Hello All, and welcome to the next installment of Making my Mark on the world. In this post I talk about a breathwork group that I attended this morning. This morning I attended a virtual breathwork circle. The theme was self - compassion and new beginnings. This is obviously extremely relevant to me, for I am in a time of transition.
Breathwork presents a great opportunity to be mindful. Today’s breath was a simple circular breath. A single open-mouth inhale and exhale. It was designed to be gentle and relaxing. I did the breathwork lying on my back.
I had previously attended individual breathwork sessions, but this is the first time that I attended a group breathwork session. I was shy. I didn’t turn my camera on. I didn’t converse with the other group participants. I just gave myself permission to be present and follow the breathwork guidance. In addition to shyness, my biggest struggle was probably going into my head too much. I am an over analyzer, which is one of the reasons why challenging myself to be present is beneficial.
The theme was also important. Be kind to yourself. It was based on Buddhist teaching that encourages one to start with the self. Buddha said about self-compassion and love:
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
Siddhartha Gautama
This is such a powerful quote. I value kindness and love, yet I often am not kind to myself. It is ironic. I am often self-deprecating. I frequently think poorly of my abilities. These are obviously not healthy mindsets, and the root cause of them is too deep to go into now. It is likely caused by a myriad of factors.
However, to those struggling with anxiety, breathwork can be a great natural way of coping. I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical of breathwork at first. Like many of the endeavors I’ve set out on recently, breathwork was encouraged by my life coach. I thought that it would be awkward and that I wouldn’t really notice a difference. There are definitely moments that feel awkward to me, but the environment is always extremely positive and supportive. Further, I do typically feel more relaxed after the sessions.
Another interesting aspect of breathwork is that it can really bring up emotions. Today’s session did not bring up quite as many emotions for me, but in the past I have felt intense emotions. For example, I did a breathwork session around Valentine’s day and found myself in tears. Those following along this journey know that loneliness has been a struggle for me. The breathwork in that session brought out feelings of loneliness and my desire to embrace love.
The final point that I want to bring up is that drastic change often does not happen overnight. I have been feeling down, anxious, unmotivated, and lonely. The way to get out of this funk is to take gradual actions that promote my wellbeing. It is a process, and when lacking motivation it can be difficult to engage in these small steps. However, ultimately these small steps, like attending breathwork, can compound to have significant impacts. Today was not a perfect day, but I made progress in my self-growth journey.
In the coming days, I will be aiming to apply to more jobs and academic programs. My goal is to transition to, and wholeheartedly embrace, the education sector. Particularly, higher education and educational psychology. This is where I feel a passion.
As always, thank you for reading Making my Mark on the world. I am grateful that you are here, and I hope that you found this post insightful. If you liked this post, please consider subscribing and sharing. There’s much more to come on mental health, adventures, relationships, and wellness.