respectful conversations.

Over the next several Wednesdays,
we’re going to dive deeper into yoga and the systems it connects:
breath, heart, mind, body.

We’ll weave the old teachings and the new science together,
building something simple, real, and universal.

Something that might just change the way you see yourself
the next time you look in the mirror.

- Red Shanti

If these practices speak to you,
you can find more reflections, tools, and ways to support the work at:
redshanti.com
ko-fi.com/redshanti

Everything starts with one breath,
one small return to yourself.
See you in the next rhythm.