Tag Archives: Coaching

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Coaching, , , ,

Hi Friends,
Have the holidays proven to be a bit much? Use conscious, long, deep breathing to regulate yourself! I’m happy to assist you with simple pranayam (breath) practices to get you back on track.

Our breath, and the nature of how we breathe, is important, affecting our physical, mental and emotional health. Our breath is both gross and subtle. The gross aspect blends oxygen, nitrogen and other elements we’re more familiar with, and the subtle aspect is the “prana” or life force that energizes the mind, body and consciousness.

When you’re feeling out of sorts, pause for a moment and notice what’s happening with your breath, and your abdomen, as you breathe? Do you notice your abdomen moving? It’s not uncommon that your breath may be shallow and quick, with the upper chest moving slightly and the abdomen barely at all. Ahhh to breathe like a baby again! It’s all in the belly. In correct naturaly breathing, the abdomen moves, out on the inhale and in and up on the exhale. We use the inhale to make ourselves wider, and the exhale to make ourselves longer.

Did you know that the average human breathes around 16-20 breaths a minute? That’s less than 2 seconds on the inhale and 2 seconds on the exhale. When we’re stressed, our breath may be even quicker and shallower. We’re cut off from our vitality.

Classic “Long Deep Breath”
To correct shallow breathing, which often accompanies stress.
– Inhale in 4 smooth beats / seconds, through the nostrils, beginning with the navel (belly), then expanding your lower chest and finally your upper chest
– Exhale in reverse, in 4 beats / seconds through the nostrils, pulling in on the navel at the end of the exhalation
– For each part, you can silently add the mantra “Saa Taa Naa Maa”, one beat per second, for more juice with sound syllables that connect you to your inner truth or authenticity
– Start with 3 minutes, and build to 11 minutes if you wish
Note that your breath rate in this practice will be twice as slow as your average breath, which clears the head and induces a state of calmness.

“Sitali” Breath
To “cool down” both physically and emotionally when upset.
– Extend the tongue through the lips, roll the tongue, and inhale through the open mouth to the back of the throat
– If you can’t roll the tongue (like 1/3 of the population), don’t worry about it! Just extend your tongue between your lips and draw the air over the roof of your tongue to the back of the throat
– On the exhale, draw the tongue back in the mouth and exhale through the nose
– Breath to a count of 4 beats / seconds on the inhale, and the same on the exhale
– Start with 3 minutes and build to 11 minutes if you wish
Feel more chill!

If you’d like further work on regulating yourself, getting unstuck, or taking life in a new direction, sign up for a free discovery call today. I’d love to connect with you!

Humbly,
Nirmal Singh

The Value of Struggling with Yourself

Coaching, , ,

On a call today I had an opportunity to bring in these words from the spiritual teacher A.H. Almaas: “Struggle is the salt in the process… When you experience your Essence, the taste is sweet. Personality is the salt, and struggling with the personality is what will bring you in touch with Essence, with the sweetness”.

Our lessons in life aren’t so obvious to us, but there is a part of us that pokes us to pay attention to what’s showing up in this moment of struggle. These challenges in life do serve a purpose… to wake us up to ourselves. Let’s be curious and ask, “Is there something here for me to pay attention to? What am I to learn in this moment about me?” And trust there’s sweetness to be had in your process!

Join me on the wellness path and let’s explore this together. Sign up for a free discovery call today!

Humbly,
Nirmal Singh

Embrace the Struggle

Coaching, ,

Hi Friends,
Some thoughts about struggle and growth.

Do you get the feeling that life is a constant struggle? And that struggle is keeping you stuck? And you’d just like to have all that struggle go away? (Please)! But let’s say that the struggle is just that intuitive part of you, poking you in the ribs, asking you to pay attention and be curious. In that case, you might take a moment out of your busy day to be still, and ask, what could this really be about that I’m not paying attention to?

This reminds me of a quote from the spiritual teacher A.H. Almaas:

“When you have an issue in your life, the point is not to get rid of it; the point is to grow with it. The point is not to resolve the issue; the point is to grow through resolving the issue”.

Yes, the struggle serves a purpose – it’s what helps us flourish. And like me, you may want to grow into a better version of what’s showing up today.

If you’d like a fresh perspective on your struggles, let’s grow together on the wellness path. Sign up for a free discovery call today!

Humbly,
Nirmal Singh

Forgiveness for Change

Coaching, , , ,

Hi Friends,
Some thoughts about the power of forgiveness.

Do you ever find yourself really stuck, and you try to use your mind to figure it out, to reason through it? And how successful are you approaching it that way? Would you consider an approach that engages much more with the heart than the head? An approach like prayer. (What)? Perhaps you have an awkward relationship with prayer today if it was something forced on you in your youth. But consider…

Prayer, and particularly a prayer of forgiveness, can be very powerful because it’s our anger that keep us stuck in the past. Forgiveness allows us to let go of our anger (towards ourselves and others) holding us in the past, and create space to bring more love and joy into our lives. Do you want more love and joy in your life? Absolutely!

This is a very simple but effective Hawaiian Ho’oponono prayer for forgiveness that I use… to me get out of my mind, and into my heart.

“I’m sorry
Please forgive me
Thank you
I love you”

Creating space for joy and love also creates space to see your life purpose more clearly. Do you have someone in your life (personally or professionally) that will help you stay connected to your heart?

If you want to bring about change in your life, find support that helps you keep up when it gets tough. Come join me on the wellness path, and sign up for a free discovery call today!

Humbly,
Nirmal Singh

Gratitude When It’s Hard

Coaching, , ,

Hi Friends,

Some thoughts about gratitude, when it’s really hard.

It’s easy for me to feel grateful for the really awesome stuff that shows up in my life, like my family, my community and my work.

But what about gratitude in relation to the really awful stuff? What?! Yes! What about being grateful for the crap too? That’s a lot more difficult, and you might ask why should I feel grateful for that?

If we consider that there’s learning, and often really important learning when we confront the more difficult stuff in our lives, then yes, it makes sense to be thankful and wish to have more opportunities to learn and grow. We really don’t want to feel stuck, treading water, even if that might be easier to deal with. When we express gratitude, we attract more of what we want in our lives.

Try this exercise:
Recall an incident from the past that really bothers you. Now reframe it to find something positive, something to be grateful for. Perhaps an important skill (like self-reliance) was developed to help you cope at the time. For me, a difficult moment can be like holding up a mirror that reflects something previously hidden, because it was so uncomfortable. Being able to confront an unpleasant truth can be truly transformative! Write down your experience and allow the positive reframe to be deeply felt, in your emotions and body sensations.

Look for ways to practice gratitude throughout your day, to engage in positivity rather than obsess with what’s wrong. Pause to be grateful for your breath. Pause to give thanks for the meal you’ve received. Pause to recognize the beauty that surrounds you in any given moment. Practice gratitude often and make it a habit. When those difficult moments show up, you’ll have an opportunity to shift and experience the moment in your life in a new way.

If you’d like some support reframing your story or getting unstuck, reach out and join me on the wellness path. Sign up for a free discovery call today!

Change Your Story

Coaching,

Hi Friends,

In this week’s yoga class, we explored how by shifting your perspective of the past, and the stories you are locked into, you can more easily embrace the challenges that are showing up in this moment.

Do you ever feel stuck in your life professionally or personally? One reason may be because you’re stuck in your STORY. Stories can be AWESOME – a celebration of your ancestral history, or your accomplishments growing up. But what if the story in your head is telling you that you’re not good enough, you’re not ready, you’re too old or too young, etc. etc.?

Those stories often block us in this moment, by keeping us stuck in the past. What to do?

Firstly, NOTICE – ahhh, that’s my story, my thing, and then recognize it’s not true (even if you THINK it’s true), because it’s just your story (and your BELIEF in it limits you).

Secondly, DO SOMETHING to bring you fully PRESENT in this moment, like a long deep breath. That may be enough to shift you out of that limiting narrative and into the true story which is that you’re awesome and capable, just as you are!

Thirdly, RECOGNIZE you learned many lessons along the way and developed fabulous skills because of what you needed to cope with, that support you in life today. For example, you may have been neglected by your parents growing up, but you found a way, over time, to develop strong independence skills. Is that positive piece also a part of your story?

If you’d like some support changing the perspective of your story and getting unstuck, reach out and join me on the wellness path. Sign up for a free discovery call today!