I’m just celebrating another birthday. I love my birthday and it seems with each wonderful year of becoming a fine wine things get clearer. (You probably know I am an age warrior committed to youthing, not aging!)
Especially this past year it seems my ability to see what really is, to accept it and make choices that work for me is becoming easier and easier. It’s a relief and a joy to realize life is so much simpler than I made it seem when I was younger.
When things get simpler, the act of balance and juggling things gets easier too. There are fewer things that I care about and those things have become more precious to me. I notice there is room to breathe.
Breathing can be a balancing practice. Especially one of my favorite pranayama practices, alternate nostril breathing.
Fortunately, we have my friend Adriene for our guide.
Breathing is a fascinating topic and while it seems pretty simple, and it is, there are many nuances about the breath that effect the physical, mental and emotional systems of your body. Your breath is part of an ongoing nasal cycle where the amount of air coming into each nostril is changing during the day. Here’s more info about the nasal cycle.
If you suffer from a stuffy nose, here is an interesting video for how to clear things up.
What I love about the intentional connecting to the breath is that there is no way to have a crazy out-of-control mind if you are practicing deep breaths in and out through the nose. It just can’t happen. The mind and the breath are tethered to each other. Inseparable and unable to ignore the condition of each other. While its hard to sweep in and calm the mind at times, you can always slip slowly into a deep calm breath.
It’s like soothing a crying child, or that can be how my mind feels sometimes. When I feel overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness or anger or even being over excited and dangerously spontaneous beyond what might be healthy for me, the breath is my solid and comforting friend.
There is one phrase I heard somewhere along the way. To abide in the breath. I love that idea. Like my breath is a big cozy chair that I can just rest in at any moment. It will support me and offer that calm inner peace. It feels good to know that place is not something outside of me, something I have to buy, or earn, or do something to receive.
The breath, the life force, is within. Here’s to the simple life. Just breathe.
Be well…it’s a state of mind.
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