I got the power!

The question that has been burning in my mind over the last couple of days is How come none of the things from the original Star Trek have come true yet? (It’s amazing what you think about when you have time on your hands) I’m not a Treky or anything like that (I did however have a friend who used to go to conventions dressed up in the crew uniform. I think that she was lieutenant Uhuru, yes I wondered about her too) but with all of the advances of technology you would have thought we would be able to teletransport ourselves from one place to another by now not being troubled by the cancellation of trains, the congestion charge in London or the daily traffic jams.

But more importantly to me and my battle with mr lupus is the fact that we still can’t tell a person’s condition simply by running a scanner over the body or infected area. I mean I still can’t quite understand why they still need to pierce the skin and my skin in particular to take blood.

I really do dread those piercing moments particularly as I now have to have blood taken every two weeks I know that diabetics and patients with other conditions are plagued with this on a more regular basis and I should give thanks but that doesn’t help me right now cos in my hole (and it is a hole), it is deep and so dark that sometimes that I can’t even get a mobile phone signal so once a fortnight really is a big deal for me.

I don’t like needles and it doesn’t matter how often I get it done it still hurts and takes a long time (well it seems like a long time) I’ve just recalculated and it’s more than every fortnight; there’s pre chemo blood; post chemo blood and regular rheumatology blood tests which means that I actually only get one week off in three and some weeks I have to have it done twice not at all my idea of fun.

It means that my social calendar is full, full of different types of hospital appointments I probably wouldn’t see my boyfriend that much (but then I don’t have one of those but that’s another story) interestingly the team of rheumatologists at the hospital know my name and my case history. How about that for making friends in high places. I guess they even they must be talking about mr lupus in the canteen.

One thing I have found to be helpful with the whole blood taking thing is not to look at it as it is leaving my body, to visualize being some place else doing something completely different and also to take deep breaths.

I think the Bible is a great illustration of the power of breath. Even if you think that the Bible is nothing more than a series of elaborate stories think about this. In Genesis the first chapter of the Bible, God created heaven and earth by simply saying let there be but when it came to man he used breath to bring him into existence. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Seeing as man was created to rule (work with me here) and have dominion it stands to reason that breath must be a really powerful source, so wouldn’t it be good if we could use it effectively. Breathing is probably one of the most powerful weapons we have against a whole range of things and at a time when we are programmed to consume isn’t it refreshing to know that there is something at your disposal that is free. I don’t know about you but I’m always up for a bit of freeness particularly if it is going to do me good.

So many of us take breathing for granted, after all we do it as a matter of course everyday without thinking about it but are we using it to our best advantage? Strange question after all how many ways can there be to do it? The answer is, there are a number of ways but perhaps one of the most beneficial is deep breathing.

Deep breathing is one of the most overlooked and under-used techniques, yet it is one of the oldest methods of reducing stress and its side effects: headaches, tense muscles, rapid pulse, elevated heart rate, knots in the stomach, colds, outbursts of anger etc. The list is endless.

Deep breathing can and will restore balance to the physical and emotional body. It brings much needed oxygen to the blood and, in turn, to the brain which then sends a message to the body of "all is well." (And that is the message we all want to hear) The body automatically relaxes as well as the emotions that went along with the stressful event.
Deep breathing is a tool you carry with you. The next time someone cuts you off in traffic, take a long, deep breath and watch your body return to a normal, healthy state. Learning how to deep breathe takes practice just like the development of any other skill. The practice periods, however, are very short try 6-10 minutes a day.

Tips to using breath as your personal weapon

Practice
Find a quiet space; sit with up right with your feet firmly placed on the floor. Close your eyes and take a deep breath feel the oxygen as it fills your lungs. Hold it for 10 seconds. Do this exercise for 6 to 10 minutes each day or anytime you fill anxious

Join a yoga class. In Yoga there is a saying when you can control your breath, you can control everything.

Thought for the day
You have all the tools you need to live a productive life