Breathe With Your Face 😮💨
On the menu this week 📖
🛍️ Goodie Bag: Shoutouts + New Features 👀🥂 Cocktails: Breathe With Your Face 😮💨🍽️ Dinner Party: Spring Sun: The Ultimate Comeback 🌅🍵 Digestifs: What I’m Trying Out This Week 📝
Housekeeping 🧹
The newsletter has some cool new features.
💬 Group Chat: Down to Earth now has a private group chat for subscribers! Catch up on the details in the post below.
📩 Goes Down in the DMs: Message me directly from the newsletter! Send me comments, questions, or just hit me up to chat. Try the new button below.
Shoutouts 🗣️
I firstly want to give a big shoutout to Tyrek J., a lifelong friend and loyal subscriber. From young, Ty was a level-headed thinker. He leaned on his maturity to thrive in the chaotic New York City landscape we grew up in, exemplifying discipline, poise, and individualism. Since out-of-the-box thinking was often met with hostility, intellectualism was something of a contact sport. Ty’s example of resilience encouraged me to hold true to what I believe in despite that. For this, I thank him.
More praise for new subscribers Ambar, Dianna, Musa, Sabrina and Valerie! Welcome to the family 🌍
Breathe with Your Face 😮💨
I watched Eat, Pray, Love for the first time recently.
When it first came out, I was in 7th grade and not exactly eager to see some lovey-dovey Julia Roberts movie that involves praying.
15 years later, I realize this showcase of sentimental virtuosity is just my kind of flick.
Who cares if the plot is unrealistic, and the romanticism is akin to that of a Disney movie? Sage wisdom oozes from the seams of this film, and I’m all in on that.
Without spoiling anything, the main character finds herself devoid of love and sets off to travel the world in search of happiness, good food, and companionship.
As I sit here writing a newsletter that covers these very subjects, the irony is not lost on me.
An important element of the main character’s journey of self-discovery is meditation.
Initially, she struggles.
“You make serious face like this, you scare away good energy,” The film’s Indian mentor observes. “To meditate, you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clear away dirty energy. Even smile in your liver.”
That last part hits. Since smiling makes you feel happier, smiling from the inside out must reinforce that feeling from the core. It just makes sense.
I tried it out. Smiling feels good, and bringing the liver along feels even better.
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Fast forward to a Friday morning yoga class. I’m contorting to a pose I can just barely get into, when things come full circle.
“Use the breath as fuel,” my instructor sings from across the studio. “Visualize the oxygen invigorating the trillions of cells in your body. Be sure to breathe with your face.”
Aha! The same yogic concept from the movie! This was no coincidence.
The breathing-with-face concept might sound a little out there, but it works.
Let’s try it together.
There are dozens of tiny muscles surrounding the eyes, cheeks, and nose, all with a significant purpose. The first step is to visualize these muscles and relax them as much as possible.
Then, with your lips sealed, take a slow, full inhale through the nose. Use your diaphragm to fill every corner of your ribcage and torso with air. As the breath travels up above your chest, visualize the air climbing up to those relaxed facial muscles.
Once you’ve done several of these deep breaths, you may begin to feel a little tingling or deepening relaxation. This is the sensation of oxygen feeding your body.
Here's where it gets interesting: envision your face acting as a gateway or an open window. Allow the air to move freely in and out through this "window," keeping your facial muscles relaxed. Achieving stillness throughout your body will enhance this process. The aim is to breathe in a relaxed yet powerful manner, using the face as a metaphorical channel.
This technique is not just a way to breathe more effectively; it also carries a symbolic message for our daily affairs. Live authentically, and remember that genuine expressions, like smiles or breaths, should originate from within.
Spring Sun: The Ultimate Comeback 🏁
When I opened my eyes the other morning, I was surprised to find that I was calm, rested, and joyful. I’m pretty sure I had a smile on my face.
Something was up.
It’s weird because it wasn’t like I got a full 8 hours of sleep. Even still, I jumped out of bed with a kick that I hadn’t asked for. Things just felt right.
I made my way to the street-facing window of my bedroom, and it all started to make sense.
The Sun came out. For good this time.
I smelled breakfast food cooking in the deli a few doors down. There was a hum – a bustle of conversation traveling up the side of my apartment building.
The birds, keen on the opportunity, were singing their hearts out. It’s almost like the world had taken a head start on the day.
Every day since, I’ve taken time to appreciate the increase of sunlight, marveling at each new minute of morning. In the evening, when the sky is bathed like a watercolored canvas, I’m thankful.
The harsh bite of winter can inflict pain and even suffering for many.
It’s a season that is so unnatural to many humans, coinciding with difficult times and challenges to the spirit. It can be easy to lose hope.
And there is always an open boat if you want to quit and make a run for it.
At first, it'll be smooth sailing.
You'll say, “Boy, I've made the right choice. I'm not doing what I should be doing, but I'm doing what I want to do.
After a while, however, you'll run into some rough seas…
Struggle. Reflection. Acceptance.
These are themes of winter that are necessary for development of the human spirit.
While I am grateful for this pause, I welcome the indulgence of spring.
Emergence, renewal and joy!
Like the animals that we are, spring prompts us to emerge from our caves and have a big yawn and a stretch. Time for a long walk. No coat this time. The Sun’s got us covered. It smells different out here. Things are happening. There’s more construction work happening around the city, and the trees are beginning to jostle around and bud.
Subway platforms are lined with happy faces. I guess we all drop the tough-guy act once we circle back toward the burning star.
See, winter is so isolating and lonely because the planet itself has ventured so far from the Sun. We’re on our own, hurdling through space in a cold shiver.
But we’ve crossed the threshold. Over the hump.
From 93 million miles away, the creator of our existence tells us, “It’s time.”
Full speed ahead.
Things I’m Doing This Week ♟️
I’m always trying new things, even (and especially if) they are challenging. I’ll share some of what I’ve been working with this week.
😤 Humming Humming is a simple yet powerful tool for good health. It can foster a sense of well-being and emotional balance by stimulating the vagus nerve, leading to a reduction in stress and anxiety levels. This stimulation promotes a state of relaxation, lowers heart rate, and decreases blood pressure. Humming also increases the levels of nitric oxide in the body, which has various health benefits, including improved blood flow and boosted immune function. Going for a walk? Entertain the streets with a song, and reap the benefits of polyvagal wellness.
🌅 Sunset Chess My friends and I spend a solid amount of time playing chess together. It’s a great way to challenge our intellects and strengthen our friendly bonds. The latest angle has us playing at sunset, our wits battling both the clock and waning sunlight. There are extensive health and psychogical benefits from viewing evening sunlight, making this activity triple-pronged in its benefits.
🏋🏾♂️ Wall Sit/Imaginary Chair Wall sits are the first thing I do when I get out of bed. They get my core and legs activated, getting blood flowing to the lower body. The mental challenge of keeping good posture is stimulating and serves as a smooth transition to my morning routine. My joints have been feeling stronger and more elastic. 30 seconds to one minute feels about right.
📝 To-Do Lists and Want-To-Do Lists Creating a daily to-do list with 30 tasks is not only impractical but also sets the stage for potential disappointment. That’s why I've adopted a more effective strategy: dividing my tasks into two distinct lists. The first is a "must-do" list, which contains 4-5 essential tasks that need to be completed within the day. The second list is my "want-to-do" list, where I allow myself the freedom to include as many items as I wish. Any uncompleted tasks from my "want-to-do" list are rolled over to the following day, rather than being seen as failures. Keeping my aspirations and desires in writing makes them tangible and achievable, even if not immediately achieved.
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