Tending to the Roots of Growth: Finding Ease with Breathwork and Nervous System Care (54)

00:00:00:12 - 00:00:32:01

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to how the wise one Grows. So this week we are continuing with our theme of pausing. So last week my friend Joey, who is this amazing, amazing botanist, gave Wil and I a bunch of plants and he was giving us some advice for how to put them into the ground and take care of them to support their growth, especially in this early stage.

00:00:32:03 - 00:01:08:13And some advice he shared was pulling off some of the leaves of these plants as we're putting them in the ground. And when you do that, you help the plant focus its energy on the roots instead of the sprouts, instead of the budding leaves. And that being me, I was like, wow, what a great parallel. And reminder, her life, you know, sometimes we catch ourselves, or at least sometimes I catch myself focusing on all the blooms, all the growth, all the things that I want to happen.

00:01:08:15 - 00:01:44:17

And when that happens, our energy goes towards those things and not so much to the roots. But when we take time to like, okay, let's peel off these things on the side up first, let's take off these leaves, take off some of that pressure for this immediate growth and focus our energy on their roots, really establishing a strong foundation for this plant, for the seed, whatever that thing is that you're growing, then we have a greater capacity to help that plant that idea, that seed thrive as it grows.

00:01:44:19 - 00:02:22:12

But it starts with that foundation. So last week we did some of that work with the Garden, and I've really been thinking about it in life, and it reminds me of the intention of starting this podcast, of moving slow focus, and I focusing on the seeds and finding joy in what I'm doing. And I caught myself, like falling into my familiar habit and pattern of putting a lot of intensity and pressure on myself to finish something, get it out there, continue along with this timeline I've placed upon myself.

00:02:22:14 - 00:02:52:10

And Will was like, Hey, remember, like, you don't have to do that. It's like, Oh, yeah, you're right. So this week, instead of putting out there what my imaginary timeline I had was I am adjusting and turning to and tending to the roots. So instead of putting a new episode out today, we're steeping in more of this pause, more of this stillness and taking some time to tend to our roots.

00:02:52:12 - 00:03:25:07

So I caught myself in sort of that overwhelm. Go, go, go. Stress state. So to tend to the roots, I want us to go to the nervous system. This week we're going to focus on a really simple but really profound and powerful breath that I call one to breath. That really works with our nervous system, which is often the root of a lot of what's dictating how we move through the world.

00:03:25:09 - 00:04:00:00

So in this one, to breath practice, we are going to exhale for twice as long as we inhale. And that's the beauty of this. You can do this any time. It's simple. It's easy to remember. Just focus on that exhale. And I want you to like there's the timestamp in the show notes of this. Mark this down, download this episode, return to this one to breath honestly every day, or especially in those times when you catch yourself feeling like you're falling into that overwhelm, falling into that stressed state.

00:04:00:02 - 00:04:33:13

So let's get into it together. If you haven't already, find a space that feels safe and supported for you, I recommend finding stillness during this practice. But if you're on the go, if you're moving, that doesn't need to stop you. You can do this to so where ever you are. Just take a moment to first notice where your body touches the earth and take a moment to just feel supported by the earth beneath you.

00:04:33:15 - 00:05:04:07

And then this is optional. You can bring one hand to your heart, one hand to your belly. I just leave your hands resting wherever they are and take a big breath. Then. And a big breath out. And let's just take a moment to notice how we feel right now. So gently scan your body from the tip of your head to the tips of your toes.

00:05:04:09 - 00:05:46:19

Notice what's present for you and then notice where in the body you feel the breath. So for this first variation of our one two breath, we're going to inhale for two and exhale for four. And you can play with this ratio. Maybe if that feels like too much for the breath right now, you can inhale for one and exhale for two.

00:05:46:21 - 00:06:17:22

Or if you've been doing this for a longer amount of time, you can even inhale four, four, exhale, four, eight. Just continue at that one two ratio. So just taking a moment to return to this sensation of the breath now guide us through a few rounds together again, take a cleansing breath to begin in through the nose and out through the mouth.

00:06:18:00 - 00:08:06:10

Inhale for one to exhale, 1 to 3 for inhale. One, two, exhale. One, two, three, four. Inhale. One, two, exhale. One, two, three, four. Take five more rounds of this breath on your own, and then gently release control over the breath and return to the natural rhythm and intuition of the breath as it moves in and out of your body.

00:08:06:12 - 00:08:26:01

And again, just take a moment to notice from the tip of your head to the tips of your toes. How does your body feel right now? Notice if it's any different from when we began.

00:08:26:03 - 00:08:55:16And then you have the option to place your hands on your heart. I like to pretend I'm giving my heart a little hug here and take a moment to thank yourself for taking this time to tend to your nervous system today, to tap into that parasympathetic nervous system that tend and befriend rest and digest part of the body, communicating to the body in the mind that it's okay.

00:08:55:16 - 00:09:16:01

You can relax. Thank yourself for tending to your nervous systems. Fruits return to the sensation of where your body touches the earth and you can slowly open your eyes as you return to this space.