I am always aware at this busy time of year, that I hold more tension in my body than ever. I have to continually remind myself to breathe deeply and interrupt the body's response to projects coming due, end of year performance pressures, not to mention the frenzy of crazy Christmas consumerism. It's more important than ever, mentally and physically, to find a spacious release in the body by doing just five slow, diaphragmatic breaths a few times a day. What I feel when I do that is literally, that the volume of my body expands like the inside of the Statue of Liberty and the tension in my neck and shoulders melts away clearing my mind to observe things around me in tranquility rather than with rigidity.
I have understood for a long time the importance of breathing to our overall health and wellness- that to breathe the way the body was intended to, is actually a matter of life and death. But some never consider making choices about the way they breathe; it's really not necessary. The cool thing about the breath is that it is both autonomic and voluntary. It functions on its own without our thinking about it; when we are sleeping or if unconscious no decisions need to be made to keep us alive, thankfully. But we are also able to control the breath, to use it to our advantage to motivate movement of all kinds; athletes and dancers especially understand the importance of making choices about how they use the breath to optimize their performance. If we don't notice our breath cycle and take an active role in our breathing though, not-so-healthy life factors take over that weren't present when living was simpler and less stressful.
It has become epidemic in our society, because of the fast pace of our lives and information flying at us every moment, to only breathe in a shallow chest way- not the way we were meant to breathe as a baseline. Watch a baby's belly go out and in- diaphragmatic breathing at its finest, the way nature intended. To keep the breath in the chest triggers the fight/flight response in the Sympathetic Nervous System (meant for situations of danger) flooding the body with toxic stress hormones. It's a scientific fact that this is a major contributor to the high incidence of hypertension (heart disease) and other chronic illnesses so prevalent today. I mean think about it, if we aren't using the full expanse of the breath into the belly, we aren't fully oxygenating all of the cells in the body that depend on this nourishment, nor are we completely dispelling the waste from cellular metabolism. It creates a very toxic environment over time.
I remember the first time I really got the magnitude of the problem when I was brought in by a communication consultancy to observe the coaching of the senior executives at People Magazine in New York. The task was to help these leaders to be more effective and authentic communicators. I watched the first and then the second client practice their speech/presentation, when lo and behold a light went off for me. They're not breathing I said quietly to my colleague. They're simply NOT BREATHING! I suggested that I work with each individually for 20 minutes and taught them the mechanics of breathing along with a breathing meditation. Then I got them up to do a yoga sun salutation (business suits and all) to get their blood flowing throughout their bodies. When they each practiced their speech a second time, the difference was palpable. There was an easy, natural delivery with a completely organic rhythm coming from the rise and the fall of the breath. Eureka, I was on to something!!!
Subsequently, I went on to do performance coaching with other corporate executives (including all of the hosts on The Home Shopping Network- fun!) as well as my students and anyone else I could convince to try it. I integrated breathing into every form of performance I encountered (we are always performing) and I became an impassioned champion for the importance of choosing to breathe diaphragmatically as a vital path to health and authenticity. So I want to take this time to remind myself and you to interrupt the cycle of tension in the body that separates us from our higher nature and constricts the energy flow throughout the body depriving our sensory neurons of the vital information about our surroundings to perform at our highest level. In this season of Giving, give yourself and everyone around you the gift of your truest presence. Make the bodymind choice to breathe as if your life depends on it.
#breathislife #toxicstress #diaphragmaticbreathing #fightflightresponse #accessyourhighernature #breatheforhealthandauthenticity
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