Yes, it may sound silly to you, that I say the most important, and possibly most powerful thing you could do for yourself and your business today, is to breathe. For surely we must be breathing, it happens automatically and it shows that we are alive.
And yet, most people, myself included, were not encouraged to breathe in a way that supported our body, our mind, our emotions. Most of us hold our breathe; it is a sign of the resistance we hold trying to control or push away, those people and situations we feel we can’t handle. Or it’s a natural reaction to what we perceive as a threat. So when we feel anxiety, worry, nervous; chances are, we’re holding our breath, preparing to run or fight.
“In the movie The Matrix, there’s a scene where the adept Morpheus effortlessly glides through throngs of people on a bustling city sidewalk while inept Neo bumbles and collides and apologizes. Flow and non-flow”.
When (that) flow is disrupted, even in a small way, I am acutely aware of it. I stop what I’m doing until I find the obstruction that caused the error. I make sure my breathing is deep and stable, my mind clear, and get myself back to the place of smooth, effortless functioning”.
“Actually, most people would function a lot more smoothly and easily a lot more of the time if they’d just learn to breathe correctly. Practically everyone restricts their breathing to the upper part of the lungs, so that the chest expands and not the belly. The result of this shallow breathing is that we operate in a perpetual panic mode, as if all of life was a fight-or-flight situation. This causes the mental state of dis-ease that we accept as normal and from which we seek escape through addictions and distractions. It disrupts our activity during the day and our rest at night. When we breathe into our entire lungs by expanding the diaphragm, we automatically create a mental state of composure and ease, which is then reflected in our environment”.
Jed McKenna, Spiritual Warefare
How To Use This Information
1. Change Your Posture
Whenever you feel stuck or sluggish, remember you may be holding your breath. Change your posture; sit up so the energy can flow. Notice if your shoulders have crept up tighter against your ears; release them. Let you belly relax. And invite your breath lower in your body.
Most people, as they age, begin to breathe higher and higher so that they are breathing so high in their chest (their throat) that they are barely getting any oxygen. And you know what your brain needs to function properly!
Taking that full belly breath, you are actually feeding your body, your brain so that you can function better in all you do. Notice if, as you do this more often, you are able to get and stay in the “flow” more and more often.
2. Get Moving
When we move, especially in ways that involve crossing the midline, not only do we most often relax and allow our body to breath as it needs, but we also bring both sides of our brain into harmony and coordinated effort.
We escape the “fight-flight-freeze” reaction mode and restore our logic-creative faculties.
3. Confront What You Resist
I know Law of Attraction tells us not to dwell on what we “don’t want”. But I’m going to take some license with that idea. My experience has been that when we “avoid” what is “right there” anyway, then what is actually happening is Resistance.
Resistance actually holds in place, “what we don’t want”. And often part of the way we resist is by holding our breath. So a really easy way to ease, and possibly dissolve Resistance is to simply look “what we don’t want” square in the face and breathe.
This is a simply act but one that demonstrates courage and I’ve found the Universe responds.
Want to Make this Act of Breathing Even More Powerful For Yourself?
Combine the act of consciously taking a breath with a moment to affirm to yourself what you “do want”. This is like texting the Universe your desire so it can begin to bring it right to you.
Did you enjoy this post? Let me know at thebeingcoach@gmail.com or post a comment below.
Want to meet and discuss whether working together might be just the next step to support you in your journey? Simply go to my scheduler, choose “get to know you” 30 minute session and we’ll have some time to look at whether BEING COACHING can help you align your inner desires with your outer actions.