Sleepy Poetry

I tend to have a busy mind (could you guess?) I go to sleep mindfully breathing or engaging just one sense, only for my brain to turn back on and fill many nights with random snippets of my day to day 'stuff,' deep dark worries, and lots of other random bits that somehow worm their way in during my day and worm their way back out during my night. So, last night my sleep was full of plans for retreats and thoughts of classes and lots of other randomness and I kept coming back to one of my most favorite breath awareness practices. And by the time I woke up this morning teetering between sleep and wakefulness I had turned it into a poem.

Let the Whole Sky be Yours

Let the whole sky be your Zen
that patch of blue an inhalation
and there you exhale
let the whole sky be your peace.

A cloud a thought
over there another
it is a cloudy day
let the whole sky be your calm

Let the whole sky be your quiet
back to blue
back to breath
in... out... in
let the whole sky be your still

Nicole

2500 blog posts!?

Have I mentioned I love my patients?  My practice is called Life Healing Life... as in your life touches me and mine and mine touches you and yours and there is healing!  As opposed to doctor healing patient.  That very doctor centric, I know everything, you know nothing let me fix you (or sorry, I can't fix you... it's back to your problem) kind of model of medicine.

So, I am constantly learning things from patients. I could list several awesome things I learned this week alone :)  Hopefully they've learned a few things from me too. One link someone sent me was to a blogger who had some great stuff on magical thinking (see my post last week about my take on this).

Another thing I took away from that blogger was HOW he blogged... he had no less than 2500 blog posts since 2002!)  He writes little 1-2 paragraph blog posts (as apposed to the 3 part series I tend to gravitate towards... you don't even want to know how many drafts in progress I have!). And it got me thinking. What if I wrote just little posts several times per week (in addition to how I normally post)?  So I'm going to give it a whirl!

So here's my thought of the day.  Did you know that your fight or flight response is automatic?  (You probably did) It makes intuitive sense to most, that the stress response doesn't take you willfully engaging it. Those precious milliseconds could count big time when you are being chased by a tiger or threatened with harm. But in today's world (with very few tigers or real threats to life and limb) your body hasn't learned the difference between something you are freaked out about (say, the result of your next pregnancy test or a conflict you are having in your life) and a tiger. It is on high alert and it is exhausting!

And now for the flip side. Did you know that your rest and relax response is nearly completely dependent on you willfully turning it on? You have to mindfully tell your body to relax before it relaxes. So if you don't ever do this, it is never fully relaxing (again... exhausting!)  A common refrain in my practice (and in my head) is, 'when in doubt breathe!' Deep breathing is one of the quickest and easiest ways to send your body the message that it is okay to let the guard down and save some energy (and stress hormones!). It doesn't have to be anything fancy... just take some time to think... I'm breathing in... and out.... in.... and out... and see how it feels. Even if you have to remind yourself many times each day, it is a lovely thing and the more time your body spends in a balanced state (with healthy amounts of both rest and relax and fight or flight mode) the healthier you will be!

When in doubt, BREATHE!
Ahhhhhhh,
Nicole

Inhale, Exhale, Enjoy

Breathing is one of the things I feel like you really can't go wrong with.  In fact, I've had multiple women tell me, "I was freaking out, and then I heard your voice in my head saying, when in doubt... breathe!"  (For the record- I always picture myself as a little angel/devil sitting on their shoulders when I hear these stories.)

In Chinese medicine breathing is a really balanced option.  Breathing brings more oxygen into your body (builds you up to give you a boost), removes waste from your body (detoxes you of things you don't need) and creates movement ("the qi follows the breath" so it gets things circulating literally and figuratively).  So regardless of your pattern of imbalance... If you are lacking oomph, have too much of a bad thing, or are clenched and stuck...  (or a mix of more than one for that matter).  Breathing is a good option for ALL!

I'm a fan of keeping things simple.  I usually start with women on simple breath awareness.  Just noticing the breath whenever they think of it throughout the days, bringing some attention to deepening it a bit, noticing the pauses between the inhalations and exhalations and should they only do it for two breaths at a time a few times each day they still benefit from the cumulative effects as their body gets used to breathing a little more deeply and they take mini-breaks from stress to check in with their breath!

Of course there are lots of specific breathing exercises for those who take to breath work and crave more or want to explore things more in depth.  I found this nice article in the yoga journal that outlines some of the basics of pranayama (breath control exercises) including how to do basic pranayamas, what breathing exercises do to our blood PH, heart rate, and more.  It also has specific techniques for using the breath to improve fatigue, anxiety and depression.

And on this chart you'll find pranayama counts (for inhale, pause, exhale, pause) to feel more energized, balanced or relaxed.  Give each of them a try and see if they feel different to you.  Kind of a cool little experiment.  And of course, let common sense and your body be your guide.  Do not force your breath if it isn't comfortable and do not continue if you feel lightheaded or other uncomfortable sensations.  You know my drill by now... more is not better :)

Aaaaaaaah!