5 Things I Learned Week 4 of The Whole Life Challenge

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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5 Things I Learned Week 4 of The Whole Life Challenge

I chugged along this week in the Challenge. After a somewhat disastrous (points wise) weekend, this week went relatively smoothly. I continued to exercise. Grocery shopped. Ate mostly at home. Drank my water. I have reached a Challenge rhythm, so to speak. This week’s Well-Being habit was breathing. I have long known the importance of breathing, specifically mindful breathing, but often forget it. Because breathing naturally happens as a part of life, it is easy to take for granted.

Here are 5 things I learned Week 4 of the Whole Life Challenge

When I breathe Mindfully, I notice things around me.

This morning, I was in a yoga class at sunrise. My yoga studio is situated where I can see the sunrise over Biscayne Bay. Pretty amazing. Breathing gives the gift of amazement. There seems something natural about connecting breath and awe. Standing at the top of a mountain. Take a deep breath. Stroking a sleeping cat. Take a deep breath. Listening to children tell a story. Take a deep breath. Preparing and beautiful meal and sharing it with loved ones. Take a deep breath.

Breathing against the automatic.

Mindful breathing this week made me realize how many aspects of my life are automatic (conditioned but not necessarily mindful) responses to what life throws at me. Mindful breathing stops my reactionary tendency to rush to judgment. Mindful breathing allows me to consider my words before I say them. Mindful breathing slows my heart when I am so upset I want to explode. Consistent mindful breathing even makes explosion moments less frequent.

It should not take being sick to appreciate breath.

This week it occurred to me that I only truly value my ability to breathe when I am sick. When I have a cough and my chest feels like a hundred pounds of potatoes has been thrust on it, I do everything I can to restore normal breathing. When I go through long periods of time being well and able to breathe, and then around someone who is sick, I empathize but secretly hope that being around them does not make me sick, too. I absolutely hate being sick.

Breathing is the Challenge.

Breaking down why mindful breathing is important might make it seem easy. It might seem like after this week, and many years of yoga practice, I have the mindful breathing thing down. That is definitely not the case. My beginner’s mind knows I am just starting to understand the importance of breathing in all things. This week has reminded me of the way in which breathing is central to life and mindful breathing is central to a healthy life. Weaving mindful breath deeply and deliberately into the Challenge makes sense to me. All Challenge habits flow from the mindful breath.