The title of this post is actually a huge exaggeration! MASSIVE! Try to make our Hurricane to sit still for longer than one minute! Just TRY! You will have all sorts of cheeky faces, gestures and loud noises thrown onto yourself. She will not sit still without doing something. Do not make me wrong! She can actually focus on an activity, but she has big problems with calming down and be patient. If there is something irritating her, she cannot just calm down and think. She will be screaming, shouting and breaking things. Her brother, as any other sibling, sometimes takes her things and occasionally breaks them. She is struggling then with controlling her emotions. I used to be a little bit like that. Daily practise of meditation helped me to be more calm and in control, then I feel I can think more clearly not acting irrationally. I want to teach that my family. But Hurricane has that nick name for a reason! She can be a real crazy child! I do not know why my neighbours did not send Social Care on us 😉

So I wanted to teach my kids mediation and yoga. Our Flower struggles to focus due to Autism. However, he is actually willing to do it with me. The story is completely different with Hurricane. “Mama, it’s just boring!”, she says, “You just sit and breathe, how that’s supposed to be fun? And you do not do anything!” In a way, she is right! She also explained that she has a strong urge to move, her hands, legs, anything really. So I came up with this BRILLIANT idea of Alternate Nostril Breathing… BRILLIANT, I thought! She will be able to use her hand so she will like she is actually doing something. I am a GENIUS!

Well… ehh… NOT! I have started this wonderful journey of researching Alternate Nostril Breathing. I have read a whole book of BKS Iyengar “Light on Pranayama” within two days. I have went over many videos and audios about this subject. Got myself prepared with knowledge of anatomy and physiology and neuro-science. This was not a mystery for me as I have a degree in nursing. To sum up shortly, respiration or gas exchange process it essential for any living organism; many nutrients bind with oxygen which is carried with blood cells to all parts of our body; we breathe faster when we stress; we breathing slower when resting. We can intentionally slow down breathing in order to slow down the heart beats when we stressed with no good reason. Slower breathing also slower the body processes which potentially may lead to longer life.

“Breathing purifies” said Iyengar. Lovely! Hurricane was not impressed with my knowledge! I explained what the Alternate Nostril Breathing is, I talked about Pranayama technique, why we use those fingers, not the others and why in that way not a different way. I did explained it in very visual way comparing the Nostril Breathing to playing on a flute where the musician has to press appropriate wholes to be able to play. I felt very proud of myself and very proud of my knowledge!

Well… She ins’t! What a disgraceful child 😉 We have tried… First she had blocked nose, next time her ring finger had paper cut, next she had runny nose and last time her nose “was leaving ugly snot on her thumb”. Complete DISASTER! I feel like a horrible parent trying to convince her to practice mindfulness. But I will never give up!