Letting Go – Part 2 – First Line of Defense

Let's say that I've finally snapped that the only person who was ever around when my life went into the dumpster was me. Step one.

Step two, figure out what my behavior was right before my life went south. Eg: When someone said something I deemed as 'bone-headed', I felt compelled to disabuse them of their misperceptions.

Step three, take a reality check on exactly how succesful that's been in my life. Ugh, not so much. I've eaten a lot of crow, misunderstood what others were really saying, been impatient and bone-headed. Bottom line, it's a very disconnecting behavior that seemed to just pop out of me. It wasn't all the time, but it was enough times for me to want to stop. And it was always worse when I was H.A.L.T. (hungry, angry, lonely, or tired – those 4 seem to feed on each other)

Step four, determine the physical sensations that precede my unwanted behavior. In my case, my head leaned forward, breath was stilled, chest hardened, shoulders tightened – my degree of severity was directly proportional to my imagined degree of their 'stupidity' and heightened by the magnitude of my demand to be right.

First Line of Defense – three conscious breaths – inhaling through my nose, noticing the coolness along
the top of my nostril passage, pausing for a moment, then exhaling through my mouth, noticing the warmth of my breath across my lips. The exhale is the important part, it's called the "Let Go breath" for a reason. I can physically feel the tension leaving my body as I let go of my breath. 

It's simple, completely effective, and vastly under-utilized. I highly recommend intentional use. We come in with an inhale, we go out with an exhale, our last letting go.