the good news about breathing: you don’t have to think about it.
the bad news about breathing: you don’t have to think about it.
my plea today is… take a deep breath. think about it. listen to it. feel it fill your lungs and your body with much needed oxygen. feel it in your fingers and toes. do it again. being in tune with our breath puts us more in tune with our lives. for it is breath that gives us life.
unfortunately, there are more and more simple human functions that we’re not thinking about. take eating for example. the more convenient our society makes food and the busier our lives get, the less and less we actually think about eating and what we put in our bodies. and the less we think about things like our breath and our food, the easier it is to gain weight, live with chronic stress and detach from our human experience. and the more we detach, the more of our power over our own health and wellbeing we surrender.
take. back. your. power.
living on purpose starts with breathing on purpose, eating on purpose, resting on purpose. show your body some respect, give it some attention. our bodies are what keep us here, they’re what keep our souls loving and connecting with others. breathing keeps our cells alive, eating gives us energy, rest gives our bodies time for healing and repair. if you want to experience life more fully, if you long to be more comfortable in the present moment, if you want more control over your happiness…get back in your body, get in touch with what keeps you alive and well. breathe. actively participate.
take. back. your. power
a friend of mine who has been practicing yoga every day for almost 8 months now…just recently quit his corporate office job to start his own business. after just ONE week, he wrote me in an email:
“It’s also great how quickly my hips are opening up after only one week of not sitting on ass for 9 hours a day. WOW we were NOT meant to sit on ass for 9 hours a day!”
let’s hear that again: WOW we were NOT meant to sit on our ass for 9 hours a day!
it’s so true. and it’s negatively affecting our health in more ways than just a tightening in our hips! unfortunately, the list of negative affects is long, but I’ll start by addressing one today…our sleep.
sleep is SO important. did you know…
*the National Institute of Medicine reports that 50-70 million Americans are regularly sleep deprived or suffer from sleep problems
*sleep is when the body repairs and heals; “sleep holds the reins of our body’s temperature, blood pressure, secretion of hormones, brain activity and many more functions”
*”in the typical adult, even a week of getting 2 to 3 hours less than optimum sleep each night seriously undermines mood, alertness and performance”
*moderate to long-term sleep deprivation leads to depression and problems with learning and memory
so here’s the rub: most of us (by sitting on our ass all day) are spending the majority of our time not really “working,” followed by a night in which we’re not really resting. real physical activity, the kind that wears us out, helps us achieve better rest.
recap: we need to sleep well so that our body has the chance to repair and heal on a cellular level, and in order to sleep well we need to be active during the day.
here’s my question for you today: are you Active? every day should include some kind of activity. what are you doing? it doesn’t have to be the kind of exercise you are dreading right now as you read this, picturing the agony of leaving work to go to the gym and force yourself through some monotonous type of cardio like running on the treadmill or the elliptical.
it could be dance lessons. it could be family volleyball at the park. it could be a neighborhood walk after dinner. it can be fun. should be fun. our bodies need to exercise and PLAY every day!!
we are not meant to sit our ass all day long. in the car, at the office, at the dinner table, in front of the TV. it’s not meant to be. and it’s not good for our health. or our sleep. Get UP!
xo
KG
**source: The Healthy Home, New York Times Best-Seller by Dave Wentz and Dr. Wentz – get it here.
