"Each Breath is a Crossroads You See..."A breathing practice I have evolved over time branching off from a Yoga technique from long ago.
Close off one nostril, breathe in s-l-o-w-l-y through the other.
When this breath is fully drawn in, close off both nostrils and hold it momentarily,
just long enough that is comfortable and you feel you have received of that breath
(this is intuitive – if there is a uncomfortable feeling of pressure felt,
then you have held the breath in too long.)
Let this air out slowly and naturally from the opposite nostril
that you drew the breath in with. Follow this out-breath by
now drawing in air through this nostril. Once again hold a moment,
then let the air release out the other nostril.
For the best results allow your intuition to guide you. Your personal
rhythm can be directed from within your own body. I have found that
sometimes a breath may be a little longer or shorter; at times this may
include a moment of stillness at the end of the out-breath before another
is drawn in. When there is a stillness, the next breath may naturally
come in a little deeper, with an expansion that gives a feeling of slight euphoria.
You can add intention in the form of a ABC dialogue.
With each draw of your in-breath, a drawing forth of the positive you desire
to bring into your being; with each out-breath, a letting go of that which does
not benefit life... below is an example only, you can substitute your own
personal thoughts and feelings. Again, let your positive intuition be your guide.
A ...breathing in appreciation ... breathing out or letting go of apprehention...
B ...breathing in beauty, bounty ...letting go of bitterness,
C ...breathing in caring, charisma, cherishing ...letting go of callousness,
D ...breathing in delight ...letting go of depression,
E ...breathing in energy, excellence ...letting go of efforting, evil,
F...breathing in friendliness, fantastic feeling ...letting go of fear,
G...breathing in gratitude, gratefulness, greatness ...letting go of grievances,
H...breathing in happiness, hope, excellent health ...letting go of hatred, helplessness,
I...breathing in inspiration, intuitiveness, ideal ideas ...letting go of irritation, irony,
J...breathing in joy, jolliness ...letting go of jadedness, jealousy,
K...breathing in kindness, kindredness ...letting go of killing thoughts,
L...breathing in love, lusciousness ...letting go of longing, lies, languishing,
M...breathing in mildness, meditation, music of the spheres ...letting go of meanness, madness,
N...breathing in nourishment, niceness, neutrality ...letting go of nastiness, feelings of nothingness
O...breathing in optimism, outstanding-ness ...letting go of oppression,
P...breathing in preciousness, patience, passion ...letting go of pressure, pessimism,
Q...breathing in quietude ...letting go of qualms,
R...breathing in reassurance, robustness, rejuvenation, ...letting go of restlessness, rage, regrets,
S...breathing in serenity, sureness, super-ness, solidity, settledness...letting go of sadness,
T...breathing in timelessness, terrific-ness, talent ...letting go of tiredness, tension,
U...breathing in understanding, utter joy and jubilance ...letting go of ugliness, feelings of underdog,
V...breathing in vitality, voluptuous-ness, value & validness ...letting go of violence & viciousness
W...breathing in wonder and wish fulfillment, ...letting go of worries
X...like a crossroads in life, with each breath, draw in the best, start fresh, say 'Yes!" to your hopes and dreams, moment by moment, one thought at a time, second by second, if and when need be.
Y why? Again, so you can say "Yes!" to the best or, at the very lease be positive. calm and peaceful, to allow a door to open to joy, laughter, love, friendship, a positive way of being, for this then allows a relaxing of the body and mind, which then enables your natural creativity to flow freely, which then in turn can benefit your health and/or at the very least prompt you to sing_...
Z...Zippety do da, zippety day, my oh my
what a wonderful day,
nothing but blue skies
coming my way
Zippety do da, zippety day,
Wonderful Feeling, Wonderful Day.
(Next upcoming LAUGHTER Practice)
(An aside here, upon looking up the origins of the Zippity song, I found out that the words differ slightly than those bouncing around in my own head. If you are curious the link below will let you know.)
The original song is from the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie Song of the South, sung by James Baskett. The music was written by Allie Wrubel, the lyrics by Ray Gilbert and was published in 1946. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. A number of other music artists have covered it as well. )
