Breathing through Grief
From my perspective, the prevalent emotion right now, in every community I am a part of, is grief.
There have been terrible, tragic losses.
Each one as painful as the next, in its own unique way.
And so, this week's "Work In" addresses that.
When we experience trauma, it's a shock to our system, and parts of us begin to shut down. Breath becomes shallow, the diaphragm ceases to be involved, and at that point, the emotional body also moves in to disharmony. There is a fair amount of research on this subject, and I'm not about to write you an essay.
Suffice it to say that connecting back in to your breath, and re-igniting the diaphragmatic breathing cycle is one way out of that hellish loop.
I use an exercise ball in these videos for both feedback and support. A large one is good if you have one on hand, if you don't some clean, overstuffed couch pillows will work as well.
My original sequence was 17 minutes long, and provides an additional asana plus brief meditation at the end.
I created a second, abbreviated video that is just over 10 minutes, as often we don't allow ourselves the time we need to truly heal, and sometimes 10 minutes is all you have to give to yourself. So if that's you, then do this one instead, and save the longer one for when you've got the time.
Your grief is uniquely yours, however this emotion is shared.
You are not alone.
My mission is to create a world where people are happy in their bodies.
I believe that happier people will bring us closer to a world that exists in
peace.
Breathe On
Domini