Hello Breath and Water Club!
How are you doing? Perfect? 15 minutes of intentional breathing twice every day? 8 glasses of water every day?
No?
Me neither.
Some days are great – I start the day with breathing, I drink plenty of water, and I end the day with breathing. Some days I forget I even wanted to do such a thing.
But my uneven progression has taught me something—I feel better and my days go better when I do my breathing and drink my water. I can tell the difference.
Some days I can tell the difference in the middle of the day, then I get back on track and it feels great. Other times it feels as though I’ve all of a sudden woken up and I realize I haven’t been breathing or drinking much water for awhile. Then I wonder—where did I go? How long was I gone? Why did I forget?
Those are good questions to ask, they give me a retroactive awareness. Oh yes, I might say to myself, I was struggling with my diet, aware that I wanted to eat better. Or maybe I was avoiding thinking about getting back to working on my book. Or maybe….
I am most likely to forget to use my breath and water practice when I most need it. But here I am, glad to be back on track again. Breathing. Drinking water. So simple, so beneficial, and often so hard to do.
Here are some more tips from others in the breath and water club.
I think I’ll get down the pretty water pitcher from the top shelf and shine it up, and measure out the eight glasses of water to see how much it is. Then I can fill it up each morning and have it there every time I’m in the kitchen. Since I work here at the computer I’m in and out often.
I call my intentional breathing Dolphin Breath. Dolphins do not have the ability to breathe automatically. Every breath a Dolphin takes is intentional. I feel a kinship to them when I breathe in this way.
Put 8 rubber bands around your glass of water in the morning. Every time it is empty, remove 1 rubber band. It’s a good concrete reminder to see how it’s going that day.
Every time I drink a cup of coffee, tea, juice, milk, or pop, I also drink a glass of water.
I love my morning cup of coffee. I set my kitchen timer and breathe as I sip my coffee. Now I’m trying to institute a similar ritual in the afternoon with a cup of tea and 15 minutes of breathing.
Keep up the good work, keep in touch, and happy New Year!