Are you ready for sudden change?

Driving to teach my yoga class this morning, I passed a dramatic and frightening road accident. As I approached the area, there were multiple emergency vehicles off to the right of the highway with lights flashing; tow trucks and other heavy equipment were clearly visible too. It wasn't until I slowed for the nearby stop light that I really looked to my right and saw that an 18-wheeler truck was completely laying on it's side! I was shocked and I'm sure I wasn't the only one to feel that way. No sign of the truckdriver but my thoughts went out to him immediately. In what was most likely a matter of seconds, the driver's life had changed forever. 

I was so struck by the significance of what I had seen, that I spoke to my class about it. How do you prepare yourself for sudden change - change that may be uncomfortable, scary or anxiety causing? Change is, of course inevitable, but who ever feels ready for sometimes traumatic, blink of an eye change? My recommendation to help prepare yourself, is to have a regular meditation and pranayama (breathwork) practice.

Let's talk about pranayama first. It's a Sanskrit word that that refers to the practice of controlling your breath in yoga. It's an important aspect of yoga and is believed to be a powerful tool for improving physical, mental, and spiritual health. A regular pranayama practice can help to reduce stress, improve lung function, boost the immune system, and enhance overall physical and mental wellbeing. 

A simple practice of deep inhales through the nose and long exhales through the mouth can make a world of difference in your ability to feel better in stressful situation… reduce cortisol in your system… activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which is associated with the body's "fight or flight" response to stress. Engaging your parasympathetic nervous system helps lead to a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate, as well as a decrease in muscle tension and anxiety.

Next up is meditation - no need to feel pressured into perfection or what feels like unattainable success. A simple 2 minute meditation, a few times a week, can help bring a decrease to your heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension, as well as an improvement in digestion and immune system function. Studies have shown that regular meditation can lead to long-term changes in your parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a more relaxed and balanced state of being. This can have a number of benefits, including improved sleep, reduced stress and anxiety, and better overall health and well-being.

Here’s a simple way to introduce yourself to meditation: You can do this anywhere and anytime you are feeling stress or overwhelm. Look around and notice your surroundings and then work your way down the list of 5-4-3-2-1 things. Effective and easy!

Another easy way to begin a meditation practice, is to sit comfortably with your eyes softly closed and “look” at the inside of your eyelids for 2 minutes. Think of your inner eyelids as a movie screen. Notice any colors, spots, brightness or darkness. And don't be bothered if thoughts go through your mind… it's natural for this to happen… let your thoughts come and go. Just don't go down a rabbit hole of your things to do or your grocery list.  

With a regular practice of a few times a week, you may eventually be able to build yourself up to meditating for longer periods of time, more frequently. Both a breathwork practice (pranayama) and simple meditation practice can lead to a healthy parasympathetic nervous system response, leading to improved physical and mental health. What better way to be prepared for those anxiety driven, “blink of an eye” changes in life?