Desert Magnolia

To say I'm extremely healthy would be an understatement. I am blessed with strong genes, which means, naturally, that I take my wellness for granted. But not now. For the last five days my life has revolved around trying to get comfortable enough to not want to crawl out of my own skin. The aches, the low grade (but fucking persistent) fever, the mucous...good lord don't get me started on the number of kleenexes that have given their lives so my nose can be dry for about fourteen seconds - all of these things are part of this year's flu virus, and I'm not happy to be experiencing ANY of them thankyouverymuch. Things that have helped so far include several Chinese herbal formulas that are working at a deep level to rally my immune system to kick this goddamned virus' ass, Advil (I broke down..I tried for the first few days to just do herbs and they weren't enough. I figured if, in ancient China, someone had the flu and had Advil and didn't take it, the...

My job requires I do lots of research on spa, health, wellness, relaxation, mind/body connection, and other really amazing topics. This is one of the things I love most about it. I love learning how to make life better by practicing simple, time-tested methods. The simplest, and one we all can easily practice just about anywhere, just about anytime, and it's completely free, is engaging our breath. Just breathe. Sit quietly, comfortably, and up tall. Close your eyes, take a long, deep breath in, then slowly let it out. Don't force. Just relax, focus on the breath in, relax on the breath out. Repeat 10 times. If you're not significantly more focused, centered and relaxed after that, do another set. Simple, balancing acts practiced as often as possible can net enormous results in terms of reduced stress, overall calm, and a heightened sense of well being. So breathe with me.