Kanda School

Moving & Breathing for Healing

"Difficulty is what wakes up the genius."

– Nassim Nicholas Taleb

We're in pursuit of antifragility. Rather than break (fragile) or stay the same (robust) or bounce back (resilient), how do you become BETTER under stress, strain, and challenge?

Last week gave you the overview (if you missed it, catch up here) this week, unpacks practices. These 3 move the needle most for me:

• Meditation
• Journaling & Reflection
• Willpower Development

Meditation = a better brain. Meditation develops your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that does creative thinking, problem solving, and staying calm under pressure. And when I say develops, it’s like building muscle, grey matter increases.

Plus, meditation strengthens your connection to the calm & cool part of your nervous system (ventral vagal). This pathway keeps the prefrontal cortex online during times of stress or challenge. In other words, you’re less likely to flip your lid when you need your head the most.

But even when you know the far-reaching, almost-ridiculous benefits of meditation, it’s hard to do. Why? Your expectations put you on the wrong side of “Mount Stupid”. More on that next week.

For now, if you find meditation challenging, do a breathing practice instead. Set a timer, sit, and breathe. See if that changes anything (it will!)

Journaling & Reflection = clearer vision. This practice reveals your blind spots, “neural addictions” and narratives on repeat below consciousness.

My therapist got me in the habit of writing every night and reviewing every week. The review is radical. I see stories on repeat, cycles of struggle, and recurring themes. It’s a bit painful but always beneficial because without the reflection, I don’t see it.

Like meditation, this practice will take discipline, which is why you need #3: Strengthen your will.

Do the things you don’t want to do. Lift the weights, make the call, speak your truth. Sit and breathe. Do the journaling. Slog through reflection. Regardless of how you feel. Perhaps especially when you don’t want to.

Because studies show that doing things you don’t want to do develops a part of your brain called the anterior mid-cingulate cortex. This structure sits between your prefrontal cortex and limbic system (emotional processing center). Developing it is like building a bigger, wider, stronger bridge between your rational and emotional brain. This is your key to consistency and a stronger will.

For more on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, watch this clip of Andrew Huberman with David Goggins.

Start bulking up that bridge today. If you want one thing to begin with, I recommend breathing practice. It’s meditation “rebranded” for momentum.

Use guided practices to help you get going. There is something for everyone in the 20 Minute Miracles App.

• ​Heart Breathing is in the Free Intro Membership.
• If you have a subscription, there are 21-days worth of practices from the Fall in Love with Your Breathing Challenge.

For a whole weekend of building resilience in body, mind and spirit, come to the Introvert's Retreat in Bend. Early bird pricing ends next week on 6/20. Email me with any questions.

May your practice be willpower-full,

Alison