Good Morning Everyone,
Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you exercise, breathe, read or practice mindfulness, the sneaky trap of anxiety and unwanted, negative thoughts creep in again… and again?
The other morning I woke up feeling exactly like this. Really?? I have practiced mindfulness and deep breathing pretty much every.single.day now for years. For a second I did ask “Really?” and then I smiled. This is the way it works. The mind is the mind and it chatters. It was pointing me towards some big projects that I had to attend to that day. That’s all. Not the big catastrophe it was predicting. Oh my, I am SO glad I have learned not to believe it. When we are completely identified with the mind, it rules. Sometimes I think this is the case for most of the world these days. I am grateful for mindfulness and my many students who have also experienced the freedom of moving beyond thought and finding the peace that is available to them beyond the stream of thinking.
The Dalai Lama was asked “Is it possible to stop negative thinking?” He laughed and said “Oh no! I don’t have time for that!”. In other words, don’t bother trying, just get on with it. Never give up!
I love mindfulness practices and the peace that is found in the present moment, but I love something more: breathing. It is the beginning of everything. The foundation upon which good health, good relationships and peace is built. We all do it and it’s the one thing you can start doing differently today and every day.
Recently I taught a Pain Education series for people who live with the agony of persistent pain. We covered many, many topics but overwhelmingly what topped the list for effective practices was breathing. We don’t get anywhere without good breathing techniques and it validated what I have seen and heard in my counselling and teaching over the years. We are not breathing optimally, but if we are, we open up to so much more ease, openness, focus, strength and physical and mental flexibility. So, I am super excited to offer another workshop on just this.
Here’s great video to get you started. Take note of Max Strom at 3:55 as I’m spending this weekend at a workshop with him and will come back with even more great info! Then scroll down below for the upcoming workshop. Spots are limited, so let me know if you would like to register. No special skills or experience are needed. Just a set of lungs to breathe and laugh and a desire to re-learn the natural tool you already possess to thrive.
… and here are all the details.
Hope to see you!
Madeleine
