Have you ever noticed that when you ask for something it often shows up, except not in the package you expected?!!  Last week my post was about calming, and I provided a basic introduction to breathing for stress reduction (See below).  Guess what, the more I focused on my breathing, the more I noticed how I waited until I was definitely TIGHT and TENSE before stopping to relax and breath or break/relax and breath!  Useful information!  Lo, I had offered a great suggestion on relaxation only to be shown that I was not getting the full advantage of it myself!

Learning new habits is like that.  Before we can begin to gain competence, we get to wake up to how unconsciouslyincompetent we have been!  A colleague who has obviously taken breathing consciously to a whole new level shared her practice; “Breathe in I count to 7, breathe out I count to 7.7.”  Repeat for 15 minutes.  I have found in using this practice there is still some built in resistance from the “pusher” part of me.  She wants productivity “thank you very much!”  So, I thank her for the “reminder,” and invite her to go to the imaginary workout room I have designed for her.

Yoga Helps with Breathing

For me, and perhaps you, too, this is all related to my relationship with time.

I get into trouble with runaway tension when I have created a deadline and am fearful I won’t make it.  I have set myself up for this tense-fest!  So, with this awareness, I can create a new game.  When I give myself a deadline or have one given to me, I decide what I want to do with it in terms of attitude, approach and timing.  That is called conscious choice!

In the past when I have not noticed this pattern of growing tension and pressure is when I have gone beyond the point where I could easily reduce the tension. So, gratefully, my body is much less tolerant of overdoing it now!

An element that bears reflecting on here is space.  When I slow down to review my options I feel the grace and spaciousness of it.  I can actually access a generous and wise aspect of my nature.  I make better decisions, and Providence often contributes something that I would not previously have access to.

Questions for reflection:

• How can I be proactive about managing tension?
• What practice/habit will support me to shift from reacting to tension to being proactive about managing tension?