# 91
From Brian to Bobby
July 5th, 2009
Lovely words, my boy!
I don’t read a lot of poetry. Unfortunately I was scarred by a pretentious poetry workshop in college. Before that I liked Khalil Gibran a lot. Who do you recommend? Rainer Maria Rilke has been on my list a while now. Any others?
I have a strong belief that you are going to feel at the very least a minor (if not MAJOR) burst of energy from more yoga. I started last Monday, like I mentioned before, and the first thing I realized was how weak my diaphragm had become. I don’t know if you’ve really been able to isolate that muscle, but as soon as I went to use it actively, I thought of you. You may know this stuff already, so forgive me if I am speaking the obvious, but when you use your diaphragm all by itself it can have the appearance of just pushing your stomach out really far. There’s an exercise in Kundalini yoga called “Sut Kria” (I have no idea how it’s spelled), where you sit on your knees, resting your but on your calves, you fold your hands together, point your index fingers and, sitting up straight, you point your index fingers straight up above your head. You then proceed to say “Sut” as you flex your rectum and your navel and then say “Nam” as you relax your rectum and navel. You try to say it with a force. When you get the hang of it you can do it for several minutes and what it demonstrates to me is pure diaphragmatic breathing. You never really have to stop and take a breath. The exercise itself IS breathing, but it doesn’t really look or feel like it.
I thought of you, anyway, because I wonder how much you may gain by working your diaphragm into all your breathing all the time? When I was doing yoga every day a couple years ago I found that when I walked to the studio or did anything, for that matter, I was continuing that mode of breathing and it was great. When I stood in mountain pose the first time Monday morning, I got very little out of my diaphragm in that first moment. It wasn’t until a few minutes in that it was an effective part of the breath. Now, 5 days later I can use it just sitting here writing you an email.
No one knows how long we’ll last, but there’s always the sayings about “siezing the day” or experiencing the moment and “living actively”. When I do yoga I feel like “the moment” is defined by a single breath (either in or out), and the quality of that moment/breath improves the more I do it. So however long I last in this world, this is one way of improving the moments between now and the end. And Jeez, it’s only been 5 days and my whole body…my legs, my back, my chest… They all just feel like they “fit” together better. It’s like they are holding each other up, rather than hanging off of one another. My flexibility in one week is 30 times better than what it was. I had a lot of help from Amy years back, so I feel like I have a thorough sense for the principles. If you can, see if you can take a class, or at least go through one of the videos with a person who can straighten you out here and there.
I am glad Chris felt better talking to me. He’s a great dude. I thanked him for so obviously being such a good friend to you. Everyone can benefit by friends. It’s always a major asset to have someone there for you – You get that extra burst of motivation to be well and stay well for HIM, which is a good thing at times when you might not be able to muster the strength on your own behalf. But that guy (Chris, that is) is extra special in the friend department. You guys are really lucky to have each other!
So I am psyched you are FEELING GOOD. You should invest as much as you can in staying that way, if not in FEELING EVEN BETTER! I am trying to do the same.
Sounds like we can make a pact!
(Pinky-Swear!)
Love
B