The guest of the “Clinical Hypnosis Talks” program, organized by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Continuing Education Application and Research Center (ÜSEM) and Traditional and Complementary Medicine Application and Research Center (GETİPMER), was this time Clinical Psychology Specialist and Family Counselor Yeliz Aksu. In the online program, Aksu made evaluations on the topic of “Breath and Hypnosis”. Stating that when the breath calms, the mind also calms and the doors to a long life open, Aksu used the expressions, ‘one of the most important duties of a person is to learn to control their breath’.
“One of the most beautiful educations I've added to my life”
Clinical Psychology Specialist Yeliz Aksu spoke about the importance of the breath and hypnosis training she received in her life; “I would like to start my words with a quote from Dr. Andrew Weil. He says, ‘If I had to limit my recommendations for healthy living to one item, it would be learning to breathe correctly.’ Actually, when we say ‘breath,’ we often think, ‘What’s that? We’re already breathing.’ But sometimes we confuse it with respiration or our routine breathing. Because before I knew what breath was, I thought the same way. After taking the training and delving deeper, I encountered something completely different. This encounter also resembles my hypnosis journey. I started my hypnosis journey around the 2010s with the guidance of one of my psychology professors. There, too, hypnosis is one of the best trainings I’ve added to my life. My second training, breath, also became one of the most beautiful educations I’ve added to my life.” she said.
“Our life is between two breaths”
Aksu drew attention to the meanings of the word ‘breath’ beyond just breathing; “What is breath? One can live for a few weeks without food, a few days without water, but not more than a few minutes without oxygen. In fact, our life is between two breaths. We take a breath when we are born. We come into the world, meaning we say ‘I exist’ with our breath. And we bid farewell with our last breath. We send off on a journey. In fact, we say that if people have something on their mind or wanted to see someone before they die, they cannot exhale their last breath. Or we say they passed away with their eyes open. Actually, breath is one of our ancient knowledge. So, breath has always been present in our lives. Although its dictionary meaning comes from inhaling and exhaling, its origin comes from ‘nefs’ (self), and among Sufis, it refers to ‘can’ (soul), meaning the self, spirit, and character of the heart. In fact, breath does not only give us respiration and the biological part. Breath tells us to be aware, to realize your spirit, will, thoughts, and emotions, to care for your soul, and to accept what comes to you.” she stated.
“Breath is an important bridge both spiritually, emotionally, and mentally”
Speaking about the effect of breath on emotions and thoughts, Aksu; “When you stop, when your thoughts and feelings stop, when you ignore your pains. When you overlook certain things in your life, breath says, ‘I also stop, I slow down and get blocked,’ and adds a detail: ‘If I stop, you will end.’ So, what do we need to keep me alive? Again, our own awareness, the awareness of our own breath. Therefore, breath is an important bridge both spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. So much so that Svatmarama has a saying: ‘When the breath is agitated, the mind is also agitated. When the breath calms, the mind also calms, and the doors to a long life open. For this reason, one of the most important duties of a person is to learn to control their breath.’ Isn’t that true, really? When you experience excitement, adrenaline, fear, or anger, you become breathless. Often, people get blocked, and it’s the same in panic attacks. At that moment, stop, calm down. What do we do immediately? Our parasympathetic system tries to intervene. We take a deep breath; children often say this. A deep breath is effective at this point.” she said.