COVID-19 Detour with Debbie

Previously I wrote about choice and I reminded you to breathe.

On the matter of choice, central to my life, is the phrase: "the choices we make will determine the life we lead". How we ride this Coronavirus wave is up to each one of us – after all, we do have the freedom of choice no matter what the circumstances.

On the matter of remembering to breathe, it is not so much about remembering to breathe as it is about bringing an awareness to the breath because ultimately the breath happens without any intervention from ourselves (‘it breathes itself’ – that’s what lungs do). In the same way that our lungs breathe our minds think – it just happens.

Bringing awareness to the breath has some advantages. One of the good things about drawing our attention to the breath is that it reminds us that if we are still breathing there is more right with us than wrong, so we have a great deal to be thankful for. We can either embrace this blessing and make the most of every moment in our lives, or we can choose to be alive and miserable and make everyone around us miserable too.

The second thing about bringing awareness to the breath is that we can use it as an anchor to steady ourselves when things feel just that little bit out of our control.

Because the breath happens on its’ own accord, I am not for one minute suggesting you interfere with this process. I would, however, like to invite you to become acquainted with the wonders of your breath, this life given force that we take for granted. Seek out a quiet place in your home, a place where you feel most safe, comfortable and where you will not be disturbed. Find an area where you can either sit upright on a chair or on the floor or you can lie down. Take a moment to settle and ground yourself, you can close your eyes or lower your gaze if you wish and just for a moment bring your awareness to your whole body, starting with your toes and moving up towards your head, shifting your attention from one area to the next, noticing any and all sensations that are present in the here and now – no need to adjust anything, simply just notice. When you are ready, move the focus of your attention to the breath, simply noticing the inbreath and the outbreath – just notice! There is no need to adjust or change in any way, the way you breathe – simply notice the inbreath and the outbreath.  Do this for a few minutes.

You will notice that after a while your mind starts to wander, you get distracted by thoughts. It’s ok, it’s just thoughts and it is what the mind does (just like the lungs breath, the mind thinks) – no need to beat yourself up about this. Thoughts are just thoughts, we can’t halt thinking but we can remind ourselves that thoughts are not our reality, we make them our reality – remember the word, choice. We can choose to get caught up in the content of our thoughts or we can choose to notice that they are a little crazy and make the choice to shift our attention. So, when you become aware that the focus of your attention has shifted to your thoughts, notice where it has gone and gently escort your attention back to your breath. Each time you get distracted, gently escort your attention back to the breath. Try doing this for 5 minutes on your own. If it is difficult to do this unguided practice you might want to try Mark Williams, mindfulness meditation track 1, Body and Breath on YouTube.   

Make the breath your anchor!

Image Source: Dr Debbie Alexander