Breathing consciously to get your life back and live it healthily

7/28/2019 Breathing consciously to get your life back and live it healthily

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Breathing consciously to get your life back and live it healthilySo much has been written about breathing, as is true for meditation and chakras, however,

I would like to pass on my views regarding these antique health building blocks based onmy years of experience with to our wonderful students at the Escuela de Yoga InboundDurga in Cartagena and later Barranquilla in Colombia.Rather than create a manual, I simply want to pass on some basic information, in the formof a short document, that has literally changed the lives of many people that I have had thepleasure to meet over the years.While the regular practice of yoga has neverreally been a priority in my life, I have beenpracticing the ancient Hindu breathingtechniques, known as pranayama, andmeditation for almost fifteen years. I have neverbeen really sick or suffered from minor mentaldisorders such as depression, anxiety, insomnia,anger attacks, etc. but I have witnessed, firsthand, the calming and soothing effects that thesepractices have on the mind.Perhaps the most common disorder I have

encountered is depression, which I (and I am invery good company) believe cannot effectively betreated by medicines, which are no more thanworthless "dulces". Depression is a social andbehavioral disorder and not a simple chemicalimbalance of the brain. These drugs generallywork because a patient expects them to, knownas the placebo effect. Therefore we should lookmore at the social problems related to thisdisorder and try to modify or eliminate them. Afterall it is better that somebody with mild depressionbecomes addicted to their meditation classesrather than medicinal therapy. Sorry, I'm drifting.Often is the case that somebody troubled with a sleeping disorder can get a good nightsrest after just two or three sessions of deep controlled breathing. While stress and socialfactors are almost always the underlying cause for most minor mental disorders, I havefound that no amount of meditation, pranayama or even visits to a psychologist can helpunless the effected person actually understands and takes control of their life.You too can live a peaceful, harmonious and happy lifeHow? In theory quite simple, yet in practice rather difficult. I encourage people to meditateand metaphorically look at their bodies, as if they were looking at somebody else. At this


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point they are encouraged to rapidly pass the day with that vision, for instance 6:30 thealarm rings, shower, dress, breakfast, 7:30 drive car to office and continue until bed time.This is continued for the entire week. The entire process should take no more than 10minutes, after this they should create a written document indicating the stress factors oftheir day and week. These stress factors can be divided into three distinct categories:those that can be modified, those that can be eliminated and those that are fixed and

cannot easily be eliminated or modified. For instance ...Eliminated. Modified. Fixed (or difficult to change)Lunch with colleagues. Drive to work. Spouse

From using the table above, we can thenstart to work on the stressful moments, forexample we could simply eliminate lunchwith colleagues by going home for lunch oreating alone. We could then modify the driveto work by leaving earlier, if traffic is thestressful factor, or by taking a taxi or bus.While it is not practical nor simple to changea spouse or children we can often takemeasures to make our lives with thesefactors more harmonious and therefore lessstressful.Only after conscientiously working on the

above factors can breathing techniques and meditation really become truly wonderfulexperiences, that will sooth, cure and increase general well-being.Without going through the above process, the effects of meditation and/or breathingtechniques are rapidly lost. For instance, most people after their class literally float, theyfeel calm and happy, however these effects are almost immediately lost the moment theysit in their car as they are then transported back to the "real world" where their problemslive and make themselves felt.We are keen believers in using breathing, meditation and chakra alignment to create aninner peace and harmony of the mind, body and soul. In most cases it is surprisinglysimple to establish a relationship of trust with the student and then show them the road tohealing and health, whilst literally holding their hands for the beginning phases of thejourney. I like to encourage students to practice at home, twice a day, each and every day. In theevening when in bed ready for sleep and in the morning before breakfast. These twosessions generally are as follows:Morning sessionIn a seated position, breath deeply, with eyes closed, using the abdomen and diaphragm.Whilst breathing, visualize and live the experience of a special, personal "wow factor". Youmay visualize an industrious quantity of strawberry ice cream with copious quantities ofchocolate sauce, or a sexual adventure, or more simply scuba diving. whatever makesyour hair stand on end and causes your body to tremor with a fuzzy warm feeling.Concentrate, visualize and live this experience for three-five minutes. That's it, nothingmore. Not difficult and very pleasurable. It has been scientifically proven that if you leavethe house with a smile, your day will be much more fruitful and happy. With regular


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practice you can actually, without difficulty, radically change your life just by feeling good,smiling and saying "good morning" to people. Perhaps you may have heard of theexpression "smile and the whole world smiles with you", well it is true.Evening sessionThe second session of homework is a more soothing session to be used at night, afterbrushing your teeth, getting in bed and turning off the light.Simply lay on you back, breath deeply in a relaxed fashion, and physically connect withyour heart. The objective is to concentrate and connect with your heart beat. feel it, beconscious of the beating and no matter what, stay with the beat. Your heart beat is veryrhythmic and breathing deeply and concentrating on the heart's rhythm is very soothing.No time factor is associated with this practice, continue until you sleep, this may be oneminute, it may be twenty. Usually this practice will allow you to get a good night's sleep,which will be deeper than usual and you will awake fresh and ready for a new day.The two distinct sessions, as mentioned above can have a profound effect on your mindand body and are encouraged. If used together with classes of chakra alignment,pranayama and meditation the effects are multiplied many times over. I hope thisinformation helps and I wish all readers health and happiness. Namaste!A word about the author:Nico Webb is the co-owner and founder of the Escuela de Yoga Inbound Durga inBarranquilla, Colombia. For more information about the school's activities please visitwww.escuela-yoga-inbound-yoga.com

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Breathing consciously to get your life back and live it healthily