Giving the Avocado Pit of Anxiety Space to Be 🥑

Dear Brilliant Breather,

Most Sunday nights lately at sunset, I venture to Pitney Farms to volunteer as part of the Community Composting Program, and each time I leave feeling lighter.

There’s a grounding element to bringing air to a one-week-old banana peel by pushing an electric auger into the woodchips to aid the decomposition of fruits and veggies.

Each time I unclip the plastic lid and look down at the rinds, shells, husks, and coffee grounds mixed with wood chips, I am reminded of impermanence. Not only of the decomposing nourishment but also of the stories and narratives that I tell myself.

I love to practice a conscious breath before loading in the materials people dropped off during the day to cement this visual of change into my system (but not too deep, given compost's cologne). Staring down at the discarded food, as it surrenders to the system, a lesson lingers on my inhale: A corn husk doesn’t break down as quickly as a cherry tomato. The melon rind of self-distrust, the avocado pit of anxiety, and the corn husk of overwhelm can indeed shrink, but each on its own timeline.

Tending the community compost reminds me to put down urgency when tending to my nervous system. To stop forcing patterns to change or sweeping anxiety under the rug. To say hello and let them ride the breaths.

This week, as I augered the compost in Bin #1, I set the intention to tend to my avocado pits of anxiety with less judgment and maybe even a smile.

How might you lean into trusting your body's system in your breathing practice this week? Let's start by softening our brows, together.

Happy slow breathing,
Sarah

LET’S BREATHE TOGETHER

I’m so excited to co-lead with Ana Ukhtinskaya who is a Kripalu-Certified Mindful Outdoor Guide. She facilitates sensory exploration, councils, and tea alongside the breathwork. Ana and I led a walk at Camp Hudson Pines the other weekend, and we are really excited about how our two different approaches meld together. Come check it out!

BREATHING: Since the Equinox, I’ve been setting a timer for 15 minutes and practicing breathing into different parts of the body from the head to the pelvis for the first half. Then, I move into breath awareness. Here’s a brief body scan to try by one of my favorite teachers, Carolyn Anne Budgell.

READING: The Essential Rumi - I like to have a book of poems on my nightstand. With the new schedule and working with PLAN, I’ve been coming back to this collection of poems by Rumi. Here is one that has stood out to me in this season.

There is a way between voice and presence where information flows. In disciplined silence it opens, with wandering talk it closes.

LEARNING: The ins-and-outs between the psoas (a muscle that connects the spine with the legs through the pelvis),, stress, and taking a full breath is very much linked an upcoming coregeous ball workshop in November at Battleground Fitness.

One takeaway for you: The top part of the psoas and the respiratory diaphragm are connected by the medial arcuate ligament so when the psoas remains contracted due to perceived stress, breathing is limited. When breathing is limited, you use muscles not designed for breathing (ie, neck muscles), which perpetuates the fight-or-flight response.