Breathe Easier with this Summer Fun(ny)

UPDATE 8/1/22: The winners of a Rudolph nose have been picked and contacted. Thanks to everyone who participated!
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Close friends of mine have described me to be a deep thinker and feeler. Which can sometimes lend to getting a little too serious and not leaving enough space to laugh. Laughter should be daily medicine!
 
So I hope you can have a laugh or two in today’s video lesson. It’s a fairly short video, please watch the whole thing and tell me how long you made it through the video before chuckling again?

Ok, in all seriousness though (sorta), this video is a new tennis ball exercise to open up your “back body” and bring fresh breath and energy to places that are keeping you feeling tired or unable to fully rest, after enjoying a long day of sun and heat.

Give it a try and please leave a comment below and let me know what you notice after doing it.

Giveaway: If you’ve read this far, I have a surprise for you. If you leave a comment about the exercise and mention “Rudolph”, you’ll be entered into a contest to win your own free red foam nose to give your friends a good laugh! I’ll pick the winners on 7/25/22, so be sure to comment before then.

12 Responses

  1. Thank you, Jason for keeping up with our health. It was such a good reminder to breathe deeply. Gratefully, Linda Mendro

    1. Thanks, Linda. Glad you enjoyed it. This one was really fun to make, though I felt pretty awkward the whole time, lol!

  2. Thanks for the tip Rudolph. Easy breathing has been a challenge for me this summer. This exercise is wry timely and appreciated!
    Jenny

  3. What a great teaching! Just like ‘Rudolph’ with his nose so bright…leading his crew through the night, this was a great teaching leading to a major support for my personal health needs. Getting my breath moving is major as I have GGO lungs and have days where it is hard to get my breath. I really appreciate all your generosity! Thank you so much…keep well!!

    1. Thanks for the prose, Amina :)

      I had to look up GGO lungs as I wasn’t familiar with the term. Might be similar in symptoms to asthma?

      I’ve heard from many people with asthma that they can breathe so much easier if they can remember to relax. Almost like there is some chronic tension around their chest and lungs – like a fish in water, they often aren’t aware of the tension, until they struggle breathing as easily, which reminds them to relax again for easier breathing.

      Just intending to “relax” sometimes works. And sometimes leads to frustration when it doesn’t happen, or doesn’t happen quick enough or the way we expect, which leads to more tension. So using some kind of bodywork, like using the tennis ball in this video, can help you not only feel the tension areas but also feel the relaxation come in. Like gentle waves at the beach, lapping your feet.

    1. Well sure, the red nose is optional, but as someone else commented, it might help the effect. I mean, “laughter is the best medicine” type of thing, it can work wonders :) I don’t mean to be trite and suggest that laughter is the cure for everything, but many times it certainly can lighten us up if we’re prone to being a bit too serious, too much of the time. I know nothing about that kind of thing, lol!

  4. Thanks, Jason, that was interesting. Intensely painful on the left side. Maybe I’m breathing more easily? Both sides definitely feel different. Like there’s more heat, maybe more ease. My ribs feel like they got some attention, like they know I’m paying attention and they are not just orphan body parts. Also, Rudolph made me laugh and that seems to have loosened everything up–maybe that was your intention?

    1. Thanks for sharing your detailed noticings, Sandra.

      Something that’s become more and more clear to me over the years is that being able to be aware of bodily sensations (like how it feels inside your body to pick up your car keys) is a key ingredient to healing through “stuck places”. Doing movement exercises without focusing your attention on internal sensations of movement usually leads to limited benefits. And bodywork (even self-massage like this) is a powerful shortcut to making sure you can feel those internal sensations of movement.

      And glad you got a good laugh from Rudolph. I thought I was a bit crazy when I first thought of recording a whole video wearing a red nose, but once I finished the recording, edited it and watched it, it made me laugh so good that I knew I had to share it. Glad to hear it hit it’s mark :)

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