On Smelling The Moment,

With Debbie Rosas.

Breathing is our birthright. Breath is the life force energy we share and we are breathing containers. The initial presence of breath symbolizes the beginning of our life and its absence represents the end. Paying attention to our breath is one of the easiest ways to enhance our fitness, health, and well-being. The good news is we don’t have to remind our body to breathe. In accordance with what I write about design and function in, The Body’s Way; breathing is an involuntary action that just happens. Watch a sleeping baby breathe and you’ll see their whole body breathe in an easy coordinated manner. Just like a baby we do not need to learn how to breathe. We are breathing all the time, even when we’re asleep.

When I smell the moment, in a flash I am transported to an awareness of my body’s breath and the life force energy which enlivens me. The body and life cue I use to, “smell the moment,” is something everyone can use to dance through their lives with their body and with our earth and universe of which we are all a part.

Healthy deep breathing improves mental clarity, helps release emotion, as well as providing a sense of freedom and ease when moving. It improves the function of our body’s diaphragm, which is the part of our body that helps keep our core strong and our spine supple.  My way to stimulate breathing is to simply remind myself to, “Smell the Moment.” That’s different than saying to myself, “Okay, just breathe…”

Smelling the moment taps us into The Body’s Way anatomy, using wisdom and function, thereby improving our whole being sensations of vitality, which creates pleasure in how we feel and experience being alive in our body and in our life.

Smelling the moment is a subtle way of engaging with our breathing without any effort, with relaxed action and engagement of the abdominal muscles that provides both physical and energetic support for performing with ease and with physical force and power for when necessary. Smelling the moment naturally draws breath in and naturally moves breath out organically, without exertion and using just the right amount of effort to sustain the action of breathing in and out.

Why We Need to Smell the Moment:

• One of the body’s major excretory organs, the lungs require smelling the moment in order to exercise them.
• On average, we breathe in and out about 15 times a minute. Smelling the moment relaxes our breathing and calms our nervous system.
• Each day we breathe about 23,040 times using roughly 438 cubic feet of air. Smelling the moment is the body’s natural workout.
• It takes approximately five seconds to breathe — two seconds to inhale and three seconds to exhale. Smelling the moment is how we discover our breathing cycle.
• Breath swirls through all of our 50 trillion cells, which require a continual supply of oxygen. Smelling the moment feeds all our 50 trillion cells.
• Breath is affected by our feelings, thoughts. and actions. Smelling the moment is the perfect way to tap into what we are thinking and feeling.  
• Breath is automatic and voluntary. Smelling the moment is how we enter into a cooperative partnership and relationship with our body.
• Breath is a language of odors and provides fuel for the metabolic activities of the cells. Smelling the moment is how we tap into this language.
• Inhibiting breath negatively affects every system in the body. Smelling the moment helps avoid holding and inhibiting breathing.
• Breath and scent ignite emotions of past, present and future. Smelling the moment can drop us into a relaxed and memory filled meditative state.
• Breath and scent are the most direct of our senses. Smelling the moment keeps our sense of scent alert.
• Odor molecules float back to the nasal cavities behind the bridge of the nose, where they are absorbed by the mucosa, which contain 4 million receptor cells that fire impulses to the brain’s olfactory center.
• Smelling the moment is one way we receive the magical gifts of the body.
• Every 30 days the neurons in our nose are replaced. Smelling the moment keeps things  moving.

Signs That We Need to Smell the Moment:

• Low energy.
• Extreme emotional ups and downs.
• Lack of concentration and inability to think clearly.
• Poor skin.
• Insomnia.
• Stomach problems.
• High stress levels.
• Frequent colds and respiratory problems.
• Lack of incentive, drive or enthusiasm.
• Lack of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual stamina.

Signs That Our Smelling the Moment Is Working:

• Calm, steady, vibrant energy levels.
• Dynamic body and life.
• Ability to concentrate and think clearly.
• Clear, bright complexion and skin.
• Good sleep patterns.
• Good digestion.
• Managing stress well.
• A feeling of excitement about life.
• Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual stamina.
• Dynamic and adaptable energy.
• Feeling of hopefulness and passion for life.

Smelling The Moment Tips:

1. We simply notice our breath, our inhale, and our exhale. We notice if our belly is expanding when we smell the moment and breathe in and that it is relaxing when we exhale and breathe out. 
2. We notice the pause at the end of our exhale before the next inhale begins. In this pause, the homeostasis of the whole body resets itself. Often, we can exhale longer. Often, the belly can gently expand more when we smell the moment and inhale.
3. In our high speed world, our central nervous system needs the relaxation provided by our softly breathing belly with a longer exhale and a pause before our next breath.
4. Understand that the rate, length, and quality of our breath varies from moment to moment to create an optimal breathing pattern for every situation. 
5. We notice what our breath is telling us about the moment. Are we energized, anxious, excited, tired, inspired, relaxed, hurried, grounded, timid or confident?
6. We don’t force ourself to breathe. We let the body do what it does naturally: smell and breathe. We remember that we are breathing containers. We leave ourselves alone and let the diaphragm breathe us, while our supple ribs, shoulders and spine coordinate harmoniously with the rise and fall of this powerful muscle.
7. We listen to the rhythm of our breath as we smell the moment and move. We remember that no two breaths are ever alike. Each is unique.

To learn more about “Smelling the Moment,” visit Nia On Demand to sign up and enjoy your daily hour of Nia that will leave you refreshed and ready for continued Healing, Rooting, & Strengthening in your Body & Life.

https://niaondemand.com

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