but the energy and information contained within the
food do not become available to you until you’ve
absorbed the basic nutrients through your small intes-
tines. In every substance you ingest there are compo-
nents that do not serve you, so a healthy digestive system
releases the nonnourishing remains of the food into your
colon. It is necessary to eliminate the residues of digestion
on a regular basis for you to remain healthy.
These same steps are applicable on an emotional
level. When people engage in emotionally powerful rela-
tionships, they often ingest more emotional energy and
information than they are capable of digesting. To main-
tain a healthy emotional life, we must all selectively
absorb those aspects of the emotional experience that are
nourishing, while releasing and eliminating those compo-
nents that, if retained, could be toxic.
The Law of Giving and Receiving is in continuous play
during the practice of pranayama breathing exercises.
Conscious breathing means focusing your attention on
the perpetual exchange that is taking place between your
personal body and the extended body of your environ-
ment. You exchange ten billion trillion atoms with your
surroundings with every breath you take. The atoms you
inhale every day have traversed the bodies of living
beings across the universe and across time. Within you
right now, you have carbon atoms that once inhabited the
body of a cheetah in Africa, a dolphin in the South
Pacific, a palm tree in Tahiti, or an Australian Aborigine.
Ultimately, every particle in your body was stardust, cre-
ated at the dawn of the universe. Your breathing is a con-
tinuous testimony to the Law of Giving and Receiving.
Moving Energy 103