'If You Can Breathe You Can Get Through Anything'

This morning, I read a stirring story about a former Black Panther who had spent 40 years in prison, many of them in solitary confinement. Prolonged solitary confinement is regarded as one of the worst forms of torture and it takes extraordinary resilience to come out of it intact. The story went on to talk about the numerous hardships he faced and his personal growth. But what stayed with me was the phrase, 'if you can breathe, you can get through anything'. I have been trying to focus more on my breathing, as part of my yoga practice (I should probably do a separate post on the significance of the breath in yoga practice). Sometimes, just by focusing on my breath, I feel a wave of relief pass through my body, but not as often as I would like. Focusing on your breathe is the ultimate means of nourishing the senses without external support. It is a technique available anywhere and at any time.
But, coming back to the story I read, which was a tale of fortitude. The title of this blog post really stuck with me, because immediately afterwards, the author talked about how you can't take your breath for granted. When he received news in prison that his mother had died, he literally struggled to breathe. He felt like he wouldn't make it and he took more than a year to feel like his normal self. The way I interpreted it, the fact that he is still here is down to luck more than anything else. Which is why the phrase is so powerful--it is not a truism. There are shocks that can literally stop you breathing--not just physical shocks but mental and emotional shocks. You and your darned breath are powerful, but not all-powerful.