Coffee Breath?

Could you give up your morning coffee for some invigorating breath work?  There are two breathing exercises I would like to introduce you to that can get you up and moving in the morning, or anytime of day you might need a pick me up.  But first let me tell you why I gave up caffeine.



1. Staining.
My stainless steel teaspoons where turning brown, even after they had been through the dishwasher. Morning after morning of stirring milk and honey into our morning beverages had left our cutlery looking quite lack luster.  I know that coffee and black tea make excellent natural dyes so I had to ask myself, what was it doing to my teeth? Or possibly my insides?

Success & Abundance Quiz 2. Gratitude.
Not drinking caffeine has enormously increased my ability to be grateful. I was a hold out for a long time when it came to practicing gratitude.  I had heard about gratitude journals and saying three things you are grateful for everyday. But I thought, sure, I know I am grateful for what I have. But what I didn't know is what being grateful really felt like. It wasn't until I really tried it, and really implemented a gratitude practice that I felt the increase in my energy and overall happiness. That sensation reminded me of what it felt like to take St. John's Wort (SJW) but x100 and I really loved taking SJW.  I was so much more at peace and the negative thought patterns, that I seemed to have no control over, were stopped in my head. I felt carefree and had much more patience. I think my family liked it much more too. Unfortunately for me, I had to stop taking SJW, as I was one of the few people who has a nervous system reaction causing extreme tingling in my extremities. From then on it has been a slow process of removing things and adding things, like coffee then tea and vitamin D and Omega 3s, but most importantly, gratitude.  I am incredibly thankful for the guidance of my Naturopath and Mind Movies as they helped me to finally understand and physically feel the value of gratitude.
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3. Anxiety.
Caffeine during the day truly impacts my sleep quality that night. Then the next day it causes increased and unnecessary anxiety. If I prolong the use of caffeine for multiple days, look out! I get grumpy and irritable, which is completely unfair to those around me. Once I was able to recognize these negative effects of drinking caffeine, it made the desire to have it mostly fade away.  I can make a conscious decision as to whether or not I wish to deal with these side effects.
I see it as an addiction. I don't believe that it effects everyone in the same way and I can only comment on how it effects me personally. I recognize now that it lowers my vibration and I like to keep my energy up rather than altering it unnecessarily.

I haven't suffered from the loss of caffeine in my life. Aside from an early evening headache the first day without it, my overall well being has improved.  I don't suffer from excessive exhaustion or lack of concentration, in fact I am much more present, more of the time!

But if you are feeling doubtful about quitting caffeine and need something to take the place of your morning coffee to get you up and going, try the following breathing exercises.

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The first is rapid breaths, or the Stimulating Breath.
I recommend doing this while either lying down or in a sitting position.  It can cause dizziness.  If you experience this, resume normal breathing until the sensation passes.
1. Take a deep breath and exhale.
2. With the second inhale, hold your breath at top of your inhale.
3. Engaging all your stomach muscles, quickly contract all the muscles to force a small amount of air out of your nose.
4. Just as quickly, release those muscles and draw in a small amount of air.
5. Repeat the quick tightening of your stomach and force a small exhale again followed by a quick inhale. Your rapid breaths should be repeated as quickly as you can, similarly to panting but all breaths are through the nostrils.
6. Keep repeating this until you are ready to stop.  You can do 3 repetitions or as many as 25.
7. Take few long slow breaths to complete the exercise.
This exercise is also referred to as the bellows breath, breath of fire or Bhastrika.  Once you get the rhythm of this exercise, I truly believe you will love the results and many health benefits.

The second exercise is The Yogi Nerve Vitalizing Breath.
Rather than have me describe this breathing exercise, I will send you to a video here that best demonstrates this technique.  I like to do this first thing in the morning, after my gratitude practice but before even lifting my head off of my pillow.  This exercise is very revitalizing to the nervous system and is a great way to start your day!

I hope you will give these exercises a try with or without caffeine and see how they work for you.
Be well and exercise your breath!

Kerri 

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