The trip to California went smoothly, and my Nana’s ceremony was so much more beautiful than I could have imagined. Her service erupted with a passion like no other. My cousins created a sanctuary of peace that would have made their grandmother proud. Nana’s last wish was to have a great celebration in our old church with delicious food, a live performance of Shakespeare by my dad, and inspirational, live music by my cousin. Her dying wish was honored with the utmost integrity. That woman never missed a detail. She had everything planned out before she passed, and she would have been so thrilled with the way her tribute turned out. You could always count on Nana to think ahead!

We celebrate her life, we remember her quirks, we feel the love she fed us, and admire the work her beautiful soul leaves behind.

Nana wasn’t afraid to die. She knew Heaven to be her final destination. In the end, when we asked Nana if she was scared, her response was,

“Not even a little bit.”

Then, falling into eternal sleep, she breathed her last.

I can’t stop thinking about the love I have for my Nana. I still have so much love left to give her and I feel like I may burst because she’s not here anymore. She’s not here for me to love on her and it sucks. Where do I put the love my heart holds for Nana? How do I cope with grief? I feel like sleeping, but I just can’t the past couple nights.

Please tell me you’ve been there?

We’ve all been there, right? Have you ever thought about something so much that you lose sleep? A fog of uncertainty keeps you from visiting the cousin of Death; Sleep.

Navigating these unknown waters of grief and loss without losing my ship over the chaotic waves of emotion is tricky, but I’m not alone.

STABILITY AMIDST CHAOS

While I had a wonderful visit with my family, I am so happy to be home. The first thing I did was have one of our beers from Pint and Plow.

My comrade said something about maintaining stability in the midst of chaos at just the right moment. We were talking about how much we care for the people in our lives. He cares so much that it keeps him up at night.

“I woke up at 12:30am because of stress. Maia asked me if I had a fever. All I could do was a deep breathing exercise,” he says.

Concepts kept him from the comfortable grasp of the sand man. However, deep breathing salvaged enough of Jeremy’s energy for him to continue maintaining stability in the midst of chaos.

DEEP BREATHING FOR SLEEP

Do you have trouble sleeping? You are not alone. I hear it from students of all ages that sleep is hard to come by these days. However, we need to sleep. And we need to learn how to stay asleep so our bodies can recharge. How do you feel when you don’t get enough sleep? Not very good. How do you feel when you get enough sleep? Is that even a real thing?

Anyways...

Try these techniques to help you drift off tonight.

3 Part Breath:

Part 1 - Place both hands on the belly and breathe. Imagine breathing into your hands. Press your belly into your hands instead of your hands into your belly. Part one of the three part breath is breathing into the belly. Inhale. Exhale. Smooth.

Part 2 - Place the left hand on the belly and the right hand on the left rib cage. Breathe into the left hand, before you exhale, take another sip of air into the left lungs beneath your right hand. Feel your belly, feel your ribs. Release. Part two includes two sips of air. Inhale from the bottom, inhale another sip in the middle. Exhale from middle to bottom. Contracting the ribs, then the abs. Nice.

Part 3 - Keep the left hand where it is and move the right hand over your heart. After the first two rounds of your routine, you should be relaxed enough to feel your heartbeat. How does that feel? Notice how the top of the lungs and the heart are so close together. For the final steps of the three part breath, Inhale into the belly, another sip of air into the ribs, and one more sip of air into the chest, and release the chest, ribs, and belly. Breathe into the bottom, breathe into the middle, breathe into the top, and feel your body release from the top, to the middle, and all the way out of the bottom until there is no air left. Marvelous!

1:2 Ratio Breath

Count the seconds of your inhale and double that amount of time for your exhale. For example:

Inhale : 1 Missisippi, 2 Missisippi, 3 Missisippi

Exhale: 6 Missisippi, 5 Missisippi, 4 Missisippi, 3 Missisippi, 2 Missisippi, 1 Missisippi

As you get more comfortable with it, increase the time of your inhale and exhale.

Count 10 Normal Breaths Backwards

Take full breaths and count them backwards from 10. This task is both mentally tasking and incredibly boring so your brain will shut down almost immediately.

Deep Breathing for Better Sleep

Think ahead before you go to bed. Plan a mental trip to paradise by booking one of these breathing exercises. If you pay attention to the details of the air in your lungs, the quality of your sleep will improve tremendously. Death is the cousin of Sleep and it’s up to you how you choose to meet the familiar darkness. Are you afraid?

Not even a little bit!

Now, let’s talk about what to do with your waking hours this weekend!

Please come, if it’s convenient, to the Kerrville Farmer’s Market in downtown Kerrville from 3-6pm Friday. You can shop for locally grown produce, dine on delicious stone fire pizza, and let your kiddos enjoy Yoga Storytime in my tent before bedtime. It’s going to be cold, so I’m building a blanket fort for the little yogis.

You awesome adults are welcome to practice traditional Surya Namaskar: Sun Salutes and Vinyasas: Breath Movement with me 9am Saturday at Good Life Fitness Center. This class is FREE to members and $10 for non-members.

And at Pint and Plow, Todd and I will be putting on Pint and Pose this Sunday at 10am for 30 minutes of Yoga followed by beer, coffee, or tea.

Our focus this month is on gratitude. What do you have to be thankful for?

Me? I’m alive, breathing deep, and I’ve got a cold pint to enjoy tonight.

“Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin: whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!” - Martin Luther

Namaste <3