September 26, 2023
Dear Friend,
The world pulls us in so many directions sometimes that we forget to breathe correctly. Sometimes it's just a matter of taking a slower, deeper breath that we can alleviate anxiety or stress.
Breathing is an unconscious process, it's a natural thing our body does all on its own, meaning we don't need to tell our body to breathe or do something so it'll breathe, it just DOES. But, I bet you didn't know that there is a RIGHT way and a WRONG way to breathe and depending on HOW you are breathing, it CAN affect your body.
For example, breathing through your nose is a GOOD thing to do, unless you have a stuffy nose! It filters toxins and pollutants from the air. Another interesting fact about the nose is that it warms the air that is entering your body on those frigid January days (if you live in snow-belt states.) Breathing through the nose also humidifies that air coming into your body (I bet you didn't know you had a built-in humidifier! I know I didn't, but I don't often think about my nose often. It's just there... doing its job.)
Breathing deep into the belly, which is a good thing for me to remember to do, allows the lungs to fill with air and it is the lungs and kidneys that keep the blood's pH level in the most beneficial level to allow the body to function at its best. There are these little receptors in the body that will signal the brain if you aren't breathing efficiently, so don't worry. And it's the little nerve impulses that will then tell the body to breath more often or more deeply if it's needing more oxygen... so again... you don't need to pay attention to your nose or the job it's doing...
Well, don't fuss about it UNLESS... unless you had an experience occur in your life that shook you so much that it changed your breathing. Maybe you're like me that catches yourself every now and then breathing very shallow, small breaths after a traumatic experience. I KNOW when I've been doing that throughout the day when I start yawning alot due to something called "air hunger". That's when I stop and tell myself to BREATHE !
I first became aware of air hunger when I had an experience with Lyme disease. (Those fun years between 2013-2017... and a half.) That's when I learned about oxygen deprivation also. The Lyme specialist I was seeing at that time pointed out that air hunger is a typical symptom of Lyme... but then again... it is a symptom of boredom too. Whose to say where air hunger actually comes from... I mean... my body is different than yours... and your uncle sam's. Just because mine was a result of Lyme disease, (so said the doc), don't go and start thinking that you have Lyme disease or any such thing.... you could just manifest that shit! I mean... lots of people have... just by fearing it. In essence, you can say that is how I manifested a heart attack too... a mild one anyways. My fear of my boss kept me on the hamster wheel of "what's next" and visualizing over and over, it got to the point the nurse said to me, "Why do you keep working here? You're going to have yourself a heart attack." Hmmnnnnn.... Did she put a spell on me?
(Just kidding)
One part of me wonders though, why did she go and plant THAT thought into my head that warm May Day in 2018? My poor colleague worried so much I thought SHE was going to have a heart attack when I showed up on her doorstep. But everyone was making such a fuss, and all the "URGENT" emails that were overwhelming me, coupled with the fear that I may lose my job, well... it sent my heart POUNDING so hard that a friend was adamant that I head to the ER. The pressure was taking my breath away. I was forgetting to breathe deeply and my body was in that fight or flight mode. So... I took flight... to my friend's house... to the E.R.... and right out of my job for the next eight weeks due to a mild heart attack.... all because I let stress get the best of me... let thoughts and fears get the best of me.
Looking back, I wish I would have had a meditation teacher that could've taken me in, helped me to relax and breathe deeply, avoiding the ER, avoiding time off work, avoiding me having to quit my job to even more stress that occurred after that lovely summer. But you can read about that in my book, THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY; a tale of love, forgiveness, and the implications of universal laws. You can take a peek at the pictures in their and tell me, do you think I would be had another (mild) heart attack after that next experience? Or.... would I have been ok? I wonder every now and then... what if I didn't have that mild heart attack, what if I didn't have to quit teaching... where would I be today? A little wealthier? Happier? Or dead?
I believe everything happens as it should, so I am thankful for my lessons. But, I do still need to remind myself to breathe. I guess I'm still working on releasing the emotions of grief from my mother's passing. I am actively working on healing emotions right now as I know what two years of holding in trauma does. Even as I sit here writing I just caught myself...yawn, and scold myself... "Darn it Gail, you know better!"
Well, as you see, I'm not perfect. I am practicing my breathing though during my daily meditations... on the days I don't forget before getting too busy....
Well... I guess I better get back to practicing my breath. So, until next time reader, breathe.
Breathe in.... 1...2...3...4...5..6.....7....8...9....hold.
Exhale...1....2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...11.
Rev. Gail Lynn
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