#155 - Breathing Part 4: Breathing by Dr Andrew Weil

   Amazon UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/156455726X

Amazon US: http://amzn.com/156455726X

In this excellent audio-book Dr Andrew Weil introduces 8 breathing techniques which he teaches to his patients to help them manage a wide range of health issues from stress and anxiety to a myriad of other conditions. 

Dr Weil practises integrative medicine combining elements of Eastern disciplines with Western medicine. Many of these breathing techniques come from yogic breathing or pranayama. At 1hr 45 mins it is a quick listen packed with exercises for you to practise while you listen. Some of these techniques are extremely simple such as simply observing the breath and there are other techniques such as the stimulating breath and the relaxing breath. 

Recently I have been using the stimulating breath (or bellows breath) and it is the quickest way to raise my energy I have ever come across - great first thing in the morning!

Thanks to boxing, public speaking and meditation I am becoming more aware of how breathing affects our mental and physical state. Breathing is the link between mind, body and spirit and considering the profound impact the quality of our breathing can have on our health and quality of life it is surprising that there is not more of a focus on it within healthcare.

"...and I wonder if Beethoven held his breath the first time his fingers touched the keysthe same way a soldier holds his breaththe first time his finger squeezes the triggerwe all have different reasons for forgetting to breathe." Andrea Gibson

Other posts on breathing:

#20 - Breathing - Part 1: Letting Stress Go

#21 - Breathing Part 2: My Co-worker Is A !&$%

#25 - Breathing Part 3: Easy Does It...

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#154 - Mindfulness: The 3 Poisons of the Mind

Link to Amazon UK

Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn is proving to be a great listen. The audiobook is only 2h 26 mins long, the narration by Mr Kabat-Zinn is warm and engaging and I'm learning lots. 

One of the ideas which has stayed with me comes from Buddhism and is called 'The 3 Poisons of the Mind'. These 3 poisons are:

1) Greed
That ceaseless wanting which is never satisfied. As soon as we acquire the thing we want a new desire for something else springs up. 

2) Hatred
The judging, criticising, blaming, gossiping, complaining negative mind.

3) Delusion
The part of the mind that makes assumptions and creates stories about reality. 

Since discovering this idea I find I can quickly categorise my mind's shenanigans into one of these 3 boxes and this awareness seems to be the perfect antidote. 

Here are a few examples from my own experience:

1) Greed
-Craving that next book.

2) Hatred
-Focusing on my mistakes and flaws and being overly self-critical.

3) Delusion
-During one speech I delivered I assumed the blank faces of the audience meant they were not engaged and cut it short. When I received feedback however I was told that their blank expressions were due to the fact they were listening intently to what I was saying. 

I've also noticed that of the three there is one my mind tends to engage in more than the other two. My poison, if you will.  

Hatred, Greed and Delusion.

What is your poison?

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#153 - 9 Divine Aftereffects of Daily Challenges

This post is dedicated to Richard White and all the other Daily Challengers.

I'm on a train home from work battling the AI on my phone at chess. I say battling - really it's more like a man being humbled by degrees on a daily basis. At one point the computer sets a trap for me but I read it and blurt out excitedly:

"You think you're slick, but you're not that slick!"

I look up, realising that the thought had indeed escaped the confines of my brain into the silent carriage. The zombie to my left casts me a sidelong glance and slowly leans away from me. I feel eyes on me as several other people look over wondering exactly how crazy I am... 

But I don't feel anything. I'm not even remotely self-conscious. 

This marks a change, and this is one of the effects I've noticed since doing a joint comfort zone challenge with my friend Richard. 

Comfort Zone Challenge #1

Both Richard and I have noticed some pretty cool aftereffects of this and I have been itching to write this for some time. Here are 9 of the benefits I've experienced following these Daily Challenges. I hope they inspire you to challenge yourself too.

1) Less Self-conscious
-I sing out loud at times even in public if I'm really feeling the song - I can't sing and I haven't sung out loud in front of anyone since the age of 11
-I don't lower my voice if I'm on the phone and there are other people around
-If that song comes on my iPod and I get the urge to dance by the ATM or anywhere else for that matter, I no longer fight the feeling

2) Challenging the Status Quo
I've realised that most of what we do is based on what has been done so far and I find myself wanting to challenge the status quo and test limits. While still remaining within the confines of the law and being respectful of others, how can we push the envelope creatively, socially, professionally? I had an interview for a trainer position yesterday and some of the questions felt like they were designed by an unreasonable soul. At the end the whole situation felt a little unbalanced to me so I challenged the panel by asking them one of the questions they'd asked me: "What is your greatest accomplishment?" It was nice to see all three of them squirm :)

3) Challenging others and being challenged by them in return

Broadgate Circle - Comfort Challenge

Following the above joint challenge Gigi recorded her first 5 minute comedy bit and she has in turn challenged me to transcribe and analyse a great piece of comedy. I can already guess where that challenge is going to lead...

4) More Excitement
Now I seek out more challenges great and small. New experiences, new foods, new sports, new people. Last week I saw some guys in the park boxing. Ordinarily I'd just do my own thing and go home, I am an introvert after all. But I challenged myself to train with them. I got to teach them some boxing and they've added me to their WhatsApp Fitness Group. They also told me about a new boxing gym which I can use for free which is within walking distance of my home. Chalk up another win for the good guys.

Other exciting challenges to be tackled this year include:
-giving a public speech on an underground train w/Nerea
-starting a train party
-publishing my first book

5) Supercharged Relationships
Challenges are an amazing way to bond with people and deepen your relationships. Doing the comfort zone challenges with Richard and Gigi definitely pushed us all forwards to keep stretching ourselves and doing new things. They were also incredibly fun. 

Physical Challenge - leading a session of distance running and parkour for the TMC

6) More Trust
As I follow my heart more there seems to be another kind of guidance and way of living opening up. Bit by bit I'm starting to let go and trust life and my instincts more and more. I've learned that our minds are just the sum total of what we know and we have done so far. Anything outside of what they know is considered difficult or dangerous.

Our intuition however does not have such limitations and can lead us down roads we never even knew existed. This requires us to be vulnerable and to sacrifice certainty for possibility but now I think perhaps life isn't about knowing but rather just a process of discovering.

7) More Creativity
I feel more and more creativity bubbling up within me, probably because I am not dismissing it. There was a while where I didn't feel like blogging but now my mind is overflowing with ideas. I also feel drawn to drawing and cartooning and have some new ideas to play with in terms of teaching using words, images and accelerated learning. The more I follow these instincts the more it seems to me there is no limit to the possibilities within me.  

8) More Courage
My courage is growing exponentially. With each new challenge tackled I feel more ready and willing to take on the next and that feeling of adrenaline which was once a red stop light is becoming more like a green light, the excitement that fuels me taking the challenge on. One of the side-effects of this is I am finding myself in more leadership roles. 

9) More Me
The biggest difference overall is I feel I am becoming more of myself every day. This might not seem like much of a superpower on the surface but in a world where most of us never feel quite good enough and are desperately trying to be someone else, it's pretty cool. 

I'm more honest, more open and spontaneous and I just feel more like a real person than someone trying to fit in and not raise too many eyebrows. It feels like I am regaining the curiosity and naturalness of a child married to the independence and wisdom of an adult. 

"If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you." Fred DeVito

What is your challenge today?

Daily Challenges
Following a conversation between Richard White and myself towards the end of 2014, Richard decided to do something fun each day of 2015. This evolved into setting himself daily challenges great and small. A blog, Facebook Group and workshop soon followed and the idea and community continues to grow. 

FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dailychallenges365/

Richard's Blog: www.livefromyourheart.life 

#152 - PROMISES PROMISES PROMISES!

Are you up-to-date on your promises? 

One of my mentors once told me that our abundance comes down to our perception and our perception comes down to our integrity, our ability to keep promises. 

Recently I challenged myself to make a List of Promises which I have made and not yet kept. 

It made for a very uncomfortable read...

Not only was the list a lot longer than I expected but afterwards I began to realise how easily I add to this list every day. So often my mouth is not connected to my brain or my diary:

"Yeah I'll email that stuff to you."
"Cool, I'll give you a call and we'll get together."

Often these promises come from me genuinely wanting to help people or spend time with them but I now understand that both a firm commitment to honour each and every promise I make and some way of recording all of them is essential. This is the only way my Promises Made to Promises Kept ratio (shout out to Brian Johnson) will be 1:1.

Perhaps more importantly than this, my word to myself and to others must be sacred for me to live with integrity. As a result I'm making two changes:

1) I'm now keeping a written record of every promise I make
2) I am making less promises 

I have to say though, working through this list feels really good...

Are you up-to-date on your promises? 

"Of all your promises, the most important ones are the ones you make to yourself."Mark Hernacki

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