The 3-second Detox Miracle
Debra attended one of my blogging masterclasses and was inspired to write the following blog post. I love everything that Debra stands for. She's full of great energy and enthusiasm for what she does (and she also does a mean massage!). Mindfulness is a technique I believe makes complete sense, especially for busy business people with so many responsibilities and little time for themselves in their frantic schedule. Read on to learn how you can make a step towards making a little time for you.
Yes, a 3-second Detox. “How is that possible?” you say, what about all the raw-juicing, hot-yoga, essential-oil-massage, remove-yourself-from-the-world-for-3-weeks detox programmes? If that’s what it takes to detox years of processed food, city living and stressed lifestyle, then how on earth will 3 seconds make any difference?
Actually it makes all the difference in the world – your world. Because you are here – in the middle of your stressed lifestyle, eating as well as you can manage; doing the best you can under the circumstances. If you had 3 weeks and plenty of cash you’d already be in Bali soaking up the sun, the massage and the super fruits and you’d feel great. But you still have to come back to the city and the stress of daily life. That’s why the 3-second Detox is a miracle: we can do it here, anytime, it doesn’t cost a penny and there are NO barriers to entry.
Here’s how it goes: Take a breath in; bring your attention inside; notice what’s going on; breathe out. That’s it – 3 seconds. If you like you can double or triple it, or spend an hour a day doing this – in which case call it Vipassana, Mindfulness, or Zen Meditation – but at its simplest it is just one breath. We can all spare one breath – can’t we?
One breath can release your mental hold on the day, bring you home to your body, let go the distraction outside and come back to ‘you’; pure Grace. Each breath is a gift to the world: what am I offering? My distraction, frustration, anger and unhappiness? Or my awareness, presence, my knowing I make a choice to be ME. When I feel super-loving and happy my breath carries Love to the world, but that’s not a requirement, or your goal; can we just spend a moment being who we are: Human Be-ings, not Human Do-ings!
We’ve all resolved to eat well, take more rest and exercise: so why do we keep falling back into habits that don’t support our health and wellbeing? Because we are driven by old patterns we haven’t really faced yet, which nowadays is called our ‘Encounter with the Shadow’. It sounds terrifying, something to be put off for as long as possible until it becomes unavoidable. Which is unfortunate, because by that time we may be running short on key resources: insight, objectivity, compassion and a decent dose of humour.
The ever-present breath offers us the chance in every moment to pause, notice and be. Repeat frequently and those moments will weave a more consistent thread of self-awareness for you to notice how the pressures inside drive your behaviour. Until you find that even under pressure you have sufficient presence to make better choices: to say ‘No’ when you mean no, ask for help when you need it and honour your real needs as a Human Be-ing.
Of course I will happily embrace the 3-week Bali retreat when I’m offered one, but in the meantime I’ll keep working with the 3-second Miracle Detox: breathe in; take the attention inside; notice what’s going on; breathe out. Isn’t that joyfully simple, and simply joyful? I like simple!
Debra Delglyn owns and runs The Wisdom Path and is committed to helping others achieve their potential to be happy, healthy and fulfilled. She offers a variety of training including physical bodywork techniques and a wide range of energetic and vibrational modalities. To discover more about Debra’s talents, skills and treatments, visit www.thewisdompath.co.uk
