Take a Deep Breath

There are some very basic, yet powerful techniques that can transform a day, even if you don’t have time to get to anything else. These are more on a consciousness level, and they set a tone of peace and centeredness that help me relax. As a result there is an accompanying spaciousness that allows me to move through my day more effectively. The outcome is that I end up with more time for home spa experiences I like to indulge in. By the way, the practices I am about to share also improve immune system function and whenever I am feeling like I might be coming down with something I use these methods and have had great results.

Because we are such a “doing” culture, I will also suggest ways to multi-task and combine different processes for maximum benefits.

The most basic tool I use is a simple breathing practice. I generally wake up in the morning about 5-15 minutes before my alarm goes off. In that space of time between waking and having to get up I lay on my back with my arms at my sides hands down. As I take a deep in breath I imagine light moving from my core, or stomach area, outward from the front and back of my body, from each side of my body and from the stomach down to my feet and up to my head. To make it easier I just see it as a ball of light starting in my stomach and expanding out equally in each of the directions I just described. Sometimes I experiment with adding color—a blue-white light is usually my preference. Then on the out breath I imagine the reverse, or the ball contracting back into my stomach. I breathe as deeply and slowly as possible and soon I feel a wonderful peace. This was shared with me from a practitioner friend, and I’m not sure I have all the details correct, but I do know that it is effective at what she described as creating a “coherent field.” Any time I have 5 or 10 minutes this is a great little practice to utilize to bring more of that peace into my day. I don’t have to be lying down to do it either.

I have a very curious mind and I am always wondering what would happen if I tried something a certain way. On a recent airline flight I was seated next to a young couple with their 3-month old baby. I love children, but sitting next to unhappy, screaming babies on a flight isn’t my idea of having fun. The father had told me that the baby didn’t like flying because he didn’t like having to be still and constrained in the airplane. He said he would probably be walking the aisle with the baby for most of the flight. I decided to do a little experiment with the breathing technique I just described to see if creating a “coherent field” in myself might also positively affect the baby. Whether it did or it didn’t I figured it would be relaxing for me. Probably within 5-10 minutes of starting the process I went completely out. I have never slept so deeply and peacefully on an airplane in my life. I wasn’t aware of anything happening on the plane until I woke to the announcement that we were making our decent into the destination airport. I looked over at the young couple and the baby was also deeply asleep and actually stayed asleep until we were on the ground. I made a comment to the father that it looked like the baby had managed the flight well. With a perplexed look on his face he jokingly said, “Yeah, must have been those sedatives we gave him.”

I could think that this was just a coincidence, but I definitely would want to explore it further. Hey, this could be a great “home spa” experience for parents who are frazzled from dealing with irritable children. I’m the type who will give pretty much anything a try in this type of situation.

I also combine this technique with a spine stretching exercise I do leading into my yoga practice. This is my favorite kind of exercise—you just lay there. Okay, actually it’s a bit more complicated than that. This is an exercise a physical therapist gave me several years ago to help resolve some spinal issues I was having. Basically, I lay on my back with my feet flat on the floor and my knees bent, arms at my sides and hands down. I lift my tailbone off the floor as high as I can and tilt the pubic bone toward my head while elongating the spine and laying it as flat as possible back on the floor. Then I raise my head, curling my head toward my chest and stretch my neck out as far as possible, laying it back on the floor as well. In the beginning when I started doing this exercise it was actually a bit difficult to do because I would feel discomfort in my spine as it struggled to release the blocked energy. Now I love doing this stretching and with the breathing technique incorporated it’s even more delightful.

Other times I use this breathing/visualization technique is when I do my morning walk with poles that are like ski poles with rubber tips on them. These really increase the benefits of walking by utilizing all the muscle groups in the same way cross country skiing would. The only down side of walking in an urban neighborhood with ski poles, particularly in a climate where it doesn’t typically snow is that I have to come up with a repertoire of unique, clever retorts as people yell out at me, “Where’s the snow?” One of the reasons I like walking very early in the morning is because there aren’t as many people out and about yet, and if they are it’s often with squinty morning eyes that haven’t yet been convinced it’s time to open and they are not sure if they are still dreaming when they see a skier out along the California coastline.

The other technique I want to share is similar. It is one I read in Eckhart Tolle’s book The Power of Now. He recommends it as a way to boost the immune system. I find it also creates a very centered and peaceful state. Again, laying down on your back, either before you go to sleep at night or in the morning before you get up (don’t you love this program so far!), visualize your feet slowly being filled with white light, then move the light up into the calves, thighs, pelvic area, hands, arms, stomach, diaphragm, chest, and head. Then see that light moving like a wave up through the body a couple more times. Then take the energy out beyond the body and rest in the awareness of light and energy being more than the body. Feel that and stay with it as long as you want to.

I have always slept very well, but occasionally when I do find myself awake long before I need to get up I take that as an invitation to commune in a potent field with the monks around the world who routinely meditate in the early hours. Sometimes I will want to sit up and meditate, but often I just do one of the two practices I just described while lying in my warm, cozy bed. Usually after about twenty minutes to half and hour I am feeling a deep peacefulness that allows me to slip back into a very restful remainder of my natural sleep cycle. Even if I don’t get back to sleep, I feel good in the morning! Anyway, I would much rather give my attention to restorative breathing than lying there thinking, “Darn, it’s 3:00 in the morning and I am lying here awake. I’m going to be exhausted tomorrow.”

There's always a choice about what I do with the present circumstances. I choose turning them into a "home spa experience" whenever possible.

Breathe consciously and you will find yourself in a state of bliss that is almost breathless -- how ironic.

Love to you all . . . .