Old? Not Yet.

Mother Nature seems to give the human body a get-out-of-jail-free pass during the baby-making years. Almost immediately thereafter, everything shifts into High-Maintenance Mode. Can you imagine eating, drinking and dancing the night away like you did at 18?! After age 35 we have passed through the grace period when almost everything is forgiven and we must begin to earn the body we want and need.

Increasing signs of aging can be disheartening especially for those of us who survived the 50s where physical appearance was everything. Absolutely everything. Health, comfort and common sense all took a back seat in those days.

1. You have the power to slow the physical aging process so you are less likely to run out of tread before you run out of road. Improving your quality of life takes research and discipline. We are incredibly fortunate to be born in the era of Internet access and impressive medical studies.
2. Although the body begins to break down too soon after birth, both the mind and the spirit are designed to evolve and thrive regardless of age. There is an exquisite beauty and power that can bloom even in a frail body but we can’t simply hope for the best.

Your breathing is unique because it provides relatively easy access to your mind, to your body and to your spirit. Breathing awareness brings body awareness. Breathing awareness brings mental clarity. Breathing awareness brings joy to the spirit.

Be as well as possible. Breathe beautifully.

Review #3

How long must I practice?

You are in charge of your own evolution. Mindful breathing practice moves your mind, body and spirit in an exciting direction so I would hope you would practice regularly the rest of your life. Without regular practice students often forget their breathing until they are neck deep in a personal or professional crisis. Only then, in desperation, do they try to summon a breathing exercise that they remember reading about, but never truly made their own. Learn to swim before you fall (or are pushed) into deep water.

How do I know if I’m advancing?

Don’t think about it. You aren’t being graded here. Tiger cubs, practicing their survival skills through play focus on what they are doing. Most of our greatest accomplishments have come through a sense of wonder and playfulness. So long as you are focused and are not in any way uncomfortable, then you are advancing.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Coping With Predictable Stress: Rehearse and Anchor

Rehearse and Anchor is a deceptively simple yet powerful exercise that will serve you well for the rest of your life. For those scheduled, potentially stressful events such as colonoscopies, wedding toasts (I don’t mean to equate those two), job interviews, ski jumps, birds-and-bees discussions with your kids (I don’t mean to equate those either) – VISUALIZE AND BREATHE.

Since we are dealing with a predictable scheduled situation here, you have plenty of time to rehearse in advance. The time just before you drift off to sleep is an especially powerful time to set new paths in the brain. Like any other practice, the more you rehearse, the better.

See yourself moving through the event easily IN GREAT DETAIL. As you visualize, keep your entire body completely relaxed and your breathing deep and slow and steady. Don’t be concerned if the details you imagine turn out to be slightly different when the time comes. You will have mapped the ideal response into your brain and that will serve you well. The steady breathing is essential because it carries the positive images into your neuromuscular memory.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Link: Hill and Valley Breathing

The Bone Stack

Breathing is Posture’s prisoner. Remember that neither ribs nor lungs are capable of drawing a single breath on your behalf. Your basic chest-box is brought to life by the performance of the intercostal muscles (stretched between your ribs) paired with your diaphragm (the muscular floor of the ribcage). And, of course, your brain runs the show.

These primary breathing muscles need space and freedom to perform! When their movement is cramped and crowded you get less and less oxygen. Less oxygen makes you feel more and more like slumping. A lose-lose situation.

Good posture produces the greatest amount of oxygen while spending the least amount of energy to get it. Good posture translates as bone balanced lightly upon bone, with as few muscles as possible engaged in the support of that balance.

A slump is actually tiring since your muscles have to remain slightly contracted to keep you from falling face down into your minestrone. Remember that you head weighs from 12 to 20 pounds. If it is pushed forward off your bony spine then it is your poor tired neck and shoulder muscles that have to hang onto it, hour after hour after hour. Headache? No surprise.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Good Cough. Bad Cough.

Once in awhile you inhale something that is just too much for your creeping mucus blanket to trap and dump. Mother Nature in her infinite wisdom designed a number of back-up defense systems to keep garbage out of your fragile lungs.

A 400-mph cough is one way to knock that junk out of the park. An EFFICIENT cough is amazing and can keep you from aspirating that tuna sandwich downstream into your lungs. A cough can forcibly eject saliva from dripping down the wrong tube and can expel the gnat you just inhaled.

An INEFFICIENT cough, however, is nearly useless and can actually work against you. An irritating chronic dry hacking cough that doesn’t seem to move anything out of the chest is the body’s cry for help and it needs to be brought to your doctor’s attention. A ten-day cold doesn’t count. A ten-month cough should never be ignored.

You may have an allergy. You may have asthma. The mucus blanket may be too dry because of one of your medications. The air quality inside your house may be causing problems.

The cough that was designed to protect you, begins to tear up the very system it was meant to defend. Over-the-counter stuff may simply mask the symptoms and delay the cure. The cure could actually be something quite simple. But residual damage is often irreversible so please see your doctor as soon as possible.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Eye of the Sun

Eye of the Sun sets in motion a constant circular flow of air that comes in through your right nostril and flows out through your left.

Relax your dominant hand so that your fingers curl naturally. Center that hand in front of your nose (palm facing in) with your arm resting comfortably on your chest.

Gently touch the tip of your thumb against the nostril indentation just above the flare, and the tip of your ring finger to the indentation on the other side. This leaves the tips of your index and middle fingers resting on your forehead just above brow level.

Close your left nostril as you breathe in through the right nostril. Seal the right as you exhale through the left. In right. Out left. In right. Out left. Delicate pressure is enough to close a nostril since the passage narrows markedly at that point.

Eye of the Sun is well suited to daytime activity when you need to stay alert and energized. As always, continue for as long as you can maintain good technique and concentration.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

More About Dust Mites

Dust mites are always a breathing hazard to you and especially to young children in your home. Mites are microscopic monster-movie critters that don’t bite but poop a lot. It’s their poop that gives you a lifetime allergy for which there is no cure.

1. Google “dust mites.” Know your enemy. Outsmart them because they outnumber you. A typical mattress may contain 100,000 mites. There are new anti-mite products available that cost a bit extra but then what is the price of an asthma attack?

2. Mites feed on dead skin cells. Your pets shed more skin cells than you do. Treat their bedding with the same care as you do your own.

3. Cover all mattresses and pillows with plastic or mite-proof covers. If you spend many nights in hotel rooms, take along your own pillow cover. Put a Post-it note on the inside of your door to remind you to remove it when you leave.

4. Keep your bedroom temperature below 70 degrees and the humidity below 50%.

5. Invest in a HEPA vacuum. It’s worth the money.

6. Wash your blankets, pet bedding and the children’s stuffed toys every two weeks in hot water. Warm water does not kill mites. Wash sheets every week.

7. Go synthetic. Replace all down and feathers with man-made stuffing. Replace all wool with nylon. Get rid of carpet and drapes in the bedrooms. Dust with a damp cloth.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

LINK: Sleeping with Monsters