Day 20: November 3
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
ANXIETY & DEPRESSION
Emotions are constant companions in this human experience.
When the nervous system and brain are left to their own devices and they run the show, it is completely natural to experience anxiety and depression as symptoms of deeper discords and imbalances.
It is part of the human experience to have a rich emotional landscape. But this does not mean we need to be slave to our mind and emotions. We must remember to bring together our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual selves as the medicine wheel teaches. Enter breath work.
Breath work is a method that allows us to hold ourselves as we are. If we wake up and we are anxious, slow, smooth and long breaths ground the body. slow the mind down and can even show us the root of our anxiety if we are witnessing the mind as we breathe.
If we wake up and we are depressed, we can lay down and breathe if it’s too much effort to sit up or practice a breath with more fire to stimulate ourselves with energy. As the breath nourishes the body, it takes tamas (lethargy, dullness and lack of inspiration) out of both the mind and body.
But it is really not as simple as that. We are unique creatures and breath work is akin to administering subtle medicine to the body/mind system. As we get to know ourselves, we know the type of breath work that will help us best. Hence, why practice is so essential.
Our Breath is our Spirit in a gross form, yet still more subtle than the body. It is one of the key elements we need to nourish ourselves with each and every day just like we need clean water and pure food, we need quality breath. When we work with it, it medicates us and brings vitality, rest and balance to our system. Spending time with our breath moves our emotions to the surface so we can sit with that which needs to be felt and integrated. My elders say that when we cry, it is sacred water that heals the heart, so when heaviness comes to visit, you must turn on the taps.
We remember who we are through the breath and we learn how to become friends with our emotional companions. We learn to give them just enough attention to suss out the root of the message and then refocus our attention on the medicine of the practice to bring lightness of being and clarity back to the body/mind. When we take time to balance and integrate our emotions, the rest of our medicine wheel becomes balanced as well. With practice we develop witnessing capacity and emotional intelligence. Over time they become sacred messengers that have purpose in our lives.
May we feel our feelings and heal our hearts. No one says it better than sufi mystic Jalaluddin Rumi:
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
