B.R.E.A.T.H.E.
During the Pandemic and Self-Isolation to find yourself anxious, short on temper, judgemental and so forth? The answer is to simply B.R.E.A.T.H.E.
B.R.E.A.T.H.E.
RESPOND vs. REACT -- Yin and Yang
Reacting is malignant. Responding is benign.
MBTI – Introvert vs Extrovert, Thinking vs Feeling
‘Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is Clear? ~ Lao Tzu
Defusing yourself & the situation
B.R.E.A.T.H.E.
B. Bide
R. Respond
E. Exhale
A. Act
T. Talk
H. Hold
E. Empower
B. Bide your time –
Stop -- Pause -- Breathe -- Your unconscious is in control – That said, the unconscious can be an awesome partner to the conscious mind. It can provide the juice and energy to accomplish what you want. And when it’s not freaking out trying to ensure your survival, it has a lot of intuitive wisdom to offer. To get to that point, though, you need to spend some time working with the unconscious, helping it release the limiting beliefs, constrictive assumptions, and negative emotions that no longer serve you — calm yourself -- serve yourself not your unconscious – Sometimes that takes a few seconds, other times it means we should remove ourselves politely from the situation and let ourselves cool down before we respond. Watch the reaction go away.
R. Respond –
to yourself first and minimize your reaction --
There many uncomfortable or frustrating events in life. This choice presents itself to us all the time, whether it’s our mother nagging us, our co-worker being rude, our husband not being kind enough, and so on. There will always be external events that bother us, but if we learn to respond and not just react, we can make things better and not worse.
Come back to your breath, bring your attention to your body, and wait for an inner knowingness to arise, showing you appropriate steps to take to restore balance.
Yin and Yang
Yang:
Whenever you need to energize Yourself, anytime, anywhere: Inhale for 15 counts
Hold your breath for 10 counts
Exhale for 5 counts
Yin:
Whenever you need to relax yourself, anytime, anywhere:
Inhale for 5 counts
Hold your breath for 10 counts
Exhale for 15 counts
With these techniques you can maintain a positive and calm demeanour in any negative situation. As you become more practiced and aware of your breathing you can extend the length of the inhalations or exhalations.
It is only through returning to the present moment, and then feeling your energetic state, that the answer comes to you.
Pause whenever you feel yourself about to react. Take a deep breath, step back, and give yourself the opportunity to respond.
E. Exhale –
Relax -- Exhaling is Yin
A. Act --
move away physically or mentally if needed for short or long time -- walk, yoga, exercise, play your instrument or listen to music ... In the moment, feel you belly exhale and let go, drop your shoulders in a relaxed position, drop your arms to your sides, take a step back, take action on your voice and hear it become calm and quieter.
If you are aware that you are overextending yourself (yang), then simply sit down for a few moments and focus on your breath (yin). This will likely be enough to restore your energy to a place of balance, as well as open the door for intuition to come to you for staying in balance—perhaps you need to take a break from whatever you are doing to look at the trees and sky before going back to the situation.
T. Talk –
now you can express yourself and speak to the person(s) involved. Keep your talking within your new found demeanour and calm. For example, avoid the ‘You’ statements and stick with “I’ statements.
H. Hold –
yourself in comfort -- be responsible...
E. be Empowered –
Empower yourself ...
Of course, many judgments are benign, but others can be malignant. Most of us can fill out questionnaires on attitudes toward others, and pass as non-racist or non-sexist with flying colours. But you know who is filling them out? Your logical brain is! (Amygdala)
Now, today, just B.R.E.A.T.H.E. … Ahhhh …
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Exercise to practice
Yang
1. Work yourself up
2. Take several short breathes, as if panting
3. Clench you fists
4. Press your lips together firmly, corners turned down
5. Squint your eyes
Yin
6. Now calm yourself -- let it go
7. Release your face – eyes, lips
8. Unclench your fists
9. Inhale deeply, count to 5, letting your belly expand outward
10. Exhale deeply, counting to 10, letting your belly empty to push toward your spine
11. Feel the difference