Greetings Beautiful People

1) Quote
“The trick is to commit ourselves to being with the breath and to finding a way to gradually let that breath become easier and deeper, no matter what. That means making the feeling of inner ease more important than what we are achieving, where we are going, or whether people are listening to us.”
The Art of Effortless Living, Ingrid Bacci

Image From: Alcuin Bramerton's Excellent Blog-Post "Prayer is Breath"

2) Story – "Remember to Breathe!"

The crowd are screaming like animals, but that’s not the problem, that's like white noise - the problem is I feel spent. Steve reaches down and pulls the waistband of my shorts out a few inches and I gulp in some air. I feel like I’m hyperventilating and a shiver of fear cuts through me thinking I’m going to have to get up and do that again in less than a minute. How am I supposed to do two more rounds??? My opponent isn’t very skilled but he’s a lot taller and he outweighs me by 40 pounds (18 kg). I was told it'd be 14 pounds.

“Stretch your legs out. Flat out!” , Steve says and I oblige thinking I must look a little ridiculous sitting on the stool with my legs spread-eagled, feet pointing at the ceiling like a drunk. But actually stretching my legs out does make a difference and thirty seconds later my breathing has slowed a little. I start thinking maybe I will be able to get through this insanity...

An experienced fighter had told me: “Remember to breathe” because he’d said in your first fight the tendency is to tense up and hold your breath struggling through the whole thing.

When I first started sparring I could barely get through a round but at peak fitness I remember sparring over 20 rounds as part of a 3-hour workout. Obviously I didn’t get 20 times fitter so how did this happen? I think the key is that I was more efficient, I was completely absorbed in training and I moved with less unnecessary tension. From a young age we are told to “make an effort”, to “try harder”, and we’re bombarded with idioms like “no pain no game”, “no struggle no progress” and now “go hard or go home”. Looking back I remember being graded for effort and for achievement at school. Unfortunately both of those criteria create pressure and encourage stress and as adults most of us have an unconscious tendency to stop breathing when exerting ourselves physically or mentally.

The irony is that stress impairs performance. Peak performance is actually characterised by relaxed concentration; a mind that is completely absorbed in the task at hand and a body that carries no unnecessary tension. We have all seen elite athletes like Roger Federer or Usain Bolt performing at the highest level showing a fluidity and effortless grace married to phenomenal power. Indeed, perhaps it is this paradox that makes the greatest athletes, dancers and performers so spellbinding to watch.

“Everything you do, if not in a relaxed state will be done at a lesser level than you are proficient.”
Bruce Lee

It is said that Bruce Lee was able to move so fast that he had to slow his movements down for the film cameras of the day which could only capture 24 frames per second. However doing less to achieve more can seem so counterintuitive to our minds because our focus is so often on doing.

What are you doing this weekend?
What’s on your to-do list today?
What have you been up to? (ie What have you been doing?)
What do you do for a living?
What do you do for fun?

Are we human beings or human doings?

I’d argue that more of us know how to do than how to be...and that doesn’t strike me as particularly healthy.

Amazon Link to Art of Effortless Living

There is very little credence given to being or feeling, the very things that not only determine our quality of life but the quality of the things we do and this separation of mind and body is catastrophic in terms of the stress it creates. 80% of illness and disease is stress-related and poor breathing habits can contribute to all manner of conditions from lower back pain to heart disease and respiratory conditions.

We spend so much time in our heads that many of us can’t even feel our own bodies! Meditation is one of the most powerful ways to connect mind and body and observing your breathing is perhaps the simplest meditation there is (although simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy).

I recently read Ingrid Bacci’s excellent book The Art of Effortless Living (a Ralph Smart recommendation) and I’ve since started to observe my breathing during daily activities (see Exercise 2 below). In the space of only a few days I had some profound experiences which I will elaborate on in Part 2. First however I’d like to share some practical exercises from the book.

NB.
Ingrid suggests making sure you can follow the breath in i) Meditation before going on to ii) Practising Conscious Breathing in Your Daily Life

Exercises from The Art of Effortless Living pg 122-129:

i) Meditation
-find quiet space for 5-20 minutes
-scan body from toes to head feeling sensations
-feel wave of breath, observe with curiosity the uniqueness of each breath as though you were watching the sea
-place hands on your body where you feel breath most clearly (chest, abdomen or belly)

-when you have absorbed the sensation of breath under hands move hands lower down torso
-continue moving hands down body until you can feel breath filling your entire torso

ii) Practise Conscious Breathing in Daily Life
The following exercise teaches you to relax whether at the office, doing chores working out or any other routine activity:
-Become aware of breathing while engaging in low-stress activities: showering, walking, cooking, reading, etc
-Observe for several minutes at a time
-Be curious about how things change as you tune into your breathing
-Notice whether breathing is relaxed or tight - don't try to change it, it will soften and deepen on its own
-When you're ready follow your breathing in more challenging situations

Thanks Ingrid :)

3) Song - Breathe by Pink Floyd