Elements

Why Study This Mantra... Learn to take full advantage the two most essential elements in your life.

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."

– Bruce Lee

Introduction

You will learn how to take control of two elements you rely on every moment of the day – air and water. You will learn powerful techniques for using breathing to control your mood and health.

Of course, air and water are the two foundations of life. But they're so much more. Harnessing their power allows for openings we can leverage in other aspects of our life.

Drinking water maximizes your brain function, energy levels, and of course, physical performance. It staves off headaches and helps you manage weight.

Having a breathing practice is a really powerful tool for relaxation and breaking the stress response cycle. But it can also be helpful for reducing anxiety, helping you get to sleep at night, relieving muscle tension, and even giving you an energy boost. It's a simple, powerful practice that's easy to learn, fast to perform, and can be done anywhere! As far as great life techniques go, this one is at the top!

Before you begin...

Before you start these practices and challenges, take a moment to rate yourself on this mantra. Give yourself a score from 1-10 (10 being the highest).

Do this again at the end of a month of practices and challenges. How much have you grown?

The Practices

Daily Practices

Alternate as you see fit between these two daily practices

Breathe

Today's affirmation: "I control my mood through breathing."

I will practice breathing exercises today.

As I put my mantra on in the morning, I will take 5 minutes to perform a breathing exercise that will energize me and prepare me for the day.

As I take my mantra off tonight, I will take 5 minutes to perform a breathing exercise. This will help me relax, relieve the day's stress, and prepare for a healthy night's sleep.

Hydrate

Today's affirmation: "I will choose water today."

Today I will listen to my body. When I am thirsty, my body needs water, not soda, sweetened drinks, alcohol, or so-called energy drinks. When sipping water today, I will allow myself to enjoy the cool pleasure that comes from natural rehydration.

When I go to bed tonight, I do so knowing that my body will rest more fully because I chose water over sugar, alcohol, excessive caffeine and artificial sweeteners.

Monthly Challenge

Find Your Breathing Practice

There are many breathing techniques out there. One isn't necessarily better than the other. Rather, it depends on what you're comfortable with, and what you'd like to accomplish.

Here are some techniques that you can try. This month, explore the techniques, find which one is right for you, and make it a part of your life.

Top Recommendations

A great place to start is with one of the following:

4-7-8 Breathing, or "Relaxing Breath" (helps with getting to sleep)

Alternate Nostril Breathing, or "Nadi Shodhana" (alleviates stress and anxiety)

Lion's Breath (alleviates stress, eliminates toxins)

Deep Breathing (alleviates stress and anxiety)

For Relaxing and Alleviating Stress and Anxiety

Beyond that, there is a long list of other breathing practices that help with relaxing and alleviating stress and anxiety, including:

Equal Breathing/Sama Vritti
Belly Breathing/Diaphragmatic Breathing (do this one before you're about to do something stressful)
Box Breathing
Humming Bee Breath/Bhramari
Equal Breathing
Mindful Breathing
Breath Focus Technique
Roll Breathing
Sitali Breath

Breathing Techniques for Other Benefits

There are a handful of other breathing techniques which aid in an assortment of benefits, such as:

Bellows Breath/Bhastrika (helps with depression)
Kapalabhati/Skull-shining Breath (warms the body, wakes up the brain)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (lowers blood pressure, decreases muscle tension, reduces fatigue and anxiety)
Pursed Lip Breathing (helps those with lung conditions, slows breathing/making breathing more effective)
Resonant Breathing/Coherent Breathing (helps with insomnia, anxiety, depressive symptoms, stress, immune system response, alertness, concentration, vitality, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit disorder)

Apps for Breathing Techniques

Of course, there are a large assortment of apps in the app store that help with breathing techniques as well. While Bodhi Band does not endorse any app in particular, here are some examples of apps (in the Apple Store, but the Android store has them as well) for you to consider. We recommend you do your own research and identify which app works best for you.

The Reasoning

For a definitive look at this month's mantras and practices, including what philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and scientists throughout history have thought, taught, and advocated, click below.