So as most of you know, over the last 10 days I have been recovering from a sinoplasty and rhinoplasty operation on my nose. For most of my adult life I have found taking in oxygen through my nose a problem due to a hole in the septum. Consequently it also meant not only breathing was a difficulty but also my sense of smell.
I can say the recovery period has taken its toll on my patience. I would say the best way for me to decribe this is the balance of ying and yang.
We spend so much of our time working for money, working out our bodies for a look we are happy with and working out what foods are best for our biochemistry.
In this busy western world we are always in the state of doing or actively using energy in the state known in the east as yang. In most cases this is a catabolic hormone. But there has to be a balance – we must also strive for the state that is ying or rest and rebuilding. This is true for most of us. And I am guilty of this to an extent.
Yang is also known as the masculine or active you. It’s the side of you that wants to “get the job done” and physiologically relates to cortisol (the awakening hormone). Yang is catabolic (the breakdown of molecules to gain energy) in nature.
Ying on the other hand relates to the mother, the repair and rest side of you. Hormonally it is anabolic (muscle growth and repair). It’s the “play hard” balance to the “work hard” mantra.
But that balance is missing – people are always striving to get more rest… create more energy… or find more time to complete daily tasks. How many times have you heard someone say, “There just is not enough time in the day”?
Because many of us overwork to achieve success, we often use extreme forms of rest to try to balance the equation – partying hard, drinking to excess to forget the week we just had, or going on adventurous holidays. Although I rarey drink I would say I did not take the time to rest by just switching off, resting, reading, taking part in an activity such as drawing which does not drain any exrta energy.
Because Though our intention is to “rest and recover” we actually end up burning even more energy because we are still being active!
We are acutely aware that we need to recharge and “unplug from the matrix” which is why we average 4.7hrs of TV viewing each day! This we do to balance that active “doing” mode with a “chilling out” mode. Social media to a large extent it to blame for this, illuminating our faces and attention with facebook or twitter, particuarly before we sleep.
We are so wired from engaging our minds that we are constantly in the stress response mode at all times – even when we sleep!
The good news is that we do have the ability to repair each and every night.
If we are asleep from 10pm till 2am our bodies go into physiological repair to recycle sex and stress hormones, and regenerate our muscles and glands. This is followed by a psychogenic/mental repair cycle from 2 am until 6am.
A Paul Chek says, “ Sleep is free” and it is one of the biggest factors to healing, weight loss and recovery.
Today I would like to share two passive Ying techniques that you can use to aid true recovery for daily energy and balance.
Power Breathing
To gain maximum benefits from any breathing drill, always keep your spine tall and aligned, you may sit against a wall or on a chair if needed.
Position: Sit tall, place hands above head with palms touching, arms bent, and legs crossed or straight out if using a wall.
Action: inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth very forcefully for 10 single breaths, then repeat this drill by performing two inhales followed by two exhales for 10 breaths or reps- in in and out out x 10.
Keep your hands above your head during this drill and leave them above your head for 20 seconds after this drill whilst trying to feel the intense heat/chi moving up into your hands.
This exercise will really wake you up if you’re feeling tired and it only takes one minute to complete.
I suggest doing this exercise when you wake up, during your lunch and coffee breaks and a few hours before bedtime.
In addition to the power breathing exercise, you can try walking meditation. I wrote a blog on this about eight weeks ago.
I will follow up on my progress in a few weeks but for now i encourage everyone to #takethetimetodewyou and balance those ying and yang forces in your body. Try to not let the catobolic yang forces take a hold as this leads to fat storage, imbalances in the body and illness. For more information or if you are concerned or want to learn more, book in for a free consultation and learn where the stress is in your life and how to manage it better :)