Taking responsibility is not what you think

Notice at any given moment, to take responsibility for our lives, we must be vigilent of our actions. This implies we recognize if what we do is simply a means to an end, we are not present in what we do. If moving from point A to point B and only focused on the destintation, its easy to get impatient, stressed, imagine being somewhere else, be unfocused, not enjoy where we are. If the mindset is "I'd rather be (elsewhere)," then happiness is short-lived or even bypassed altogether. That's not responsible through the lens of the soul or expanded being.

Many people are taught that taking responsibility relates to self-care, "growing up", becoming financially independent, self-reliant. These traits have a place. Still, in many cases this involves developing a serious nature, forgetting spontaneity. The feeling of presence and awareness is widely overlooked.

In truth, taking responsibility for our life is about how we perform actions. If most of our actions and behaviours are a means to an end, then we feel heavy, drained, tired. We may work hard and get results, but we cannot enjoy it if mind is elsewhere. That implies living a life of low quality, unfulfilled, sad. We lack presence if we are always talking about the next moment which we think will somehow be better. If it prevents us from being here now, is it worth it?

High quality of life implies its not the quantity that determines the value of our life. What we own, how many people we advise, control or influence, how many subscribers or followers we have, none of that determines high quality of life. Quality time is quality attention with people, depth of conversation, soulful focus. Quality of life suggests we find blessings and joy in the moment.

Regardless of where we are and what is unfolding in our midst, when we can give our full attention to what we do and who we are with, this creates a 'high quality of life.' That is, when every action in our lives, large and small has a certain aliveness and presence, we savour it. It does not feel like a chore to do what we do. We do not feel resistance, impatience or irritation. At the perfect moment, it dawns negativity and dense vibration simply strengthen that false sense of self.

Ultimately, even if we continue to do what we have been doing, and our external conditions do not change right away, as we are mindful and begin to remove resistance patterns within us, that is the complaining, the negativity, irritation, the focus on depression about the past or anxiety of the future, life is completely transformed on the inside. On the outside, it may seem nothing has changed.  Yet inwardly, we know everything has.

Retrain your body to breathe

Everyone breathes but as it is, very few people breathe fully or make connections betweeen how they breathe and their day-to-day behaviours, addictions or other issues. No wonder retraining the body to breathe is gaining momentum and growing more popular than basic yoga or meditation. When ready, a range of breathwork practices enter your scope.

Why take steps to decode our breath? It reveals much about the state of our bio-psycho-social health and empowers us to take responsibility for our lives on a whole new level. Breathing training boosts lung volume and prevents the loss of respiratory capacity. It helps us connect emotions with breathing rhythm and heart rate. What if we could strengthen our posture, heart and spinal health? Breathwork makes us more flexible and resilient and it facilitates the body’s natural self-healing powers. Ready to dive right in?

What if I highlight that breathwork helps us to heal tension, manage chronic pain, fear, depression and anxiety disorders when drugs and other traditional methods are ineffective? It improves our moods, emotions, and sleep states. In addition, breathwork helps us to expand awareness, confidence, intuition, self-esteem, self-appreciation, and self-love and acceptance.

Further, gaining insight into the breath supports heart health and boosts mental health. It allows us to hack into our immune system, our nervous system and our brain, to reclaim or regain control over issues such as high blood pressure, inflammation, asthma, chronic stress, chronic fatigue, and a variety of addictions.

Conscious Breathing techniques trigger the release of opioids (natural pain killers and anti-depressants), as well as dopamine and serotonin (“happy and calming” hormones—neurotransmitters of pleasure, motivation and memory). And they also reduce cortisol levels (the stress hormone) the repeated release of which can itself become addictive.

And what about eating disorders? breathing training helps improve digestion and it supports weight loss. Ever wonder where our weight goes as we lose it? Studies show that most of that weight is eliminated through the breath!

So how do we discover the nature of our habits? Poor breathing habits, especially in children, are known to cause unhealthy development and disturbing changes in facial muscles, joints, bones, and teeth alignment. Our ancestors had naturally healthy breathing habits, and they all had straight teeth! So, even the state of our teach is a clue to our breathing habits and deeper issues that may be unconscious!

Many people also ask whether breathwork can assist with healing emotional issues. Breathwork training clears stale stagnant energy from our system. It helps us to access, manage and release suppressed emotions, to control our nervous system and alter our brainwaves. We can recall how this feels and tune into the natural rhythm by retraining the body to breathe. Breathing properly allows us to relax and energize ourselves on demand. What if engaging in breathwork could change our vibration, outlook and attitude? Even a spark of curiosity arising prompts one to explore this more. Get ready to uncover the unexpected, experience life more fully and breath in ways that enable feeling more alive.

The power of allowing

By allowing ourselves to feel the grief and other emotions we are taught are inappropriate to express openly, we are able to feel and release not only the suppressed or repressed emotions, but also the fear that often takes shape as anxiety and depression and other imbalance in our lives.  Engaging in cathartic breathwork is one effective way to align subconscious and conscious mind, to access, feel and release what is outgrown.

People are rarely taught what to do when friends or family are grieving.  It is not necessary to tell people lies. Support is about telling the truth, saying its going to hurt.  By growign cosncious of and feeling the pain, we get through things together as communities and societies.

Some doors only open from the inside. Breathwork is a way of accessing that door within.

Somebody asked me

Somebody asked me why it sometimes seems like everything is working against them. The feeling that they are often under the wire to get places or pay bills on-time, that they feel disempowered by people or conditions. In a nutshell, this individual seems to move through degrees of stress to discomfort, and forgets one may also thrive on conditions of uncertainty.  Who can relate here?

What if, whenever things seem to evoke negativity or fear, we could stop and breathe deeply?

What if, we could shift from thinking something or someone is working against us, to sensing everything is always working in our favor in some way, nudging us in the best possible direction?

What if, the next time we wish we were somewhere else, doing something else, with someone else, we ask ourselves how being right where we are, is itself a blessing?

What if, we could remind ourselves, other way always exist to see, feel or respond differently to our physical, mental or emotional or other conditions? Which other avenues are opening to us?

What if, we could let go of wishing we could control everything, and simply trust more?

7 Tips to promote wellness

The ideal vision of relationship harmony and optimum wellness appeals to many. Still, this is not everyone's reality.  We may work toward it, but sometimes obstacles seem to get in the way.

Consider this: we all encounter stress.  This is part of being human.  Whether we deny, recognize or deal with it, and the approaches we take, simply differ.  Stress isn’t just a feeling or a mental state; if we do not address it, it affects every area of our lives.  Beyond physical symptoms, stress can also have a huge impact on our emotions and general mood. (www.Stress.org describes some mental or emotional symptoms of mounting stress)

On a deeper level, its about energy flow or blockages. When we notice symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, we have different options to decipher and cope, depending on the severity of the condition.  Different approaches can be complementary.

Consider 7 Tips to promote wellness; 

1. Participate in emotional release workshops

2. Join a mindfulness stress reduction program

3. Book breathwork Sessions

4. Engage in meditation

5. Stretch into yoga & holistic spiritual practices

6. Learn new things everyday (challenge the mind)

7. Commit to coaching involving relationship & soulwork