Just Breathe...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 8:30AM by Richard Magid We have been making a slow and steady shift here at SoundBoard to a more holistic approach to our leadership teaching. Everyone on our team is passionate around a practice that we have adopted in our life's journey and that we have begun to integrate into the way we deliver our consulting services to our clients. For instance, Mike is big on energy, he believes that our thoughts carry a vibrational frequency and that good thoughts attract other good thoughts and vice versa. He spends a great deal of time in the space of gratitude and has been coaching and pushing our team as well as our clients to consider that space more often. Richard has a deep passion for discovery and growth through hard work combined with the concept of "letting go" and "letting come" (see 7 Capacities of the U Movement). And Robin's approach is to make an emotional connection through "hearing" between the lines. (Stay tuned for blogs from my associates on their respective practices.)
For me I share my passion of yoga; more specifically the practice of Pranayama (prāṇāyāma) or "breath control". Our prana or life force is probably the one thing we take most for granted. How many times do you truly appreciate or give thanks for your breath? Probably never. And just think where you would be without it? What Pranayama Yoga teaches us is control of our breath and with that control comes a brevity of benefits. With every inhale we bring oxygen into our body, when we control that inhale and direct it to specific places, it can be healing, relaxing, stress relieving. Every exhale dispels the carbon dioxide and other toxins from our body. Learning different prana techniques allows us to gain control over our mind and emotions, provides us with a tool to handle difficult situations in a more appropriate and less stressful way. Learning to read one's breath to determine state of mind is another benefit of the Pranayama practice.
We spend way too much time on this earth running to and from, worrying that there are not enough hours in a day, regretting that we did not take the time to do or be with someone...getting in touch with your prana, your life force, your breath, can miraculously bring all of those things back into focus and provide a powerful way to manage and balance your life. I challenge you to try it, just sit back, breath and watch your breathe travel through your body for 10 minutes...a powerful practice, one that can change your life.
Reader Comments (2)
What a great reminder that we should get back to the basics, especially when life is crazy. Breathing, who knew it was so important :-)
Thanks Lauren!
Thanks Peter! I can always count on you for a breath of fresh air too! Be well, Lauren