Cycles and Using the Breath

It's been a week full of so many positive things and then, there are those cycles that CAN become consuming if one lets them.  My personal cycles are stomach bloating and constipation which leads to significant fatigue, brain fog and less ambition; muscular and joint pain; and migraines!  Maybe a little TMI, but I tell my patients that I talk about "poops in the office"  all the time.  There you have it - you now know my whole story!

I am approaching these cycles differently however, and instead of creating fear or the feeling of it'll be just like the last time, I am using visualization to see this as a new event and am using breath to stay very present-tense.  While not easy due to years of conditioning, it feels better.

Last week, I finished another continuing education program regarding The Healthy Gut - and learned much, confirmed much - and once again was reminded of how our bodies are meant to heal, programmed in fact, for health and wholeness!

It is in believing this very wisdom that can allow for healing or at least beginning the journey towards wholeness on many levels.  I find in my work with my clients, that I attract folks who have really complicated challenges - not unlike myself - and I find that cycles or chronic conditions are so very difficult on a physical and emotional level.  Once in this cycle, the expectation is that nothing will change.  This is far from the truth, but it does take a new set of skills and commitment, recognizing that it will take time to erase our programmed set of beliefs, while fostering a new way of thinking, feeling and believing.

Each time I talk about this, I have my own "ah-has" to contemplate.  This week, my personal challenges have been stomach and muscle pain related.  While I recognize this as part of having the label "chronic lyme" and which has been exacerbated by chemotherapy, I see these as labels that help explain a little of the "why", but do not define or confine me any longer.

Yoga brings me to that place where I can let go of the labels, let go of the awfulness of the chronic condition, let go of the tension that is held in the body and mind and just release.  I felt it so much more on the matt this week - the pain was pretty intense, yet the trust in just sinking or melting into the floor brought me to a better place - a place of relaxation and of knowing that I am well.  It was the breath that allowed this process to begin and to continue.

Give breath a chance!
Namaste,
Julie