breathwork

New here to the mighty! Recently graduated with my masters degree as a new father who has been dealing with and experiencing chronic migraines most my life. My partner is a gem and has been watching our son from home while working from home and while looking for a full time job, having both a blast and a challenge watching our son and spending more time with him. He’s so fast strong smart and adventurous and just turned 8-months, ahead a couple months on milestones. He’s crawling, standing up on his own and I bet walking any day now but this week has been a really rough one with migraines, my partner and I recently found out we’re expecting and dealing with postpartum and 1st trimester fatigue and I am trying to watch him even more than usual after she gets off work to help with this.Gratefully, he is getting much better at sleeping longer and in his crib 8-10 hours a night.Any tips for watching independent and adventurous little ones when struggling with migraines during the day? I meditate a lot and focus on showering myself with self love and compassion and patience when powering through but finding it especially hard when he doesn’t want to be held but is speeding around grabbing and touching and balancing off everything and I feel I need to shadow him so doesn’t bump his head, get into the cat food,etc. Any tips would be appreciated and to any fellow parents with chronic pain, I hear you,I support you and I’m so proud of you 😊!! #Parenting #chronicmigranes #self -love, #breathwork

I wake up
And everything is okay
I breathe in
I breathe out
My tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth
Like a spoonful of peanut butter
Impossible to move
My jaw is tense, locked in position
My cheeks are sucked in between my teeth
I guess I'd rather bite my cheeks than clench my teeth

As I attempt to relax
As I attempt to loosen my tongue
The memories flood my mind
Simple neglect
"Seen and not heard"
My mouth glued shut at such a young age
"Stop being so emotional"
My heart glued shut at such a young age
"Curiosity is demonic"
My mind glued shut at such a young age
"You're the perfect child"
My self glued shut at such a young age
Why would I need a mouth that can speak
When I am nothing and no one

As my muscles relax
The feelings flood my body
Rejection
Neglect
Humiliation
Helplessness
Despair
But the pain in my jaw subsides
And my tongue begins to rest comfortably
I'm able to offer my inner child comfort
I offer my inner child validation and love
And I offer my inner child an opportunity to speak
That's what I needed
And that's what I need now

#CPTSD #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Anxiety #breathwork #Meditation #Abuse #EmotionalNeglect #innerchild

The less accessible form of guided meditation that I use can be found in books. I say they are less accessible because you must borrow or buy the books, have the capacity to read the books, and the skill to practice written guided meditation, rather than verbal guided meditation. I'm not sure how it is for others, but I have a little more difficulty with written guides as I need to memorize them in order for the meditation to feel fluid and unbroken.

In two of Thich Nhat Hanh's books, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering and Reconciliation: Healing the Inner Child, he offers us The Sixteen Breathing Meditations. In each of these simple breathing meditations, we are invited to bring awareness to parts of ourselves with the in breath and out breath. The first practice is simply awareness of the breath itself, "Breathing in, I am aware of my in breath. Breathing out, I am aware of my out breath". As you move through the sixteen breathing practices, you are brought into a deeper awareness of your body and self through the in breath and out breath.

Another teacher I have found is Lama Rod Owens, and in his book Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger he outlines a lot of meditative practices for holding, tending to, and processing strong feelings of anger and injustice. He offers a lot of guidance for preparing for meditation and coming out of a meditative state, which I have found very helpful. He also offers guidance for three different types of breath; Basic Breath, Calming Breath, and Cleansing Breath.

One comment that Lama Rod Owens makes around breathing practices is that for those of us with trauma, breathing practice can feel ungrounded. I have personally experienced this. He recommends combining breathing practice with another form of meditation called The Earth Touching Practices, which can be found in his book, in Thich Nhat Hanh's book Reconciliation, and as guided meditations on the Plum Village app. Put simply, The Earth Touchings offer to ground us through the earth itself, and through the concept of interbeing, that we are not separate from the earth or the life it supports now or in the past. We are connected, interwoven, and we can find comfort in this.

I generally and highly recommend these books as they are full of tools and practices that can help on the journey towards recovery and healing.

#breathingpractices #breathwork #Meditation #CPTSD #Anxiety #Depression

Thomas suggested that I share the breathing practices that I have found helpful here in the group. I use both formal and informal breathing practices, and most of them are meditative. [Due to character limits, I am posting them in two parts.]

In informal practice, when I am just living my life, my breathing practice is often based on how I breathe during yoga. I focus on breathing into my belly, rather than into my chest. I observe where the tight spots are, and try not to fight against the tension. As I breathe in, I extend my spine and neck, looking slightly upward. As I breathe out, I relax my shoulders, chest, and face, resting my gaze forward. I focus on breathing in a cycle, making sure I breathe in, holding for a moment or two, breathing out slowly, and then in again. I struggle with holding my breath when I am not thinking about breathing, because I had to make myself as quiet as possible when I was child in order to keep myself safe. Now I struggle to naturally breathe in a way that makes noise or is deep enough to make me feel relaxed, because that's not how I learned to breathe as a child. Informal breathing practice is important for me to work on at any and all possible times, because I am attempting to relearn how to breathe in it's entirety, not only during meditative practices.

The most accessible formal practice that I use is on the Plum Village app. I believe it is available for both Apple and Android. The app is like "a monastery in your pocket", providing an abundance of guided meditations (including breathing practices), soothing sounds, chants, songs, teachings, written resources, and a mindfulness bell that you can use to bring yourself into a moment of meditation or into your breath, any time, any place. Guided meditations on this app range from about 2 minutes to 80+ minutes, so no matter your capacity there is something for you there. If you have found any of Thomas' posts and videos helpful, I believe this is a perfect compliment to those same concepts and practices.

#breathingpractices #breathwork #Meditation #CPTSD #Anxiety #Depression

I had to have some bloodwork done, and I used my breathing practice during the procedure both to calm my anxiety and reduce the impact of my blood pressure condition. Afterwards the nurse told me he was very impressed with my breathing and how well I was able to stay calm and relaxed through the procedure! I am absolutely thrilled that my progress is that noticeable! Just wanted to share my excitement with the group. 😊🥳💗💪

#CPTSD #Anxiety #Breathing #breathwork #Meditation