Meditation Challenge Day 5: Breath to Support Your Nervous System
Added 2021-08-26 00:57:51 +0000 UTC(To be practiced on Thursday, August 26)
This is one of my favorite breath practices to support the nervous system — especially during periods of anxiety or uncertainty. It’s simple, but also challenging. The challenging aspect is letting the mind take a backseat long enough to spend several minutes on breathing.
The first few minutes of any meditation practice that shifts your normal patterning is always the most restless and uncomfortable, but once you can move past that threshold, it becomes easier. You start to develop a rhythm. The healing happens when you can push past the resistance, the doubts, the impatience. The healing happens when you create a new pattern. Sometimes I think of my mind like a program. If I want to change the program, I just have to create a different response.
Once you get into a rhythm with this breath, it’s a great one to practice before bed as you’re falling asleep. Sometimes I set a timer, but most often I just end up asleep after a few minutes. When practiced regularly, it can shift the nervous system in powerful ways.
**For today, take note of some of the behaviors and patterns that have become routine — almost unconscious. For example, instead of picking up your phone or reaching for a snack to distract your mind, try a few rounds of breath instead. Spend a few minutes in nature and listen to the natural world. Challenge the mind to be still — if only for a minute. See all of your thoughts and worries like bubbles floating up into the atmosphere. And then see yourself popping them one-by-one.**
