Grace, Resilience & Flow

Oh how I strive to live in all three of these states.  Stress is the enemy of these with its hallmarks of  depleted energy, undernourished nervous system, sleep disturbance, crankiness, weakened immune state and worse.

But how do I find grace under pressure?  I resort to the prime tool in my arsenal — breathing. It is something we all do naturally or we die but it is also something easily manipulated to huge benefit and effect when fighting the nefarious forces of every day stress and real trauma.

In Ayurveda-land these practices and techniques are varied, some easy some less and are called  “pranayama.”  Learning to work with the flow of breath.

Simply put these are the most direct way I know to generate and maintain calm, positive feelings, sleep better, facilitate all kinds of healing, soothe the nervous system,  and oxygenate the bloodstream…in other words optimize all the major systems and therefore create the environment for better function.
If you can stand to get a little wooey, pranayama practices are the way to access, energize and nourish the subtle energies within the body. These are the energies which give us glow and make us flow with the stream of life.

Working with the breath in a variety of patterns is a  driver for healthy flow of life-force, elan vital, prana. Call it what you will but for sure our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual livelyhood depend on it.

 We All Breathe. So why Work On It?

Breath-work is the full control of the energizing principal of life. There are many practices for getting in touch with the life force ranging from forceful, heating, diaphragmatic practices to alternate nostril breathing to the cooling “shiitali” practices. Many versions of these are recorded as easy to follow Well-Snaps …  explore them and download HERE.

After the breathing practice, it is a natural follow-up to sit still for a few minutes.  Don’t tell anyone, but this is meditation and yes, you can.

Now on to the Breathing:

Deep long breathing  oxygenates the brain and soothes the nervous system.  A slightly more advanced idea is that we create relaxation (and ultimately greater energy) by making exhales longer than inhales.  Beyond that there are practices like Alternate nostril Breathing and Breath of Fire, but let’s start with the this, the Longer Exhale Relax Practice.

 Longer Exhale Relax Practice:  click here for the Well-Snap audio version.

Take a seat.  Start noticing your breath.  Don’t do anything with it, just notice.

Now, Inhale and exhale a little more deeply through the nose.

Inhale energizing fresh oxygen and visualize straitening the spine taller from the tail to the crown of the head.

Exhale, and imagine a relaxing, soothing mind-set while you gently allow chin to drop towards chest, allow the spine to round slightly and empty the lungs.

Now Inhale for a count of 4 and enjoy a longer exhale for a count of 6.  Repeat a few times.

Finish with a few more deep breaths where the exhale is through the mouth. 

 READ MORE on the neurobiology of how this practice factors into Grace under Pressure in this terrific article offering a list of things to do to improve Vagus nerve tone.