I've Got Your Back

I'm not going to pretend 

that I'm an athlete or some fitness expert.  I'm an acupuncturist. I pay attention to my body and I help my patients pay attention to theirs.

However, I learned something helpful the other day while exercising and thought I'd share.

There I was, chugging up a hill, huffing and puffing, and feeling my slow body lumber along.  I wondered if it really had to be so hard.

Flashback.

A few days before while sitting in Chinese herb class, I learned about a technique that healers can use to open themselves up to a force that is greater than themselves in order to give more effective treatments.

It involves simply focusing your attention on the center of your back at the level of your heart, imagining it is a wide satellite dish, opening up to receive everything that is necessary for healing to occur.

What does this have to do with exercise?

One of the key points made by the teacher, Thea Elijah, was that we must own up to the notion that

humans are not meant to do anything alone.  

We are put on this planet to rely on each other and to receive support.  By opening up our bodies, specifically opening the physical space around our heart, we are opening ourselves to support and fuel that we are surrounded with in every moment.

In this moment, look around you. Where did everything come from? Who made the chair on which you sit? Whose hands crafted the painting on the wall and how does your home get heated? In reality, we do nothing on our own.  Many hands and hearts are involved in almost everything you can conceive of.

So, back to the satellite dish on your back....

Maybe it's just me, but when I notice my breathing while exercising, I find myself working hard and only paying attention to my chest.  Instead,  I found that when I pay equal attention to my back and opening the space that is at the level of my heart, my breathing is freer and deepens.  The most
a m a z i n g thing is that I feel myself being carried.  No longer gasping for air, I feel my body move though space more easily.

Even my rock star, race winning, all-star athlete of a husband has experienced the benefits of back breathing.

He says,

"It's like pushing a reset button.  My shoulders drop along with my heart rate and I'm able to take myself out of my immediate suffering and gain a some much needed perspective."

Next time you are working out, follow these steps and observe what changes for you:

1. Bring your attention to the center of your back, at the level of your heart.
2. Imagine it is wide and open.
3. Breathe deeply into that space and allow yourself to receive.

It's free and easy!