A newsletter of simple ideas #28 -- August 2000
Slow Down and Breathe
A big focus of voluntary simplicity is slowing down the crazy pace of the modern Western lifestyle. A majority of Americans would be willing to take a cut in pay in exchange for more time to do the things that are important to them. If so many people want to put the breaks on, why don't they? Perhaps they don't because it's not that easy--everything in our culture says "go faster." So what's a person to do?
Money-Saving Tip:Check Your Accounts. One place many people don't think to look for savings is at their financial institutions. Look at all of your bank or credit union accounts. Are you paying for services you don't really use? I had an interest-bearing checking account once that had a monthly fee. The credit union also had a free checking account that didn't bear interest. The thing that I noticed was that the interest I earned wasn't keeping up with the monthly fee. So I switched account types and saved a few bucks every month--for the last four years--with no hassle beyond a single phone call. |
A tool that I have found useful is a breathing practice. I've done taijiquan (t'ai chi), meditation, yoga-style stretching, and other methods. They all have their benefits. The one that was easiest for me to pick up and start doing on a semi-regular basis was a relaxation and breathing technique called "The Relaxation Response." It has been around for a few decades, and is fairly widely known because of the popularity of the book by the same name by Dr. Herbert Benson.
Dr. Benson was studying the link between circulatory problems and stress. He found some interesting results in patients and subjects in his studies who did Transcendental Meditation. Eventually, his studies lead him to look into religious literature of the world for descriptions of the same kind of physiological responses that he was seeing in the subjects he studied--and he found them in almost every tradition he studied.
He found that the body has what appears to be a mirror response to the fight-or-flight (or "stress") response. He called it the "Relaxation Response." When this response is triggered, your body does the opposite of what happens when you are stressed--your pulse rate and blood pressure goes down, you breathe more deeply, and so forth. Dr. Benson also found that his patients didn't need to learn Transcendental Meditation or do any kind of religious practice in order to reap the benefits. It was all about breathing and letting the mind rest.
Here, briefly, is how you can invoke the Relaxation Response:
- Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Sit comfortably and spend a few moments looking for tense places in your body and letting the tension go.
- Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing. You can pay attention to the feeling of the air passing into (and out of) your nostrils; the rise and fall of your chest and stomach; or whatever works for you to focus your attention.
- To keep your brain from wandering too much, pick a one-syllable word and repeat it in your mind with every out breath. Dr. Benson suggests "one" although he says you can use anything you want, whether it's meaningful ("love" "Tao" "God" "calm" "aum") or neutral ("one" "tall" "white").
- Let go of any worries about whether you're doing it right or whether it's working. He points out repeatedly that the Relaxation Response happens when the mind is passive. If you notice that you're thinking about anything, simply refocus on your breath and the repetition of your word.
- After 15 or 20 minutes, stop repeating the word and just feel your breath. (You can open your eyes to look at the clock--try not to use an alarm because it can be, well, alarming.) After a couple of minutes, open your eyes but sit still and continue breathing. Then get up slowly and start back into your day.
Doing this once or twice a day was enough to cause physiological changes in his patients. And, in my experience, it feels really good. Sometimes I'll do the Relaxation Response instead of taking a nap because it's just as refreshing, takes no more time (and sometimes less time), and it doesn't mess up my hair and give me "bed head."
Try it out for a week. It's a simple technique that can be done just about anywhere that's reasonably quiet (it doesn't have to be absolutely silent--you just don't want to be distracted by noise). It may take you another step closer to a calmer, and slower, life.
Quote of the Month
Turn your melodrama into a mellow drama.
Editor's Notes
It is currently May 2001 but I'm only just posting the August 2000 Reasonably Simple. My intention is that during 2001, I will write and post a new article about every other week, so that by the end of the year, I'll be current again. I'd appreciate suggestions, guest writers, or anything else that could help me step up production this year.
You can contact me with your submissions, suggestions, or comments at:
Michael J. Coffey
PO Box 23221
Seattle, WA 98102
(206) 522-6224