50 Mindful Steps to Self-Esteem by Janetti Marotta EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Janetti Marotta
- ISBN: 160882795X
- Language: English
- Genre: Mental Illness
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Page: 224
- Price: Free
BREATHING AND THE BODY
The intention in this part of the book is to set the stage for cultivating qualities of self-acceptance and
self-compassion through the beginning practices of mindfulness of the breath and mindfulness of the body.
Mindfulness teaches that when the body is relaxed, the mind will follow.
As you learn to still your mind with breath and body awareness practices, you’re able to be truly
present rather than being caught in the warp of thoughts and woof of emotions. These perpetual ups and
downs initiate the prime directive: protect and defend. But focusing on finding Band-Aids for your
wounds creates a vulnerable sense of self. In trying to fix a broken sense of self, you become lost to who
you truly are.
When you bring your attention to your breath and body, the present moment is here to be touched.
You’re able to connect to what’s actually happening, not your reactive thoughts about what’s happening.
Only in the present moment can you find your strength, learn to grow, and choose how you wish to
respond to the experience of being you.
A Deep, Full Breath
The breath is closely tied to survival and emotional well-being. When you’re confronted by danger, your
autonomic nervous system induces shallow, rapid chest breathing. This is part of the stress response, also
known as your “fight, flight, or freeze” response, in which your physiological processes speed up so that
you’re ready to respond to threat in an instant. In this state, it’s hard to think rationally, and your emotions
take over. Rapid chest breathing is one of the body’s ways of stepping on the gas pedal and revving the
engine. This ancient mechanism enabled early humans to run from dangers such as saber-toothed tigers
and is credited with saving us from extinction.
But the brain can’t distinguish between what’s life threatening and what’s only emotionally
threatening. Emotional threats are “demon” tigers—internal voices that evaluate and compare how you’re
doing and whether you’re doing it well enough. For every real tiger behind the bush, there are far greater
numbers of “demon” tigers at large!
When you constantly determine whether you’re measuring up, this turns on your stress response
because you either forget to breathe or hardly breathe. Your feelings of insecurity increase. In this
vulnerable state, you tend to mindlessly react, and in doing so you lose your connection with yourself.
The autonomic nervous system also controls the relaxation response, or “rest and digest” response,
and like the stress response, it too is modulated by the breath.
Deep, abdominal breathing signals the body
to slow down and relax. This enables you to reside in the present moment and proceed calmly and
deliberately. Imagine that you’re driving along when suddenly traffic starts to slow down. If chest
breathing is like stepping on the gas pedal, forcing you to drive erratically to avoid an accident,
abdominal breathing is like stepping on the brake pedal and staying in your own lane.
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