In a cage of arched bones the lungs expand to receive the tides of breath, and the heart pumps all the rivers of blood.
Breath is Spirit, the animating principle of the world, that flows through us our whole lives long. We take in breath from the world. For a moment, this part of the flow lives in us, through us. Then we let the breath go back where it came from.
Lubdub, lubdub, lubdub, the heart beats out the rhythm of life, a drummer that never sleeps. Inhale, exhale, the lungs take in and let go, constant as the surf lapping the shore.
Ramified sponges, the lungs suck air from the sky into the body, stoking the fires, filling the organ pipes with song. The reddened blood flows from the heart to irrigate every land of the body.
This is chest, breast, heart, soul. Here the infant, so new it is still slimy, finds the breast for nourishment. The nipple in the mouth replaces the umbilicus in the belly as the source of fluid nurture, at the same time as the world replaces the womb.
In close embrace, two hearts beat in contact. When I hug you, it is our hearts that are intimate. They nestle together like birds in a nest, like pups in a den, vulnerable and protected. Feeling ourselves together makes our very being more real, more present.
Within the cave of the chest, urges and ideals merge in great feelings that drive us. Here we feel pride, bravery, ardor, passion, compassion, aspiration, vitality, joy.
In a cage of bones, inhale and exhale – expand and contract – go inward and reach out.