How BREATH is your super power.

[This blogpost is intended for educational purposes, please consult your physician before applying any of these strategies into your lifestyle.]

“Appreciate every “inhale” and be grateful for every “exhale” because it’s simple function connects you to a power source called LIFE.”

— Ho'omālamalama

Clarity

Fresh oxygen offers clarity and helps your brilliant brain function.

If you’re standing up or sitting up chances are your heart is pumping against gravity. Which is why inversions are so helpful, they allow fresh blood flow and oxygen into your brain.

Read through to the end or just scroll down because I attached a video with a few breathing exercises you can use.

Support

Deep breaths supports your bodies ability to properly digest.

Short shallow breathes tenses the muscles and that can prevent the digestive system from doing its part. Imagine that you’re trying to fill a bunch of water balloons with the hose from a fire hydrant. [Not going to work.] The balloon can hold water but how water travels into it makes all the difference. That’s a generic visual of how our stomach works but the correlation is how food travels into the digestive system. Shallow breathing tenses the muscles making it difficult for food to properly digest.

Peace

Breathing well offers peace of mind and guides your body into good sleep.

Allowing yourself to to breathe calmly relaxes the body, releasing tension and anxiety. Eventually helping you to drift off into sleep.

There’s nothing like a good nights sleep to charge up the body and brain, the trick is falling asleep. PEACE is the result of the body and mind resting. It offers your soul a place to recharge and face the day.

Improves

Your ability to breathe well improves how your immune system responds to threats.

With every exhale is a release of something that the body doesn't need. Proper circulation has so many benefits.

1. Avoid smoking. If you do smoke, consider taking steps to quit.

2. Get plenty of sleep. [3/5]

3. Regular cardiovascular fitness strengthens the heart.

Reduces

Great breathing habits reduces stress levels in the body and allows you to cope with life.

“Control your breath, control your life,” is a true statement. A steady inhale and exhale is a sign of self mastery. It opens your mind, allowing you to improve your perception in any situation.

Remember the old Kung Fu movies where the master teaches his protégé to meditate and breathe. Breath is powerful and once it’s mastered you can do anything.

learn how to breathe

Isn’t it funny how we perpetuate a bad habit without understanding the negative effects. If we take time to practice the right techniques we will drastically improve our health.

Imagine the simplicity of breathing right and the side effects being: weigh loss, better sleep and more energy. The best part is that it’s FREE!

5 Benefits Of Reflection

Dreary Months

Are the perfect season for “Reflection” because the weather outside is either too wet, too sloshy or too cold. The upside is you can do a lot of self reflection.

Side Note

If you happen to live in a cloudy, rainy and unpredictable climate I hope you’re talking to a nutritionalist about Vitamin D.

Tools Of The Trade…

Below I’m goin to share with you a few benefits along with things to do. It’s important that you schedule activities that keep you moving.

“Even the heavens reflect upon the water.”

— Ho'omālamalama

Did you know…

That gloomy weather causes one to remain stagnant which creates moody behavior and can lead to unhealthy habits. Here’s an example: It’s your day off and you look outside to see heavy clouds. So you head to your couch and throw up your feet. That’s were stagnation happens, no movement or activity. Then you get hungry and don’t feel like making anything fresh so you grab whatever’s convenient. However it doesn't digest right and now you don’t feel like doing anything. A friend text but you can’t be bothered. She wants to go walking in the mall but you’re too comfortable.

Why reflect?

I know it sounds weird because you’re thinking, “What does reflection have to do with being active?” Let me explain.

• Reflection allows you to build “Thoughts.”

• Thoughts that will serve you later in life.

• Thoughts to keep you on track.

• Especially when it’s gloomy or dealing with distractions.

---

Benefits of Reflection

Appreciate

The first step is to find a place that’s quiet, where you can sit in peace.

Then begin to feel grateful for everything in your life, even the little things.

Activity

Write in a gratitude journal. Start with this, “I am grateful for…”

This allows you to fill your mind with POSITIVE things and drown out the negative.

Observe

Pull back from your journal and just look around. What is your environment telling you? Then think about your day and your interactions with the world.

This is reflection at its simplest. You’re creating mental notes about what stood out.

Activity

It’s a great time to inhale into your nostrils and exhale through your mouth. Soothing your heart and allowing fresh oxygen in.

Eliminate

As you reflectively breathe start to release negative thoughts with each exhale.

Sometimes we forget to let go and this should happen daily.

Activity

At tis point I would light a soy candle or incense. The sweet aroma will enable you to associate good thoughts to your day.

Attract

Begin to switch your mind from internalizing thoughts to projecting desires. What do you want?

Activity

Use these prompts to steer you in the right direction.

• What makes you happy?

• How can you invite joy into your life?

• What is your desire?

Complete

You did it! Now bask in the feeling of accomplishment.

Practice these 5 steps until it becomes second nature.

This is my Friday ritual to close out my week but you can do it daily.

Activity

Get up and stretch. Reach, lean, fold and breathe. Finally, if you have time, make yourself a cuppa tea. (This is my fave part.)

---

This Months Free PDF

When you sign up for the newsletter and confirm it will send you to a specially designed page where I create fun PDF’s to help you on your holistic journey.

The secret sauce of success

I'm going to keep it plain and simple. In fact I'll share the entire point of this blogpost in the next sentence. The secret sauce to success is to feed/nourish your mind, body & soul through habits & rituals.

The end.

Okay, I'm not really through because I have some pictures and a few videos to share, in fact producing these two minute videos below took all of two hours each. [WHY] Because I was in the middle of my habit when I realized, "Geez I should take a picture of this!" 

I'm not going to explain why you need healthy habits or the purpose of a ritual, since I've written about it before. You can click on the highlighted words above.

“Habits become a part of your subconscious living. Rituals become a part of your soulful living.”

— Ho'omalamalama

---

---

FEED YOUR MIND

I know this might sound cheesy but you have to nourish your mind with positivity, inspiration, daily motivation. The same way our bodies need hydration your mind requires a healthy heaping of good thoughts. No one, not even Oprah, can exist without connecting, hearing or repeating something positive. What feeds your mind? [comment below]

FEED YOUR SOUL

I do this thing called, "mad art" where I shut out the world and create like MADNESS. I don't stop to take pictures of my creation process and rarely share what I make. [WHY] Because I set apart this time to nourish my soul. Art, for me, is a private moment to feed my soul through colors, textures and art supplies. Come to think of it art and nature share the spotlight in this arena. What feeds your soul? [comment below]

FEED YOUR BODY

We misinterpret this so much but never on purpose. There are industries who thrive upon our misinformed ideas concerning food. "Eat salt, don't eat salt" the list is endless and it will always contradicts itself.  I started a FIT-FOODIE Program to help my fitness members reconnect to FOOD and not fads. It is important to create habits around this area of your life because it will sustain the other two areas. Your mind and soul will excel in rituals of self-respect and self-expression but it is your body that requires a dedicated habit of self-care. What feeds your body? [comment below]

5 TIPS TO FEEDING YOUR WHOLE BEING

1. Get your habits in check. Find out what is serving you and what isn't. Watch the tutorial and download my habit tracker here.

2. Create rituals around the SOUL nourishing moments in your life. Do you start your day in prayer or end with a gratitude journal?

3. Schedule your inspiration! Nourish your MIND on a weekly, even daily basis. Because the mind is a terrible thing to loose.

4. Slowly adapt habits that will improve your BODY. Take time to introduce these habits so that your lifestyle will become accustom to it.

5. Influence someone else through your consistent self-nourishment. Your example will speak volumes to someone else so just keep swimming. [Dori's the ultimate positivity guru.]

The contentment happens when you're doing 1-5 on a regular basis, all of your needs are taken cared of. Therefore you have more energy, time and health to serve others and make a significant change in this world. Ready to feel content? If you want more help and connection checkout my eBook and follow through with the art journal prompts. 

PEACE Be the Journey, 

Comment below for connection and please share this blogpost and invite others to WALK IN BEAUTY.