Your Mind Follows The Breath
Can you handle reading another article on stress?
By now, we are all acutely aware how stress permeates our lives, especially in this pandemic-affected world.
Long-term stress damages the physical body, due to the increased inflammatory response, and it physically changes the brain as well.
Our “fuse” shortens, so we are prone to outbursts of anger. We see problems, not solutions. We become reactive to our environment and it can be difficult to take hold of our emotions.
But wait, did you know that stress is highly subjective? Two different people going through the same situation might react to the experience completely differently! For example, let’s take two people who are “stuck” in a thankless, low paying, draining job. One of those people might give in to feelings of victimhood, deduct that all jobs are the same, and continue working that job feeling trapped, stressed, and believe that they have no other options.
The other person might believe that they have control of the situation, and even though they are working a soul-sucking job at the moment, they know that they can and will find another job with a little bit of effort.
The degree of stress we perceive is highly dependent on our perceived degree of control we have over the situation. And the truth is, we always have some control over the situation.
Actually, let me rephrase that: you don’t control situations, the only thing you can control is you, and you can control you!
What’s that, you say? You can’t always control yourself? For example, when your kids are pushing all of your buttons, the house is a mess, lunches are not prepared, and you’re going to be late for your meeting, it’s difficult not to lose your sh*t, I get it!
It doesn’t have to be that way! Notice that way before your imminent blow up, certain thoughts start swirling through your head, your breath rate increases, your hands start shaking, you feel you're boiling inside, and then poof, you’re yelling at everyone, kids start crying, and now everything is a mess!
If that’s what you’re experiencing, congratulations, you have the awareness to change it! When you first notice the thoughts and the inner dialogue that you use to wind yourself up (yep, you are contributing to your blowup), shift your attention to your breath! Consciously try to slow it down, and shift from fast and shallow to slower and deeper. As your breath calms, your thoughts will calm. Breathe deeply and make those lunches!
Cultivating this kind of awareness is a practice, but once you start learning to rely on your breath to carry you through difficult moments, it becomes much easier.
I’ve been practicing Kundalini Yoga for 6.5 years, and teaching for 5, and in this practice we say: “Your mind follows the breath, your body follows your mind”. If you can control your mind, you can control your entire life! Simple, isn't it?
If you like the idea of mindful breathing and developing the habit of connecting with it, join me for a meditation! Not only will you learn how to regulate it, but also you’ll connect to your Divine nature! Please check out https://www.sevaramspronk.com/kundalini-meditation/ for more info, and join us for the reminder of our practice with a code LOVE111 for $5 off.
Let your breath sustain you!
With love,
SevaRam Spronk
SevaRam Spronk serves Happy Healthy Women as the Kitchener branch director. She is a level 2 KRI-certified Kundalini Yoga teacher (RYT-500), and she shares the life-saving tools of this technology with her community through on-line classes and workshops. In her life-coaching business she helps entrepreneurial women to destroy their self-perceived limitations to reach the next level of success.
Learn more about SevaRam and her business:
Website: sevaramspronk.com
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