Breathing

I love my David. He became my David five years ago when we started working together, and when speaking about him to my boss, I had to distinguish him from her David who is her boss' boss. The name stuck, and I still refer to him as my David.

He is the sweetest, nicest man, and we have had an amazing friendship since day 1. He's very protective of me, and I think in some ways he sees me as the daughter he never had. He always throws out the "you are so young, I could be your father" and then I remind him that he's only 17 years older than me, so it is more like he could be my uncle! hehe :) I'd marry the man if he wasn't gay.

He started doing the Breath Work three years ago, and it has been life changing for him. So he decided to help other people have the same experience by getting certified and becoming a practitioner. As part of his professional program, he has to take on 4 students and lead them through at least seven sessions. I had my first session with him last night.

First, I have to say, I want his house. He has a Tudor style townhouse off of York Rd, close to Northern Parkway. And since he has done set design and costume design before, his house is a show place. And immaculate. The hardwood floors were amazing, and the small detail touches, for instance the lighting on a painting on the stairs, were incredible. I could just move in. He created a studio in one of the spare bedrooms, and it was just a place full or soothing and relaxing energy. It was a soft shade of green, he had incense, a comfy mat on the floor, plus really beautiful chairs to relax in with pillows. A new entertainment center, and even a tea pot were waiting for our session. I was his first official client, starting from the in-take to the completion. He actually has a paying client today, and I think after my 7th session, I'll get the Amy E. discount for future sessions. He teases me that Amy E is my stage name.

I spent 2 1/2 hours with him, as the first session is the longest. He explained everything that may happen and how the process worked, and why breathing is so important. We practiced sitting on the chair for awhile, and after we worked through the fit of giggles (we are both prone to them, once he gets me laughing), we determined that I am a chest breather while in an upright position. However, once he had me on the mat, he noticed that my breathing became more relaxed and in my diaphragm, where it is supposed to be.

He turned down the light, just had a small lap on and a candle, sat on the floor next to me, and just adjusted me slightly so that I was completely relaxed. Then he just put his fingertips on my stomach to help me make sure I was breathing into the right place. I opened my mouth, dropped my jaw, and had the most relaxing and soothing experience. The breathing is done through the mouth, in a circular pattern, but not forced. The exhale is actually totally relaxed, and you just let go. That's hard to do, especially since we noticed that my natural pattern of breathing is very measured. I exhale at the same pace and the amount that I inhale, which is not what I'm supposed to do. We aren't sure where that comes from, because even when I'm totally relaxed, I breath that way. He told me we'd work on making my exhales more relaxed.

The whole experience on the mat lasted 20minutes, but it seemed like just 5. He is such a comforting and loving person, that I just felt so relaxed and cherished. He lowered his voice, and would whisper words of encouragement, telling me that I was doing a beautiful job... it was so soothing. I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep afterwards. It feels good to be loved like that.. without judgement. I don't think he's be that nurturing with his other clients.

The idea behind the session is that as we grow up, we learn to hold our breath and control it, when we aren't supposed to. If we watch a baby or an animal breathe, they don't do that. But we learned to control where we breathe into, avoiding the areas that we may have trapped emotion or tension in the body over the years. This relaxed state helps us to get into those areas and release them. I can't wait for my next session at the end of October!