|
In 12 seconds, how much can you transform yourself, your mood, your quality of well-being. READY > SET > GO. How did you “do?” It’s surprising to me I would care deeply about 12 seconds of transformation. On the contrary, I have spent the last 40+ years working with clients on their long-term, slow, deep character transformation, and trudging on my own psycho-spiritual path. But now I care deeply about 12 seconds … FOR my own transformation, … FOR your possibilities of transformation, … and FOR the transformation needed at this time for the Great Turning of our mad world. We all need practical (very practical!), quick, easy, fun ways to get re-connected to our self, our essential vitality and well-being … despite the demand, overload and stress of our everyday … so we can be, do, teach, heal, help, and contribute at our best. After years of spiritual seeking, the smallest unit of practical transformation that I’ve come to respect is a single breath, but… A very certain kind of single breath. A certain, single breath that goes way beyond the cliché “just relax and take a deep breath.” I don’t know of anything smaller that can affect practical transformation than this certain, single breath. And I actually don’t think anything larger may be needed, assuming that we set our expectations to small, rapid shifts to well-being repeatedly through the day. We have come to this re-statement: how deeply can this transform us — a single breath power-packed with master switches to specifically activate our body, heart, mind and Spirit. Let me share the first of ten master switches that can make such a “12 second refresh” powerful enough to shift you. Test drive it yourself: Step 1: Attune To do this justice, first you have to attune internally: sense where you are on a “scale” of inner Well-Being (from 1-10). Step 2: Ground Now stand up and feel your feet on the floor, even connecting with the earth beneath the floor. Step 3: Inhale like this Inhale air slowly from the earth … through your feet … up the inside of your body … through your heart … and flowering just beyond your head (taking about 5-6 seconds to savor this entire, slow inhale). — but only do an inhale of 3-4 seconds if you’re not used to deep breathing, it seems difficult or brings up anxiety. 5 to 6 seconds is optimal for evidence-based reasons I’ll explain in the footnote. Step 4: Exhale like this Feel the exhale showering down and around you, as if naked in a warm shower of release, goodness and well-being. Step 5: Repeat with depth Since this is a skill, a capacity, in fact a vital life skill, give yourself the opportunity to experience it again, with the following special awareness:
Now repeat the 12 second special breathing, with total awareness, engagement, and focus Step 6: Re-attune to your well-being Now again attune to your internal sense of well-being. Now where are you on the scale of 1-10? I hope and trust you are at least one point higher, maybe more. In 12 seconds. Did you get value from this? Have ideas, additions, comments, feedback? Please hit the reply button now, and speak! 🙂 Frederic Footnote: for the evidence-based research that 5-6 second inhales and exhales are the optimal breath, please review this book of clinical research by two Harvard MDs called The Healing Power of the Breath (here) |
