" Pranayama ... "

I'm finding my way back to sanity again

Though I don't really know what

I'm going to do when I get there

Take a breath and hold on tight

Spin around one more time

And gracefully fall back to the arms of Grace

~ Lifehouse ~ Breathing ~

***

Breathing is a necessity we dont’ really think about on a moment to moment basis.  But the more thought we do put into our breath, we can get more out of it than we realize.  Pranayama deep breathing is a way to restore imbalances within us.

Pranayama is the art and science of yogic breathing techniques ...

Our conscious life begins with our first breath and ends with our last.  We can correspond patterns of breathing with every emotional state we experience.  The word “inspiration” itself refers to both the act of breathing in as well as the state of being filled with spirit and energy.

“Pranayama” is a Sanskrit word made up of two halves, “prana” and “yama” (or “ayama”), and is most often translated to mean “mastery of the life force”, or sometimes, 

“removal of obstacles to free the flow of life force.”

In ancient times, it was believed that many dis-eases were connected to disturbed nasal breathing, as our nose is directly linked to our brain and nervous system.  And breathing from the left nostril versus the right nostril provides different benefits ... the left is for calming whereas the right is for energy.  For thousands of years, it was believed that breathing.in through your left nostril will access the right “feeling” hemisphere of your brain, and breathing in through your right nostril, will access the left “thinking” hemisphere of your brain.  Hence, alternating your breath between either nostril will  allow you to activate and access your whole brain.

“ ... in yoga, the life force, known as prana, refers to the energy that animates, controls, and permeates the world in and around us. Digesting our food, changing our heart rate in response to exercise, and fighting off infections are all highly complex and variable tasks, yet each of them happen spontaneously, effortlessly, and automatically through the functions of prana. This same force is behind great migrations, the interdependence of species, and the changing of seasons ... “

From my own experience, pranayama breathing is one of the most therapeutic calming rituals by revitalizing you, providing clarity in thoughts, cleaning lungs and organs, slowing the mind, clearing energy channels, merging of left and right brains and encouraging and overall calmer emotional state.  

Caution: Consult with your practitioner FIRST.  More advanced methods of pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) need to be practiced with an experienced practitioner.   Practicing on an empty stomach is preferred.

Incorporating a form of breath-work in your daily life ... via yoga, meditation, etc has infinite rewards.  Breath, movement and energy is life and life is breath, movement and energy.  This ancient yogic practice combines theses into an integrative experience, once tried, may become a part of your every day life too ...

www.walkstrong.ca

" Don't Panic ... "

We live in a beautiful world 

Yeah we do, Yeah we do 

We live in a beautiful world 

Oh all that I know 

There's nothing here to run from 

Cause here

Everybody here's got somebody to lean on

~ ColdPlay ~ Don’t Panic ~ 

***

Calm down, don’t panic, here, take this, it will make you feel better ... sound familiar?  The number of people suffering from panic attacks has increased exponentially.  There are various medications available for dealing with these and many choose to take them, only to suffer from damaging side effects.  What people don’t realize is that the answer for the question on how to deal with panic attacks without medication lies within themselves.  

Those of us that have experienced these types of attacks can attest to the enormous fear and worry surrounding them.  They can come on for no apparent cause, making it difficult to understand the triggers.  And we engage our built-in mechanism to sheild ourselves in any dangerous situation ... the “fight or flight” effect.  You see, when our body senses danger of any kind, it engages in survival mode.  Our stress and anxiety levels increase producing chemical changes in our body.  Our body feels it is in a high risk situation ... resulting in symptoms we call panic attacks.  

One of the simpliest natural techniques is deep breathing.  So start by shifting from the location of the panic attack to a more comfortable place.  Next, sit calmly, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing.  As this will increase your oxygen levels to your neural organs and assist in proper blood flow ... resulting in a tranquil and composed space.  Next try to meditate to re-focus your thinking.  The purpose is to bring inner peace within ourselves and the world around us by transforming our thoughts from negative to positive.  If we don't attend to dis ease the mind, we may find dis ease of the body. 

Practicing the above will place in a better position to not allow the panic attack to take you over.  To truly understand why you panic, you must know what triggers the episodes.  Remember, the answer lies within us.  Our mind has the power to overcome any situation and put us in control ... only if we want it.  

" Drama! ... "

One rule for us, for you another

Do unto yourself as you see fit for your brother

Poor unfortunate you

Myriad of things that you can do

We all have the ability

Our freedom is fragile

We all laugh and we cry, don't we?

~ Erasure ~ Drama! ~

***

When you’ve been working to lessen drama in your life by creating a sense of peace and calm, drama can be very noticeable.  It can be a real challenge to even be around those that are addicted to drama.  You know the ones ... they create drama, stir up energy and conflict, add fuel to the fire ... hence the name “Drama Queen”.

It becomes uncomfortable to be in that environment  ... the other day I noticed the woman in line at the mall, rude and obnoxious to the sales clerk and I wondered ... are you really that important that you shouldn’t wait like the rest of us?  do you really need to be so loud and attack? I felt sad for her ... because obviously waiting in line had nothing to do with what was really going on in her life.  She was just projecting her emotions on to someone and something else ... she was trying to create drama and engage everyone around her to participate.

If you are undertaking a healing journey to achieve more balance and peace within your life, drama comes up and really challenges you.  A test ... to see whether you choice to engage or move on.  And just like happiness, you can make any choice on your path.  In the above example, I did not engage, I just left that environment, not to be influenced by her infecting my atmosphere.  You see if you feel it is not for you, then you have the choice to move right on by it.  

But what do you do when it is coming from your own circle of loved ones.  Not so easy then.  There are more emotionally charged patterns.  You may know them better than they know themselves.  And what usually happens is we slip right into a role playing dynamic when we are around them.  Why?  well for one it is familiar.  Yet if it isn’t really working for you, it probably isn’t really working for them.  It takes a great deal of courage to speak from your heart, but when you do, you have now given the allowance for others to do the same.  

What about unconscious drama, when you buy into the drama so easily that you don’t even notice that you did it.  Your unconscious habit slids into place and it just happened without you realizing it.  And even after the fact, you may not even notice it.  Yet regardless of how long it takes to figure it out, you catch it ... and you bought into it ... whoops, what now?

Well, awareness is the first step ... becoming conscious to your surroundings and relationship dynamics.  You need to pay attention.  Try to become an observer and watch how they relate to one another and to you, without getting too involved in the outcome.  A witness not a participant.  A helpful way to begin to recognize when drama addiction is happening.  

So what about drama addicts?  Well they are not much different than other addicts.  When drama is happening in a relationship dynamic, excitement happens, and our bodies produce adrenaline ... and then comes the rush of energy.  The thrill.  Recognize that for some that lead a very uninteresting or monotonous life, that rush of adrenaline helps them feel alive.  Think of it as a thrill seeker trapped in a mundane life.  Once replacing the boredom with another thrill seeking activity, the need to stir up drama, conflict and blowing things out of proportion will be less desirable for them.

So back to the idea of buying in or moving by ... it is a choice.  Drama takes a back seat when you are looking to create peace and calm within your life ... tranquility vs. drama ... meditation helps me as the energy high that comes from knowing I am connected and one with the flow of the universe is more than enough to know that I am alive.

" Cry ... "

" Somebody shakes when the wind blows

Somebody's missing a friend, hold on

Somebody's lacking a hero

And they have not a clue

When it's all gonna end

You can change the world (I can't do it by myself)

You can touch the sky (Gonna take somebody's help)

You're the chosen one (I'm gonna need some kind of sign)

If we all cry at the same time tonight "

~ Michael Jackson ~ Cry ~

***

Somedays is it hard to stay positive, focused.  Somedays is it hard to stay strong, have faith and know your truth.  Somedays you just feel awful, question your path and just want to cry.  Yes, I have had those days ... and where do they come from, what were my triggers .... well, I have had someone tell me that my spirits are not as high as they use to be.  I have had someone tell me that I put on weight.  I have had someone tell me that I hope I finally decide to do the right thing.  I have had the realization that a close friendship of mine as changed.  Yes I have had a few of those days.  On the flip side, I have also had people tell me ... don’t be negative.  But sometimes it is just difficult.  And most of my blogs are about attitude, strength and courage.  Yet I have to realize that I am human, normal and I have the same fears and doubts that everyone else does.  And that is okay ... it is also okay to cry, and cry is exactly what I did ... 

The bright side is that there are a great deal of healing benefits of crying.  When we cry, we release negative emotions in a natural way for our bodies to cope with unwanted feelings of distress or fear.  Yet there are several other benefits to our mental and physical health.  

Crying can lower our stress levels by removing some chemicals and hormones that are built up, similar to sweating when exercising.  And the opposite can happen if we hold back tears ... we can increase our stress levels which as we know can lead to numerous other health issues.

Crying is an emotional response so when we shed tears, our endocrine system releases endorphins, or feel-good hormones, that stabilize the mood ... some may identify with “I just needed a good cry”.  When we cry, we give our bodies the ability to stabilize and become balanced again.  

“Tears are natural antibacterial and antiviral solutions that fight germs we get in our eyes.  The fluid lysozyme in tears is capable of killing up to 95% of all bacteria in a matter of minutes”.  So crying can help prevent you from getting sick.

Not all tears are the same.  Tears that are formed out of emotional distress or grief have more toxic byproducts in them than tears of irritation.  So emotional tears, made from stress, are capable of washing away wastes and toxins, therefore detoxifying our bodies.

Crying moisten our eyes and prevent dehydration of membranes surrounding our eyeballs.  We need tears as they enable us to see, they provide the lubrication we need for healthy eyesight.

Crying has calming effects such as slowing of breath.  During the cry, you may have increased heart rate and sweating, however the calming effects usually last longer afterwards ... therefore remembering the pleasant side of a “good cry”.  

So remember, it’s your party and you can cry if you want to .... as crying does open up our hearts ... providing a safe space for clarity and clearing ... giving allowance to practice forgiveness and self-forgiveness.  And an opportunity to bring our mind, body and soul back in balance.

“Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened “ Dr. Seuss