I took a little side trip to Atlanta today to help my parents and relieve my siblings. My head of course full of everything but me. I sat here for ten minutes with nothing to write. Then I realized my shoulders were somewhere around my ears.
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365 true things about me
why this daily practice
Three deep breaths!
Good idea, Dorothy!
Count to two on breathing in (through your nose), count to four on breathing out (through your mouth). Then, as “twofelines” recommends, do it at least two more times. It often seems that the older one gets, the more therapeutic and recuperative measures require counting — on one’s fingers, if necessary. :)]
Nina, if I hadn’t once taken a breathing class at a spa, I would have been surprised that I might need instructions for breathing. But I definitely needed your refresher course. Amazing what a difference intentional breathing can make, especially getting rid of the bad air.
There are varieties of intentional breathing. Andrew Weil has another formula for it, which shows up in many of his books. This one was from an instruction manual for persons with pulmonary problems — to enhance the ability of compromised lungs to function as well as they can. It seemed to me that our bodies can be compromised by stress as well as by damaged lungs, so I tried it, and it does seem to help “clear the air” of what is burdening us.
Nina, thank you! I did the breathing and I agree. I do think our bodies are compromised by stress. And I’ll share it with my mother too–that’s what she has–compromised lungs. Perhaps some sort of circular metaphor going on here…