Part 4: Weathering the Storm: Empower Yourself with Protection Breath to Face Life's Challenges
Part 4: Weathering the Storm: Empower Yourself with Protection Breath to Face Life's Challenges
The Protection Breath Cadence is a simple yet powerful breathing technique designed to promote a sense of calmness and mental clarity. Inhaling deeply for 2 seconds allows for the intake of fresh oxygen, while holding the breath for another 2 seconds provides a brief moment of stillness and focus. The subsequent exhale, also spanning 2 seconds, facilitates a controlled release of tension and stress. This rhythmic breathing pattern is not only easy to remember. Still, it serves as a grounding practice, offering a structured approach to centering oneself and creating a shield of mental and emotional resilience.
Remember:
As you read through these guided meditations, there will be breaks to go through your breath cadences. Use the chart as a reference to start. Once you are comfortable, perform the breath cadences with your eyes closed to promote the visualization of your dream coming true.
Ensure you are comfortable reading this meditation series to get the most out of it.
Enjoy.
Today, we're going to be talking about weathering the storm.
In the previous chapter, we were preparing for the storm. We were putting on our armor, getting our defenses fortified, building our walls around us so that we may stay protected as this storm approaches.
Now, for the breath cadence of today, we're going to focus on two breaths, which is the number of protection.
These protection breaths are designed to refortify your defenses spiritually and help you weather the storm of life that will be coming through.
Prepare for your breath.
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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Let's do three protection breaths together, and then we'll get right into the chapter. Prepare for your breath.
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BREATH #1
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #2
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #3
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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When you weather the storm, you're not doing anything to stop it because there's nothing you can do to stop it.
Imagine all the issues you have no control over in your life coming down on you.
It could be upcoming bills; it could be relationship issues it could be problems at work, family issues, things you have no control of and cannot fix on your own.
These are all storms.
You're usually told to take cover in a storm because storms are unpredictable, and there's no way to stop them.
In the previous chapter, we discussed preparing for the storm, building the walls, covering yourself, and fortifying your armor.
Although some storms in life cannot be predicted, they can be anticipated, and the difference between the two is a prediction is saying that a storm will come at this particular point, while anticipating is not knowing the exact time of a storm but just being ready for it anyway.
Let's do three more protection breaths. Prepare for your breath.
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BREATH #1
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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1 |
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BREATH #2
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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1 |
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BREATH #3
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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Now that you know you cannot stop a storm, this is how we weather it.
As you're seated, roll your shoulders back, lift your chest, and put your hands on your quads.
Think about every storm approaching: financial debt, family issues, relationship issues, work issues.
I want you to squeeze your shoulder blades together, tighten your abs, and imagine a storm hitting your defenses.
As it hits the walls around you, you hear the thunder crashing.
It's violent.
It's shaking the ground underneath you.
Keep this position; stay fortified.
Let that storm do as much damage as it can.
Let it try to get to you, and know that your protection, your walls around you, are stopping it from getting to you.
As the ground shaking under you starts to shake up your body, it starts to shake your mind.
Don't release this position.
Keep those shoulder blades back.
Squeeze those abs.
Lift that chest.
Flex your arms a bit because this is a battle.
Let's do three more protection breaths. Prepare for your breath.
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BREATH #1
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #2
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #3
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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As you continue to weather the storm, you hear all the commotion around you, the noise, the heavy rain, the crack of thunder, the ground shaking.
Your walls may even start to crack around you.
Stay fortified.
You know the storm will pass, and this is similar to being in issues that come up in your life.
If you're going through family problems, you know there will be arguments, fights, and times when you don't speak to each other, but those times will pass.
If you are going through relationship issues, your spouse and you may not get along. You may not see eye to eye on everything, but you took a vow to be with each other so that those times will pass.
In your workplace, yes, you may not hit your budget or meet your quota but know that every business works in quarters, and what may be bad in one quarter may not affect the next quarter.
Keep those shoulder blades squeezed, the chest lifted, abs tight, and defenses fortified as you weather that storm.
Take three more protection breaths. Prepare for your breath.
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BREATH #1
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #2
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #3
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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As you let the storm go violently around you, it starts to fade.
You hear the rain starting to lighten up.
The crackle of thunder is not as loud anymore.
The ground stops shaking.
You hear the minor rumblings of the thunder as it goes off into the distance.
The storm has passed.
You have successfully weathered the storm.
And at this moment now, you can bask in the victory you've just achieved, and if you're wondering what this victory is, it's the process of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel or that calmness after the storm.
Think about the storms you're in right now and how you're weathering those storms. If you can see the calmness at the end, you can withstand it much easier.
If you have a family issue, visualize you and that family member hugging and locking arms; that's the calmness at the storm's end.
If you have relationship issues, visualize that time when you and your spouse are at your best, the highest level of love in your life; that's the calmness at the end of that storm.
If you're at work and you've had days where you felt like the best employee ever, quarters where you were getting recognized for exceptional work, that's the calmness at the end of that storm.
You only have to weather it to get to that calmness at the storm's end.
Take three protection breaths. Prepare for your breath.
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BREATH #1
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #2
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #3
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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Squeeze your shoulder blades and abs together, and weather that storm because there will be some calmness afterward.
We're going to take three more protection breaths together.
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BREATH #1
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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1 |
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #2
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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1 |
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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BREATH #3
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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HOLD YOUR BREATH
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EXHALE (Out your mouth) |
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You have successfully weathered the storm.
Take one last breath at an 8-second cadence.
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INHALE (Through your nose)
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EXHALE (Out your mouth)
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- How does the two two-breath technique help in weathering the storms of life?
- What is the difference between a prediction and anticipation regarding storms in life?
- How can we stay fortified and keep our defenses strong during challenging times?
- What are some examples of storms in life that we have no control over?
- How does the speaker suggest we physically embody the act of weathering a storm?
- Why is it important to stay strong and resilient while the storm is raging around us?
- How can we find calmness and see the light at the end of the tunnel during challenging times?
- How can visualizing positive outcomes help weather the storms in our relationships, family, and work?
- Why is it important to take time for ourselves and practice protection breaths before facing a storm?
- What does the final breath, symbolizing new beginnings, represent in weathering life's storms?
Write the answers to these questions on a piece of paper and save them.