The Rainbow

The Rainbow is gymnastics for the brain and is so much fun (albeit challenging). Be patient. You may find at first that you have an easier time concentrating on a simple colored object such as a red rose, blue pitcher, green leaf or yellow lemon instead of an abstract color. Eventually you will be able to experience pure color without the need for an image.

Since this may be your first try with this type of exercise, it is especially important to keep your breathing low, slow and steady.

1. Close your eyes and wait for your breathing to slow. Create a mental picture of a bright RED object such as a red wagon. Hold the image in your mind’s eye for as long as the color is vivid. Trust me, you will get better and better at this.
2. When the RED object fades, create an ORANGE image. Stay focused as long as possible.
3. Follow with YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE and finally VIOLET.
4. Take several additional breaths with your eyes closed before you “surface.”

It is preferable (but not mandatory) to work from warm (red, orange, yellow) through cool (green, blue, violet). When you feel ready to move from image to pure color, try initially to enlarge the colored object in your imagination, until it is huge, filling your entire mental screen. Then shift easily to color alone.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Up From The Ooze

Once upon a time, a fish (curious, clumsy, or desperately hungry) flung itself out of a brackish sea onto the oozy mud for the very first time. That premier fish dared the air probably for only an instant before squirming back into the sea, but its offspring dared again and again. They returned until their fins could crawl and their bodies could process air. The rest, of course, is pulmonary history.

Since the beginning, human beings have been fascinated by the mysteries and the possibilities of their own breathing. It was clear, early on, that there is more to this breathing business than a simple shuffling of air. Could it be that our gentle tide of breath provides a delicate, invisible link that connects us physically and spiritually, one to the other, and binds us, in turn, to the rhythms of our planet and our universe?

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

The Respiratory Superhero

Don’t worry, we aren’t going to go over the top with anatomy stuff but a few basics are helpful to help you appreciate how truly extraordinary your body is.

We’ve already touched on the double layer of intercostals muscles sandwiched between your ribs. Your big diaphragm, however, is simply the superhero of all breathing muscles! It is a complex, uneven elastic floor across the bottom of your ribcage, directly under your lungs and on top of your liver, stomach, pancreas and spleen. Since your lunch has to get from your mouth into the acid pit of your stomach, your esophagus passes through a tight (hopefully) opening in the diaphragm.

Although you can easily find your intercostals between your ribs, don’t even bother poking around in search of your diaphragm because it is fairly well buried. To further complicate matters, it doesn’t lie flat and neat like the bottom of a bucket or the floor of a birdcage. At the finish of each exhalation, the diaphragm resembles a lopsided hill with the high side rising up and over your big liver on the right. The diaphragm is completely elastic, powerful, responsive and cooperative. The domed diaphragm you see in the picture is in the exhalation position. When you inhale it flattens down ever so slightly and that creates a vacuum that draws in your next breath.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Waterwheel

We have made a to-do about getting your basic breathing down from the tight narrow upper chest into your wide elastic lower ribcage. Deep breathing is more efficient, more rewarding and produces more miles-per-gallon (if you were a car).

However, it is important to activate and be aware of all areas of your lungs. During Waterwheel you will direct the incoming air into your MID-CHEST, just behind your breastbone. Accurate placement is more important than how much air you take in so there is no need to swell up like a weather balloon. Waterwheel is more about quality than quantity.

1. Sit on the front edge of a straight-backed chair. Fold your thumbs into your palms and lay the backs of your hands on the chair seat behind you, palms up and fingers pointing backwards (index fingers close together if possible).
2. Breathe in slowly through your nose and gently blow out the outgoing air. Keep your shoulders low and motionless and your bellybutton absolutely still.
3. Let the incoming air fill up the space just behind your breastbone. Imagine that is the only place where you have lungs. Guide the incoming air there. Continue for as long as the exercise is comfortable and pleasurable.
   

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Review #5

It is imperative that you see a pulmonary specialist for evaluation if you have chronic breathing problems such as a cough or wheezing that hang on for more than a couple weeks.

If you, or anyone in your family, have been diagnosed with a chronic condition, you are not alone. There are countless national support groups, organizations and foundations available at no cost. Your search will lead to a wealth of the latest scientific information that can help you ask better questions and make better decisions. Never take at face value any online treatment advice without first running the suggestions or products by a doctor who knows you and is familiar with your medical history.

Colds and influenza come from viruses, not from bacteria. Antibiotics are effective only against bacteria. Inappropriate overuse and careless disposal of antibiotics have led to strains of superbugs that are always one jump ahead of our medical arsenal.

If you decide to skip a flu shot, let it be because you have concerns about the efficacy of the serum, not because you were too busy or forgot.

The breathing exercises are merely colors on your palette, not to be confused with the painting itself. The exercises themselves are neither magical nor mysterious. Their purpose is simply to re-introduce you to yourself. Without regular practice they are merely words on a page.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Pooped at Work?

It’s not unusual to feel pooped at work. If, however, you feel chronically tired then it’s time to request lab work to monitor your thyroid, blood sugar, white count, medications, etc.

Next eliminate the backlash from too much caffeine, too much sugar, too many carbs and too much lunch.

The further humans stray from Nature’s design, the more they encumber their performance and endurance. Your car is designed with guidelines for size and inflation of tires, type of fuel, weight of oil. When you ignore basic design requirements, your car may continue to move but you will not come close to peak performance.

The human body has been evolving, changing, adapting for tens of thousands of years but Nature makes changes very slowly. However, the demands placed upon you have changed dramatically within just a few decades!

You are faced hourly with corporate challenges while still functioning within a hunter/gatherer body. Since few of us are willing to return to foraging for food and herding goats, the next best thing is to compensate for the dramatic changes. Use your considerable IQ and experience to design a behavior plan that stays as close to your original design.

1. You are designed to MOVE. You are not designed to sit in a chair.
2. Your eyes are designed to move all around and change depth of focus often.
3. You are designed to breathe deeply, efficiently and steadily.
4. Your bones were fashioned to balance one atop the other without giving your muscles unnecessary work.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

String of Pearls

As always, breathe sloooooowly, gently, and deeply. And, as always no discomfort ever with a breathing exercise, either mentally or physically.

Lay your relaxed dominant hand in your lap, palm up. With each new breath you will touch the tip of your thumb to a fingertip or to your palm.

First Breath: Touch the tip of your thumb lightly to the tip of your little finger.
Second Breath: Touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your ring finger.
Third Breath: Tip of your thumb to the tip of your middle finger.
Fourth Breath: Tip of your thumb to the tip of your index fingerFifth Breath: Curl your thumb in toward your palm. Repeat as long as you feel comfortable.

Note: This is an exercise that is wonderfully effective and almost invisible to others. After some practice, you will be able to center yourself simply by touching your thumb once to any fingertip.

Be well. Breath beautifully.