Holism | Body, Mind & Soul

If you cut your finger with a knife while preparing dinner, we say you have a wound. If the love of your life leaves you for somebody else, we also say you’ve been wounded even if, physically, you are seemingly left unaffected.

Why is that?

Well, when it comes to human life experiences, including feelings of pain, we clearly all have a fundamental understanding of their effect on our human body. But, it seems that we also have a sense that there is something more, something beyond our anatomy.

Similarly, we know that if we are deeply grieving the loss of the love of our life, our physical body may start showing symptoms of illness and conditions, such as joint pain, headaches, digestive issues, etc.

Even though we can easily acknowledge the basic concept that wounds can be experienced not only at a physical level, but also at an energetic level, it can be difficult to gain a deeper understanding of the idea that we are “whole” beings with a mind-body-soul connection.

Thankfully, there are guides available to help us gain knowledge and insight. One of the most popular teachings is the spiritual concept of the 7 major chakras. If you are unfamiliar with the chakra system, I go more in-depth in this blog post here.

The chakra theory is not the only one that explains the different energy channels or the mind-body-soul connection; there is also the theory of meridians and koshas. Let’s take a closer look!

What Are Meridians?

The concept of meridians comes from Chinese Medicine.

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When my youngest child was one and her older brother was seven years old, back in 2005, my husband accepted a new job with a startup company, the second one in a row. If you know a little bit about the startup world, it goes without saying that he would be working crazy hours.

While your partner is gone 12-hour days or traveling 12 days every month, you are the one who has to make up the work that they are no longer able to do due to their absence; unless you have a full-time live-in nanny, I call them “the third parent,” which we did not have (I used to be one though, a full-time live-in nanny in Boston, MA, for one year in 1990, but that is a blog topic for another day). 

If your partner is working a busy schedule, you know firsthand that, by default, you now are too. All military family members reading this blog are going: “Oh yes, do I know!” 😆 (The military world is just one example, of course.) At some point in our nutty lives, we probably have all gone through periods in which our work life was so out of control that work-life “balance” or “integration” or “wholeness” was pretty much non-existent.

Anyways, I’m not complaining, just stating the obvious. It was a decision my husband and I made together at that time with the knowledge and life experience we had back then.

At the same time my husband began his new job, I stepped back into the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom for 3 years (going through an adoption process, then adopting, and then staying home with my new baby her first year). 

I accepted a position as a part-time associate therapist for a non-profit child abuse prevention and treatment agency. With me working outside of the home 3 days a week and trying to be a hands-on parent every “free” moment the rest of the time, life very quickly became overwhelming.

I knew that most of my stress did not just come from having a hard-working traveling husband who was gone a lot, but also (and mostly) from my new job. I was serving at-risk children. Some of them had been severely abused (mental, physical, and/or sexual). 

Meanwhile, I had two little ones at home. They both did not enter my life easily and effortlessly. My first child came after two failed pregnancies and my second child was adopted. Clearly, they were very much wanted and showered with love. So, as you can imagine, my new job was a lot to take in at such a vulnerable time in my own life as a young parent.

Typically, by the time I met the children and started doing play therapy with them, they were safe. But sometimes, they were still exposed to their abusive family members or other members in the household. Driving away from these kids’ homes after a session with them was brutal. Of course, I would file CPS reports, but if after an investigation, the report conclusion was “unsubstantiated,” there was nothing I could do.

When I shared my overwhelm with a friend of mine, Sally, she introduced me to the “Psychic Development Series” by Tosha Silver, which I ended up purchasing (they were still a CD set at the time!). The four-part series included chakra work: “Chakras: The Power Within.”

Here is a link to Tosha’s Psychic Development Series in case you want to buy her product.

The power and effect of doing chakra work took shape right from the beginning, so naturally, I continued using it. I started not only incorporating it in my personal life, but also in my professional life, depending on the client, and have been doing so ever since.

What Are The Seven Chakras?

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I had been practicing yang-style yoga for a decade and a half when I was first introduced to the benefits of yin yoga in 2015. It was a yin yoga class at Riffs Yoga Studios in Bird Rock, La Jolla, on their beautiful outdoor patio deck.

I was immediately drawn to this style of yoga because I had just recovered from a year-long neck injury. I instinctively knew a slower, more gentle yoga approach would be more appropriate for me. A “safe” practice was what I was all about after living with chronic pain for an entire year in 2014. 

Up until the start of the pandemic, I had only been practicing yoga once or twice a week in different local yoga studios. But ever since the start of the pandemic, in the beginning of 2020, this changed. 

Like most other yogis, I began practicing at home. I experienced the ease and immediacy of in-home practices and discovered a handful of incredibly inspiring and talented online yoga teachers both through YouTube and Gaia. (As if this convenience had not been available prior to the pandemic 😂). Before I knew it, I was practicing daily, up to an hour a day if time allowed.

Yin Yoga Changed My Life

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If we are already breathing over 20,000 times per day, does slowing down and focusing on our breath actually have any impact? A detailed systematic review of medical studies showed that slow breathing techniques do indeed lead to “increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion”.

But how do we do it? How do we learn to control something we already do all day without giving it a second thought? (Hint: we practice!) Do we have enough time in our busy days to incorporate breathwork? (Hint: it is faster and simpler than you may think!) And do we have to be spiritual or religious to tap into this calming method? (Hint: not at all!)

Let’s look more closely at breathing meditation.

Is Focusing On Our Breathing Considered “Meditating”?

The answer is “yes,” breathing can be considered:

• A type of meditation in and by itself (breathing meditation) or 
• Part of another meditative exercise (guided or silent visualization meditation, for example).

Here is the definition of “meditation” pulled from Merriam-Webster:

1. To engage in contemplation or reflection. He meditated long and hard before announcing his decision. 
2. To engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) to reach a heightened level of spiritual awareness.

I know from talking to some of my clients that the word “meditation” can feel too far off from what they consider themselves capable of doing. Don’t let the word meditation intimidate you. 

As soon as you are in silence focusing on slowing down your breathing and taking full breaths instead of rapid, shallow breaths, you are meditating. 

As soon as you are listening to a guided meditation practice on YouTube, you are meditating. 

If you are uncomfortable with the word “meditation,” because it feels disingenuous to you, just tell yourself “I am aware of my breath,” “I am focusing on my breathing,” “I am doing breathwork,” or “I am listening to a guided breathing meditation exercise” instead of “I am meditating.”

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