The One Minute Breath

Have you ever notice your breath tense up or get shallow when you’re feeling stressed? 

Do you remember your breath speed up as you watch a scary scene from a movie?

This is because the mind has a direct influence on the breath.  The breath is part of our autonomic nervous system, which means that it is a part of our subconscious mind’s programing.  We breath without having to consciously think so that our bodies can thrive with much needed oxygen when we are sleeping or just focusing on other tasks in life. 

Amazingly our breathing pattern does reflect our state of mind.  It responds to us being relaxed as well as when we’re in distress.  But we can use this to our advantage.

Just as our breath responds to our state of mind, our state of mind responds to our breath.  Yogis have figured this out thousands of years ago and this is why they have been practicing ‘pranayama’ with such great results throughout history. Pranayama is a practice that is done by using specific techniques to control the breath.  The word translates to ‘extension of prana or life force’.  

Prana, or life force is what gives life to all that which has life is in nature.  It corresponds with the same meaning that the Chinese refer as ‘Qi’.  

So getting back to the breath – how can controlling the breath have an affect on the mind?  Think of a time where you had absolutely no pressure, like when you were on vacation and completely free from all responsibility. The weather was perfect, everything felt so right.  You may have noticed that your breath was so calm – and deep.  When the mind is at peace, the breath is deep and slow. 

If you begin to breath deep and slow, you can trick your mind into believing it’s in a state of calm. 

A great Kundalini yoga pranayama exercise is called the one minute breath.  The idea is to breath 20 seconds in, hold for 20 seconds, and breath out for 20 seconds.  Many people are not used to this long of a breath so the ideal place to start is with 10 seconds for all three parts and build up.  

Begin by finding a comfortable seated position at a time that you wont be interrupted.  Inhale deep and exhale fully a few times to begin. Breathe in and count how many seconds you can complete a slow and deep inhale comfortably.  Hold in the breath for that same amount, and exhale for the same amount as well.   Repeat this for at least 10 times.  You will feel refreshed and clear!  This is a great practice before important meetings, to release any stress or anxiety during the day, or if you need some extra energy for the day!

Image by Victor Garcia

Abyangha: The Ayurvedic Art of Self Anointing

One of the most basic yet powerful 'take home' practices in ayurveda is called 'Abyangha'.  Abyangha is the practice of self anointing or self massage.  Each dosha or body type (vata, pitta, or kapha) responds best to a specific carrier oil (i.e. sesame oil, coconut oil, almond oil) and essential oil blend.  Each essential oil works best to balance either one, two, or all three doshas.  Based on individual assessment, an oil is prescribed and created.

The word abyangha means 'glowing body' or 'towards movement' in Sanskrit.  It was done to keep the body young,  strong, and believed to prevent sickness and injury.  Massage has powerful healing effects on the body and has been shown to strengthen the immune systems and help growth in premature babies.  Abyangha helps move the lymph in the body, promotes circulation, eases tension, and increases a sense of well being.  It also promotes deep sleep, aids in detoxification of the body, helps digestion, and firms the skin.  It takes an extra 5-10 minutes a day to give yourself so many benefits - it's obvious that the pay off is much higher than the effort.  

The original abyangha practice was done before bathing, but I personally do it after bathing because I like to 'seal' and moisturize my skin with a beautiful smelling oil to start my day.  The original practice also calls for massaging the scalp with oil but in our modern age that may be a little ambitious and not very acceptable by many women!  So my suggestion is to massage every square centimeter of your scalp with shampoo.  Do the same for the ears with soap.  

Before getting into the shower, place the amount of oil you need for your body (about 2 tbsp full) into a small glass dish, then place the small glass dish into a bowl with shallow hot water which warms up the glass container (the hot water should not touch the oil).  This way the oil is warm and ready for you when you come out of the shower.  I also recommend dry skin brushing before starting the shower as well.  Similarly to the below instructions, skin brushing begins with the most distal part of the limbs and always moves in the direction of the heart - this should be done while the skin is dry.  

Once you are dry and ready after the shower, begin by rubbing the oil on the tops of your feet (skip the bottom of your feet to avoid slipping), and massage each part of the top of your feet while moving up to your ankles, shins, calves, knees, and top of your legs.  Don't miss any parts - front and back of everything.  You always want to massage towards your heart.  Then move up from the back and front of your torso - again, towards your heart. Go to the hands and move towards your heart.  Make sure to reach to your traps and shoulders as well, along with your neck.  Be aware to stimulate the lymph nodes (arm pits, groin, neck) with light pressure when you are in those areas.  

After a week of practicing this you are bound to feel a notable sense of peace come over you.  It really does cultivate a sense of love inside of you.  And when you feel love within, you naturally exude it to all those you encounter.  So yes, this can bring about change in the world!  

Acupuncture: An Antidote for Stress

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the energy that is behind the body’s life force function is called ‘qi’.  Unlike modern medicine, TCM perceives the body’s organs as having different roles in regards to the body’s qi (among many other aspects).  Chinese medical theory considers the liver to be the organ in charge of the qi flowing correctly in the body.  When someone undergoes stress or extreme emotions, it causes the energy or ‘qi’ to contract.  This has a secondary effect of stopping the natural flow of qi - which the liver is in charge of.  The qi then either becomes stuck or begins to move in the opposite direction, which affects the body’s normal function.  The symptoms that can arise from this are pain, irritability, insomnia, abnormal menses, headaches, and abdominal discomfort among many more.

When a patient comes in presenting the symptoms above, the TCM physician will assess and create a treatment protocol that will most likely include acupuncture and herbs.  Acupuncture needles will be located in specific points which will work to unblock the ‘qi’ and allow the channels that are stagnated to move qi more freely.  There are many herbs that are effective for doing this from a different aspect which is more chemical in comparison to the physical aspect of acupuncture.  This is why working with both herbs and acupuncture is so effective.

There have been several studies that have shown the effectiveness of TCM on stress.  One study lead by Dr. Ladan Eshkevari of Georgetown University found that acupuncture reduces levels of a protein linked to chronic stress in rats.  This protein called neuropeptide Y (NPY) is secreted by the sympathetic nervous system in humans which is involved in the fight or flight response.

Before these studies many people have noted that even when they come in for a completely different symptom than stress, they often feel more peaceful since beginning their TCM treatments.

An interesting study on acupuncture and stress.