"Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders."
-Andrew Weil, M.D.

What could be more natural than breathing? Most people don't realize that breathing, something each of us experiences around 20,000 times each day, can deeply influence our health and happiness on many levels. Our daily lifestyles can be very chaotic and a fast paced life leaves many of us feeling fatigued, anxious and depressed about our daily experience. At times this can leave us unable to cope with the many stresses of daily life. While these symptoms may be negative they are also our body’s way of telling us to slow down and to take a few deep breaths. A daily breathing ‘recharge’ or ‘reboot’ is something we can all benefit from.

Building self awareness is very beneficial when we seek to enhance the quality of our daily life. Before we discuss specific breathing techniques, let’s try to build our awareness of ourselves when we breathe. What kind of ‘breather’ are you- chest or belly- nose or mouth? By changing the way we breath can reduce stress, benefit our immune response thus improving our quality of life.

Try a simple breath awareness exercise: Place one hand on your chest and one hand on you abdomen. Take a normal breath while looking down. Now, if the hand on your chest rises first, then you tend to breathe from your chest. If the hand on your abdomen rises first, you are more of a belly breather. To find out whether you are a nose or mouth breather, unless you already know, just ask a friend or your partner or some in your family. Chances are they’ve noticed if you’re a mouth-breather.

We may also notice that we breathe from the chest and neck when we experience times of stress. When we experience long-term low grade stress shallow chest breathing can become our normal mode of breathing over time which reenforces the cycle. Yet, in as little as two minutes, our bodies will respond positively if we take the time to consciously observe the way we breathe. Deep breathing into the belly, through the nose provides the greatest benefit for calming mind, relaxing the body and helps us to increase our energy during the day. When we breath in this manner we know that science suggests we have improved nitric oxide levels just one of the many supporting constituents of our body's ability to repair from stress.

Let’s practice a very simple deep breathing exercise. We will do away with fancy names and complicated exercises. This is just basic daily deep breathing and with practice you may find that you are letting yourself breathe a little deeper each day while your body and mind are reaping all the health benefits!

Simple deep breathing

The most basic thing to remember is that your breath begins with a full exhalation. We can’t fully inhale until we empty our lungs completely. It is also important to breathe in through your nose as we fill the lungs with fresh air.

Sit in a comfortable position with your hands on your knees. Relax your shoulders and close your eyes slightly so that we are more aware of our body. On your first exhalation, breathe out slowly through your nose, counting to five. Contract your abdominal muscles while drawing in your diaphragm to help your lungs fully deflate. At the bottom of your breath, pause for two counts; now inhale slowly to the count of five. Expand your belly as you breathe all the way in. Notice how your belly is expanding instead of your chest. Now close your eyes and repeat 5–10 times. Think of your diaphragm as the pump and imagine your belly as a flexible balloon filling with air, as if your lungs expand down into your abdomen.

Focus on listening to the sound of your breath. It’s very common that your mind wanders during this practice, but don’t worry. Just let that thought be and refocus on your counting. If you can count 24 deep breaths you are making great progress. As your awareness of your breath increases, you’ll find that it becomes easier to breathe deeply.

Give yourself the opportunity a few minutes each day to calmly be with yourself, to relax your mind for a moment and allow yourself to just simply breathe.

Living for today and embracing the concept we suggest as Everspring Living isn’t going to always equate to enjoyment and enjoyment isn’t always going to be a reliable a benchmark for fulfillment. In fact there are many examples in our modern experience where enjoyment isn’t found to be very fulfilling but where fulfillment is almost universally enjoyed. There is a tendency for us to think that a fulfilling life is one where "fun" is the prevalent experience or that fulfillment comes via a connection to some sort of physical token (trophy, money, etc).

Ask the firefighter, the ER doctor, the pastor, the teacher or anyone else whose chooses to serve others in their daily role despite the distinct possibility of working outside the “value” of their pay. Ask them if “fun” is the reason why their life has meaning and most likely they will respond by recognizing their opportunity to make a difference in their own life by making a difference in the lives of those around them. The reality is that working hard with meaningful intention however we personally define it changes the way we look at our day and the moment in which we live.

The challenge of course is for us to look at our own role and see the available opportunities within our day. The challenge is to see ourselves working at a job, even if it seems to be dead-end or temporary, and see a greater opportunity to improve who we are and what we do to make our impact. There is an opportunity for a fast food fry cook to see the opportunity to make a customer’s day a little better by making sure they get the best possible burger and fries. There is an opportunity for a school custodian to see the opportunity to keep kids safe versus having to just clean up their mess as a means of getting a paycheck. There is an opportunity for a CEO to think big in project scope and yet still find ways to validate the effort of those who will be doing the work.

Here is the kicker, we will always have reasons to justify excusing ourselves from making our days more meaningful (boss, pay, customers, time, energy, etc.) but working through that very experience is the path towards fulfillment. A fulfilling life is the result of letting go of excuses, embracing our true nature and seeking out the opportunities in our daily life. This leads to a reality that inherently puts responsibility in our own lap as well as the guidelines for living our best life. By embracing our true nature and the opportunities in our day we begin to discover our role in this day and in turn our role in this life. By finding what is meaningful and then finding our own way to genuinely share that experience with those around us we begin to find that a fulfilling life is not defined by that which makes us standout. Rather a fulfilling life is the resulting experience of our effort to stand up for a better life for ourselves and for those with whom we come in contact. The value of living for today lies in the personal reward of a fulfilling life.

We recently introduced our Day-E-Living blog which focuses on providing practices for daily life. To maximize this new resource and refine our lives in general it is helpful for us to look at the value of embracing a “living for today” perspective. Living for today enables us to focus on the practical personal application of knowledge in our daily lives. As Dale Carnegie suggests, the benefits of living in “day tight compartments” include lives that become realistic endeavors. Living in day tight compartments tends to change our priority system to that which is meaningful versus things that just help us to get through the day. By living for today we gain the benefit of perspective and the opportunity to embrace what is truly important as a top priority.

When we look at our day as a hurdle for receiving a paycheck our day becomes a checklist that we need to just get through rather than an open opportunity for pursuing a better life. Most of us can relate to counting the hours or days and calculating how much our check will be at the end of that time and we have experienced days that we would prefer not repeat. However, when we are talking about Everspring Living where our lives become renewed each and every day we are talking about conducting our lives in a way that advances our quality of life. As we choose to pursue a more refined experience we need to recognize that quality of life is not the result of measuring perfection but instead an experience of actually living with intention. Many of us have intentions and the vast majority are good intentions the challenge is fulfilling the act of living those intentions and pursuing the quality of life we desire.

The challenge of living with intention resulting in a day that is meaningful lies first in our ability to be aware of the opportunities we have available. As the proverbial “they” would say “live for the moment” but what exactly does that mean? Even more so how is it even realistic when have to spend 8, 10, 12 hours behind a desk, walking the halls or running a machine and still enjoy every minute of it? Let us begin by looking at it this way, which is more manageable looking at a 10 hour day or a 50 hour week? Which is more manageable looking at a 10 hour day or looking at what we can get done in the next hour? The value of living for today most certainly extends beyond time management but it can be helpful for to begin the process of making our window of opportunity the most manageable it can be. Our ability to envision a more realistic window of time inevitably helps us improve our ability to be effective and in turn increases our ability to seek outcomes that are meaningful.

Living for today, merging a realistic window of time with a more meaningful intention, begins to shift how we view daily tasks and how completing those tasks can offer something beyond just the token reward of a paycheck. Living for today shifts our cup of coffee from a tool to leverage in our race through the morning to a drink that we can actually enjoy. As it becomes something we enjoy often times we find that our serving size begins to shrink, we find we actually don’t like as much sugar or cream or maybe even as much coffee (namely caffeine). By living for today lunch shifts from something we have to do because we get hungry to an opportunity to step away from what we are doing, clear our minds, enjoy what we are eating and maybe even enjoy the company of a colleague or a friend. Then when we head back to work we can be more productive.

As our perspective shifts we become more open to the genuine depth of any particular experience, we find ourselves having a clearer mind and understanding where our efforts are being utilized most and how those efforts have synergistic affect on the outcomes of everything we do. Maybe we begin to realize that the everyday demands of just getting through the day is actually more selfish (just let me get through the day) and less productive for ourselves and for those around us? When all of our daily tasks blend into the monotony of just things we have to do then everything appears as shades of grey making it hard to see what is actually important and meaningful. As we begin to seek meaning in the tasks we do then those elements of our lives that really have no meaning, even if they have played a significant role in our past, begin to fall away to a more colorful, meaningful and all around healthier life.

As I begin this entry I am sitting in the airport waiting for another adventure to begin. This time my travels are taking me to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics. This will be my third Olympic adventure and while being an enjoyable personal endeavor that I would recommend to everyone there is also a lifestyle practice that I wanted to share. The challenge of this adventure is that I have no tickets for any events. This is partially because tickets were sold out within weeks of them going on sale except for outlets that grossly over-inflate the price, which is another discussion entirely. The opportunity for Everspring Living is for us to realize that we’re invited to participate in our own lives. The practice of Everspring Living is to observe how only when we “show up” and accept the invitation can a fulfilling life be truly possible.

Year after year, book after book we see presentations of the concept of a “positive attitude” or having a “vision” as being the secret for good things to happen. While having a positive attitude and a clear vision certainly have their place the reality is that good things happen because first and foremost we decide to participate. Showing up involves having an awareness that opportunities oftentimes only reveal themselves when we are present in the moment. The concept of showing up means being both physically and mentally present in our lives. Our invitation for an inspired life is renewed each and every morning when we wake up. The benefit is that each day is a new opportunity to accept our invitation to show up and be present in our own lives; the challenge is to actually follow through.

So how do we bring to life this concept of Everspring Living and the concept of showing up? Like any lifestyle practice it can be a challenge to incorporate something new into our daily lives. To assist us in this endeavor it can be helpful for us to create isolated opportunities, like setting a goal to attend the Olympics, where we can focus on learning how extrinsic practices can be personalized within our daily lives. One of the challenges we face in incorporating new practices is internalizing an experience and making it our own. Oftentimes we get advice from someone or read about a new lifestyle practice and find ourselves struggling because we try to follow someone else’s practice. Accepting the invitation to our own lives must involve embracing our own true nature and pursuing the life we want to lead. If we never find our own connection, our own value to a lifestyle practice it will be difficult at best to truly make it a part of our lives.

For many the commitment involved seems like a daunting or even unrealistic task. To commit everyday for the rest of our lives to some practice that we hope will be beneficial is admittingly difficult. This is where this lesson comes to light, while fulfillment comes from embracing our lives as a whole we must also keep in mind that our lives are not lived as a whole they are lived day by day. When we choose to show up to our lives and be present in the moment the most demanding part of the process has been addressed. Once we show up even though demands may vary from experience to experience the rest is about embracing the opportunity and enjoying the experience. We can test and develop this practice by taking on tasks that are enjoyable while at the same time offer a bit of a challenge that may push us outside our normal area of comfort.

The challenge of showing up is not knowing if it is really possible to get tickets to our intended event or that whatever else we feel makes an experience worthwhile will actually happen. Part of the point of putting this practice into action is to see if we actually decide to show up what will truly come of that effort. This leads to the second part of our practice, which involves our expectations. How we view and react to a situation certainly plays a role in how we ultimately value that situation. If for example we are not able to get tickets and our hopes were entirely invested in that reality it makes sense that we set ourselves up for a significant disappointment. Then instead of enjoying the myriad of opportunities available to us we would just sulk about how we traveled so far or worked so hard and missed out on the event. Having the courage to show up must be balanced by a perspective that life in and of itself is an enjoyable experience and wherever we are there will always be an opportunity for us to embrace the concept of Everspring Living.

Once we have the courage to show up then we can begin the practice of refining our ability to make the most of our experience once we get there. As for my trip we were able to get tickets for three events, each event was supposedly sold out and we paid face value for those tickets despite requests asking for 3 or 4 times that amount. While the details of this may be for another discussion the reality is that we were present, we were in Vancouver and despite “advice” against doing so we just walked up stood in line and asked if they had tickets. Chalk it up to luck or coincidence or our own secret formula but what we did was something that everyone can do – show up and be present for our life. Our invitation is waiting.

While considering an appropriate introduction for this blog I was reminded of a story I have heard a number of times over the years. The story is about a student meeting with a teacher to discuss how to experience a fulfilling life. The story essentially leads up to the point where the teacher was pouring tea and as the student's cup fills with the tea the teacher keeps right on pouring. Soon there was a mess on the table and even on the floor. Only when the student said to stop did the teacher retract the tea pot. The student asked what happened, “Why did you pour so much tea and make such a mess?” It was then that the teacher asked the same question of the student “Why do you pour so much into your life and make such a mess?”

The lesson is that it is only when we say stop and choose to make room in our cup that we can even begin to decide if more is possible or even needed. I think one of the challenges we all experience is when we do so much and yet still experience a lack of fulfillment in our lives. Many of us may look at lack of fulfillment as an experience of not having enough. However, we must consider that fulfillment in any natural system and especially in our own lives results from a relative state of balance. A balanced experience requires that we understand that doing too much or too little can both result in a similar unfulfilled experience. Fulfillment is not just about filling the moments of our lives but allowing the moments of our lives to be fulfilled with valued and meaningful experiences.

A balanced experience requires a dynamic commitment and valued experience requires an opportunity for awareness of what it is we want or need. The challenge then is for us to let go of something we feel to be important or that has value because it offers the comfort of reliability. If we are always hanging on then it is difficult to be aware of what it is like to not hang on and our ability to be aware of our experience is restricted. Much like letting go of the side of the pool allows us to experience the fun and freedom of swimming a part of learning to let go is gaining the understanding that we can always return to a point of comfort. The more we experience this process the more empowered we become because the increased awareness of our lives actually results in better understanding and greater comfort.

Leading a fulfilling life is a dynamic experience; everyday is a new day and a new opportunity. Sometimes it is best to stick with what is familiar and other times it is best to push our boundaries as far as we can. Either of these choices and any choice in between begins with the ability to let go, to let go of what is expected or assumed and to ask what is appropriate. We cannot fully answer the question of what is appropriate if our perspective is locked in a familiar state. By letting go and stepping back we can consider whether or not our cup is too full or not full enough. Then as we gain perspective we can ask what is appropriate and decide what best contributes to a fulfilling life.

This is the intention of Everspring Living as a resource in general and this is the intention of focusing the concept of Everspring Living into this blog. The goal will be to challenge us to let go, even if only for a moment at a time, and consider alternative options and experiences. The challenge for us as readers will be to realize that solitary or momentary practice may or may not lead to short-term revelation. Awareness and understanding result from a persistent commitment to seek a more fluid, more meaningful perspective and in turn a more fulfilling life.