EMOTIONAL EXERCISE
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plains.
We have verbal exercises to improve our diction. We realize the importance of clear communication.
From the number of gyms that sprouted up the past 25 years, we have plenty of places available to exercise our bodies. It’s obvious that a strong body is necessary to maintain a healthy life.
Universities and schools of higher learning have been around since the beginning of recorded history. So there are numerous opportunities to exercise the brain. We understand how creative thinking leads to advancements for humanity.
But what about exercising our emotions? A poor emotional state creates depression. This can leave a person apathetic, unable to speak. Hence, at that point, good diction provides no value. Depression leads to lethargy. Hence, physical exercise curtails. A once strong body atrophies into a withered husk. Runaway emotions, particularly negativity, shuts down higher thinking functions. Hence, creative thoughts become tinder for worry and obsession.
A poor emotional state sabotages every aspect of human existence. Maintaining a positive mental attitude fuels our abilities to improve ourselves. It extends benefit outward to influence the dynamic of everything we touch. And, there are simple exercises to improve our emotions.
The basis for some of the most powerful emotional exercises requires nothing more strenuous than breathing. I touched on breathing in a previous post, Waking Up, but today I’ll provide more detail.
The best all-purpose breathing exercise is simple deep breathing. This is our natural rate of breathing. That’s how animals breathe, even woodchucks. It’s also the way we breathed as babies, before we “matured” and began loading ourselves down with stress. Stress causes us to breathe in shallow, choppy breaths — the way we breathe when adrenaline kick starts our fight or flight mechanism.
In deep breathing, expel as much air as possible, then inhale slowly and deeply, through the nose, if possible. Again, expel fully, either through the mouth or nose. Use the diaphragm to open up your lower chest cavity when inhaling, then use it to push up against the lungs as you exhale, forcing all that “old air” out.
Normally breathing like this is a preventive measure that keeps negativity at bay. It helps whether you’re depressed, feeling low, and not able to pull yourself off the couch; or if your mind is agitated and racing at hyper-speed. That’s why it’s an all-purpose exercise. However, there are specific exercises which better target each of those conditions.
If feeling sluggish, down, or negative, a slight modification of deep breathing is more effective. Take a deep inhale, as described above, but then hold that full breath in your lungs for several seconds. Hold it as long as you feel comfortable. Then expel it, either through the nose or mouth. Doing this several times helps draw an uplifting current which bolsters positivity.
On the other hand, if your mind is spinning out of control with agitation, reversing this technique is useful. Inhale deeply, but do not hold your breath. Exhale fully, then hold your lungs empty for as long as you feel comfortable before inhaling deeply again. Most likely you can’t hold your lungs empty as long as your full lungs. Doing this several times acts like a current to neutralize the manic spinning your mind has propelled itself into. It draws away that out-of-control energy and instills a sense of calm.
I don’t know how much wood a woodchuck could chuck, but I do know following its breathing habits provides an excellent exercise to help us maintain a positive emotional state.
If you're enjoying this over coffee, tea, or whatever, please consider buying me a cup!
