Bubbles

The hot spring pool was peaceful right then. Other times it's raucous with laughter or roiling with political discussion. But this was a quiet moment, empty of people except for my beloved and me. We merged into the silence of mountain meadow and trees. A benign, juvenile bull snake sniffed the air from under his rock on the shore, wiggling his tongue to taste for the scent of stray spiders or worms to satisfy his seemingly insatiable appetite.

As I lounged, the warm water and sun joined to envelope me in a welcoming womb. I was lulled, in a voluptuous gestation. This amniotic world clothed my submerged, bare skin with uncountable numbers of tiny bubbles, as though I were studded with glass beads. The tiniest of rainbows spilled from the co-mingling of light with water and gas. This delicate aura scintillated and titillated my senses.

My feet lazily danced with some long velvety moss fronds, which languorously swayed from the sides of some larger boulders. I noticed new gas bubbles were being released from the pebbled bottom of the pool. Some stroked my leg along their way as they surfaced. Mmmmm. I liked that feeling. I waited for more. Bubbles gently tickled their way up my calf. They skirted along the skin of my thighs. They softly bumped against my labia. Others circled the curves of my breasts as they moved upward, inexorably upward. After awhile, my nervous system was fully awakened by these bubble caresses. Mmmmm. I liked that feeling.

This is one piece from my new book, REUNION WITH MOTHER NATURE, available from www.wisewomanhood.webs.com or amazon.

~BREATHE~

As part of my on-going process of maintaining my awareness and health, I am renewing my focus on my breathing. Breathing is an interface in our bodily functions between our conscious mind and our physiology.

By observing our breathing, we can gauge our stress level – am I barely breathing; taking full, relaxed breaths; or chest breathing in an activated way?

We can also increase or decrease our activation level through breathing in consciously chosen patterns. Simply breathe into the belly, through an open mouth, to cool and relax. It’s like a gentle massage to the adrenals, telling them they can relax now. If you need to relax in the winter or coolness, just switch to breathing through nostrils. Breathe into the chest, through the nostrils, to activate. This kind of breathing turns on your adrenals and says, Let’s Go.

Reintroducing alternate nostril breathing into my routine showed me how much I am pushing myself lately. I noticed that I was forcing the breath in and out ever so slightly, using more muscles than necessary. As I relaxed, the breath began flowing in and out on its own and that’s when I could tell how tense I was before the shift.

Generally, it is best to let the air move naturally. Air will naturally flow back into the lungs to fill the vacuum from the exhale and when the lungs are done with the air in them, there’s a natural letting go of it to empty again. Observing this natural in and out, give and take is a simple, yet powerful meditation. It’s a reminder of letting go, and letting the air breathe you.

Alternate nostril breathing helps balance the solar and lunar energies in our mind and body and is best for meditating and calming the mind.

The right nostril is heating and the left is cooling. We naturally alternate predominantly using left and right nostrils every few hours throughout the day and night.

The right, heating nostril is helpful for digestion. Making sure this nostril is open before eating can help in that direction. If you need to complete digestion while lying down, lay on your left side, to open your right nostril.

The lunar, left and cooling nostril is helpful to relax and sleep. Try lying on your right side, to open the left nostril when you want to relax.

A more intensive use of breath that you might explore is pranayama, or control of prana (vital energy). It is one of the eight classic limbs of yoga. Pranayama includes many practices that can profoundly affect your physiology and consciousness, so it’s important that you have a local teacher who can guide you to use the proper techniques for you at any given time. What’s best to use can shift with the seasons and your own condition.A pranayama teacher should be using the practices long-term, on a regular basis themselves, not only taken a class or workshop on it. Look for an Ayurveda practitioner or yoga teacher to help you with this.

Enjoy your breath—it’s free and freeing.

Nationalized Massage Program

I propose every person get a weekly massage. A national health plan could include subsidies for those who can’t afford the massages and for massage training programs.

Imagine if the President got daily massages. And the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the CIA. Congress, Governors and state Legislators. What about the people at the drivers license bureau and the postal workers? And teachers, nurses, neighbors and police officers? And you and your family and neighbors?

With the health benefits of stress relief and the soothing hormones from being touched, the tone of our society would be quite different.

Yesterday it became evident. After my Thai massage, I had planned some errands. When I got to the herb store I was so relaxed. I noticed my speed was unusual. “I apologize for being slow – I just had a 2 hour massage and now I’m not in a hurry.” The two others in the store each took a deep breath and their muscles seemed to let go in front of my eyes.

How much of our hurry is tension? How much does hurry really help us achieve our goals? How much is our fight or flight in over drive, unable to turn itself off?

When was your last massage? When did you last massage someone else? A more peaceful world is found one massage at a time.