Sea in a shell

I appreciate this exercise because it is a simple and elegant way to center yourself quickly when everything around you is turning to mush. It is understandable that you feel fragmented and distracted during a demanding workday. It is easy to lose track of your center, of your true self. Your best decisions, your best plans, your best healing, springs from your CENTER so try not to stray “too far from home” for too long.

Keep your spine comfortably erect and your shoulders relaxed during the entire exercise. Closing your eyes is preferable if circumstances allow.

1. With the tips of your middle fingers close your ears gently by pressing in on the small flap just forward of your ear canals (not to be confused with your ear lobes).


2. Rest your bent elbows comfortably against your chest and keep your face forward.


3. Close your eyes and LISTEN to your deep, slow, steady breathing. The sound of this smooth and rhythmic flow of air is a wonderful relaxing focus. It will seem as if you are listening to the sound of the sea in a seashell. Continue for as long as you feel comfortable. You will find that your breathing slows and deepens fairly quickly without any conscious effort on your part.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Snot Is Your Friend

OK. OK. I know that was a cheap shot but this is a really important subject and I really need to get your attention. Sorry about that.

Mucus often gets a bad rap. The only time we pay attention to mucus is when we have hay fever or a nasty leaky cold and at that point it seems like the attack of the glob. You just want it to go away.

If, in fact, your wish were to be granted by the cold-medicine fairy and snot did go away completely, I doubt that you would be around for your next birthday. You are pretty much lined with this glistening magical traveling stuff that keeps your delicate vulnerable inner tissues moist, clean, and warm.

The trick is to keep the mucus moist enough so it moves along easily but gelatinous enough to trap the bits of junk and microscopic critters that would otherwise dig dangerously deep into your vulnerable lungs and possibly kill you. Be judicious about cold and sinus medications that could dry out your bronchial passages. Stay hydrated. Wear a dust mask when you are exposed to airborne irritants that can overrun the mucus blanket. Treasure this super barrier.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Breathing? Good. Overbreathing? Not So Much.

There is a pulmonary computer at the base of your brain that works 24/7, never complains, rarely interrupts your busy day and is completely devoted to your survival. If you tried to consciously manage your breathing, you would be dead where you stand.

A steady flow of information speeds back and forth along your nerves from your muscles, lungs and heart, to and from your respiratory center. The speed, depth and frequency of your breathing are all adjusted instantly and precisely to provide exactly the amount of oxygen you need at any given moment. Sleeping? Running? Meditating? Dancing? Scared? Singing? Climbing? 10,000 feet? 200 feet under water? 115 degrees? –25 degrees? No problem. Count on split-second adjustments.

Your pulmonary computer allows for occasional manual control such as holding your breath, or speeding up/slowing down your breathing. Eventually you will return to what the computer deems to be “normal” breathing.

A manual override becomes dangerous, however, when a swimmer forces too many deep and fast breaths just before going into the water in the hopes of extending underwater time.

Overbreathing can increase underwater time but overbreathing also stores almost no extra oxygen and blows off way too much carbon dioxide. Once underwater, the victim runs out of oxygen but is missing the warning bursting sensation from the lack of carbon dioxide that screams “time to go up.” NEVER EVER TAKE MORE THAN TWO OR THREE EXTRA BREATHS BEFORE DIVING IN.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Sandwich Muscles II

If you hope to maintain a strong and healthy flow of fresh air in and out of your lungs at any age, you need to keep your pumper-and-squeezer muscles strong and flexible. As you age, the double layers of muscles (intercostals) sandwiched between your ribs become less active and more brittle. Poor posture pinches and inhibits the intercostals from doing their job efficiently. These are the muscles that raise and lower your ribs, changing the volume of your ribcage with each breath you take. Weak, cramped, lazy intercostal muscles cannot deliver the amount of oxygen you need for an active life.

1. Stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder-distance apart (toes straight ahead) with your back against a wall. Your bottom and BOTH shoulder blades will touch the wall at all times.
2. Stretch your right arm over your head and touch your left ear with your right hand (or as close as you can come). Lay your free hand on your navel and face forward the entire time.
3. Lengthen your spine first and then stretch slowly to the left, sliding along the wall only as far as is comfortable. Breathe quietly in and out, feeling the muscles working between the ribs along your right side. Hold for three or four breath cycles.
4. Pull your navel in and straighten up slowly. Change hands and repeat on the other side. If you have trouble returning to an upright position, you stretched too far.

This is an awareness exercise and a reminder of the importance of keeping pumpers-and-squeezers in good condition.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

LINK: Sandwich Muscles I