Naturally, when I walk around in public, I keep upright posture, stay off of my cell phone, and even give a little smile to people when the moment seems appropriate. I know, this seems so foreign. So creepy. and So strange in today’s society where the average person walks around looking like the hunch back of Notre dame, consumed in their cell phone and afraid to make eye contact with another human. Anyways, I was in the Sauna at my gym, and naturally lots of conversations arise when you’re in a small confined space with others and you’re sitting there for 15 minutes in pure stillness. I had a very interesting conversation with someone and had the potential to impact his life pretty greatly.
Started with the small talk. Proceeded to tell me how he has intentionally been practicing more awareness to his actions and words which has all stemmed from more stillness, reflection, and meditation with breath work that he has been disciplining himself to. I thought this was pretty cool that we could both relate on the mental benefits to self awareness with incorporating a meditation routine. The ability to step back, self analyze and realize what the impact of our words and actions are in conversations with different people in our lives.
He next mentioned how he used to be a hot head on the golf course. Yelling and swearing when he missed a bad shot. developing extreme resentment for players that did better than he did that day on the course. he would go home and remain in a frustrated mood and even carry that on mood to the upcoming day. Here is where things shifted: he said since he had started incorporating a meditation routine for a few months now, he has been able to really FEEL the impact of his words and actions more than he previously did. He literally has developed better empathy and the ability to step out of his shoes more often. To step back and understand how his anger on the golf course, and his self pity has been dragging him down. he was more unaware to it previously because he was letting his present day emotions carry on and did not have a process of RELEASING THAT ENERGY IN A HEALTHY WAY. So he would go to bed frustrated, and wake up the next day with unresolved emotions that he never actually processed and thought clearly though.
He said the breath work practice has allowed him to find more calm in the anxieties of his emotions when they arise. he has been able to process them in a more collected way and not RELEASE THEM ON OTHERS. This is the key. how do we process the anxiety, frustration and tough moments without putting others down or spreading that energy?
Remember: our emotions belong to us and no one else. We have the responsibility to process them, attend to them, understand them, and move forward with them. We have a relationship to our emotions. We need to process them before we process them amongst others.
Now what this guy was telling me was quite literally because of his practice of breath work and meditation, he has been able to wear that armor and carry that calm into the more heated moments which he has then responded more peacefully in.
He has quite literally rewired his nervous system to realize that heightened emotions are not a threat. They simply just need a few extra deep breaths and a bit of time to reenforce ourselves that things are going to be okay.
He said in the most recent weeks, he has not only been more calm on the golf course, but he has been able to shake his opponent’s hands which was an action that he resisted previously. He said he has developed more acceptance for those days where he doesn’t play the greatest. He even motioned that he will get home at night, and not be in a poor mood like he previously was.
he also mentioned that he feels more confident to approach individuals and is less likely to feel the social anxiety pressure that he experienced lots previously to his discipline to breath work meditation. He said that he has a younger brother that he is trying to teach golf to, and he also feels more accountable to hold composure so he can show his younger brother how to present himself on and off the golf course. He now notices a difference in his own composure but also is held accountable to impact the future generation. what a powerful fulfilling purpose!
Not only did i feel honored to hear this testimony, but conversations like this make me smile (coming from someone who has strictly disciplined themselves to meditation for 4-5 years now).
social anxiety. frustration. anger. mood swings. whatever it happens to be. there’s lots of hope in the thought that a practice of breath work can help us process all of these things a little bit better, find acceptance with life, develop less holding onto resentment, and in turn: help us more forward better and less likely to respond to life in an uncontrollable way.
this is taking responsibility for our lives.
THE_HUMAN_EXPERIMENT1993 