Dear Net Buddies,
Believe it or not, you can control a lot of what happens around you by your reactions to what is happening around you. They key to controlling your reactions is understanding and managing the way your mind and body respond to external forces.
Our instinct impulses respond based on “fight or flight” to everything that surprises or threatens us. By controlling our breathing, we can learn to master our instincts and use them to our advantage. Mastery takes time. Today, dipping our toes in, we want to learn to simply be conscious of what breathing is. Later we will learn how powerful it can be.
Today’s activity is to be still and breath in a controlled way for just one minute.
1) Find a comfortable place to rest motionless. Sitting is best for most people.
2) Shut your eyes to eliminate external distractions.
3) Breath in an out slowly, counting at least 3 seconds in and 3 seconds out.
In through your nose, out through your mouth.
Repeat until your breath flows effortlessly.
4) Let go of your thoughts. Don’t worry about what you have to do later. Give yourself one minute without pressure.
5) Pay attention to your breath.
Sense how it enters and fills your body with possibility.
Sense how it exits your mouth. How does it leave your body? Do you restrain your breath? Does it spread energy? How does it make you feel?
If you lose your rhythm, don’t worry, just start again. Controlled breathing is a muscle that needs building like any other.
How do you feel after one minute of controlled breathing? Two minutes? Three minutes?
Done.