Flea, how much breath work have you been doing lately?
Changing tastes:
It is not uncommon for people to develop taste reactions while and after doing intensive breath work. One of the Systema instructorsÂ…Â’the flying DutchmanÂ’ was a real coffee drinker enjoying cups in the morning and the evening. After one of the breathing seminars in Toronto he no longer enjoyed the taste of coffee, still liked tea but no longer liked coffee. Another person really enjoyed wine; she was very knowledgeable about wine and had her favorites. When I say she had her favorites I am not saying that she just knew which vintage but actually had cases of each favorite stored for later enjoyment. After doing a bunch of breath work she no longer likes the taste of wine. LOL disliking coffee is bad but not that big of a deal but the wine was an investment and money and time already spent. Not sure what she did with all the wine she had. I myself hated broccoli and applauded loudest when then President Bush made his statement about being President now and not having to eat his broccoli. Do you remember that incident? Broccoli growers sent semi truck loads of broccoli to him after he mentioned he did not like broccoli. He thanked them and gave every piece to the homeless shelters. My line became if the President doesnÂ’t have to eat this stuff neither do I. Even the smell of broccoli would make me gag. After Toronto I noticed that the smell no longer makes me react and some broccoli came with a after the seminar dinner with a bunch of friendsÂ…what do you know but I now like broccoli.
Body awareness “crap”:
Years ago I had a friend that in his middle or late twenties went into a coma and was in the hospital critical care for a number of days. Turns out he was diabetic and did not know it. He had zero body awareness and had no idea that anything was wrong but slipped into a coma and if his girlfriend had not come home from work and found him asleep during the day and calling an ambulance when she could not wake him he would have died. Body awareness is important and can be trained.
If you have been doing the ‘permutation’ type of breathing- tension/relaxation exercises Flea, (the most common one is the inhale suspend exhale suspend while tensing muscles tendons or nerves usually in waves from one part of the body to another) these type of exercises are a great way to learn how to use breath to control and help all seven of your bodies physiological systems. If you are practicing correctly you will develop body awareness that goes much deeper and fuller than you had prior. It is all a part of ‘Poznai Sebia’. As you train you will be learning how to pay some attention to your body, how your breathing is, what your pulse rate is (and be able to find it anywhere on your body), what is the condition of your psyche, what is the texture and taste of your saliva, what your own breath smells like as well as many other indicators and symptoms and sensations. Becoming aware of these things during training helps you to eventually become aware of them at all times. Awareness is the first step in learning how to positively affect your body’s physiological systems.
Energy crashes:
If I understand right you are trying to deal with the energy crashes by eating and diet. I do not know how deep the crashes are, or what combination of biological physiological and psychological that the crashes are from your writings. Any kind of diagnosis merely from the written word is sketchy at best. Being able to look at someone, see how they look, smell and act is major in diagnosing issues. But here is a slightly different perspective. That said there are many ways of dealing with low energy, depression, fatigue and injury and not all have to do with fuel or the act(s) of eating. People often (I am talking generically here Flea not about you personally) look to the outside to fix what is broken on the inside. Don’t feel ‘right’ they often self medicate with alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine and narcotics or excessive exercise. Others seek to supplement with dosages of vitamins or other health supplements in an effort to feel better. Some tear others down to make themselves feel better. Others will armor themselves with physical tools to make them feel better. It is interesting how many different ways people will address true or perceived weaknesses and illnesses. Oops sorry started to go off on one of those bunny trail things.
Back to energy crashes. There was an exercise that Konstantin had us do one time when we were all fatigued and distracted. To increase the energy level of the group he put one person in a center of a ring of their comrades. One person would come out and wrestle with the person in the center of the ring, after about a minute or two or three another person would join the two and also wrestle with the person in the center of the ring so now it was two against one, soon another joined then another. The job of the wrestlers was not to pin, not to submit the person in the center of the ring but to make them work, make them deal with fear, deal with pain and to deal with exhaustion and despair while having to deal with exhaustion and fear of their own. It could get up to five or seven people against one. Then right away switch the person in the center of the ring with another and repeat the process until every person in the group had a turn being in the center of the ring as well as multiple times being the wrestlers. When done with the drill everyone was enthused, energetic and chatting away like a bunch of school kids. The energy level was high and the group felt like they could conquer anything. Exercise along with proper breathing, pain and prayer changed the energy level completely. Flea if you donÂ’t have a group of friends to beat you then experiment and do some Systema style push-up drills or do some of the breathing tense relax drills that you know. Also take a few moments to enjoy the energy crash (are they only happening when you eat), monitor what you are feeling physically mentally and spiritually, pay attention then address it which might mean food but it might not. Often food (even healthy food) is used to mask the true reason for the symptom we are trying to address. Hmmm Have you tried cold water dousing during the day?
Blood work:
Almost always a good idea and in this case with what little you have written I think it is a great idea. The glucose and PH levels in our blood change and this is good to know and be aware of (Did you know that breath work can change the PH levels). Along with the blood work pay attention and notice any changes in the smell of your breath, your sense of smell, your own body odor, notice any changes in your saliva (taste and texture), notice changes in your urine and stool, notice your skin tone and color and changes in acne and hair and finger nails. These changes can be indicators of health issues you need to be aware of and may need to address.
There is a danger with becoming more aware. People sometimes become hyper-aware noticing everything (which is good) but giving it all too much attention too much weight (which is bad) Again I am not saying this is you or what you are going thru Flea but speaking generically. It is often enough to note something to look at it with interest as a child examining something for the first time, then move on. It is not always necessary or even good to constantly try to fix things that might or might not be broken. It is often enough to note it and monitor it and enjoy the chance to learn some new sensations and then put it in its own small place in your mind and get back to enjoying a normal life. There is a healthy balance that must be maintained. Too much attention is bad not enough attention is bad LOL finding the middle is the trick. Our systems are cyclic; the key I think is learning to become aware of those cycles and enjoying them.
What to eat:
I eat what I wish but try to do so in moderation including my fasts and feasts. I try to avoid too much processed food. I try to eat food my great grandparents would recognize as food and am learning to enjoy food as food not merely fuel or something that must be consumed because I have a few minutes now and will be busy later. I try to make each meal have at least five different ingredients. In my admittedly unprofessional opinion many nutritionists are more chemists than chefs. Food should not (again my opinion) be merely broken down by chemistry nor on the other end of the spectrum should food be merely consumed by convenience. Doing so changes our relationship to food in my opinion. Take time to prepare a meal, enjoy each ingredient as GodÂ’s personal gift. That tomato grew in the sunlight I try to take a moment and see if I can smell the sun in it, the rice grew in water, if I cannot actually taste the fluid I can at least appreciate it, the avocado had a tough skin and a heart of stone yet the texture of the meat is smooth. Food can be more than fuel heck just look at all the unhealthy ways food is abused in our societies. In my opinion how you eat is almost as important as what you eat but is often overlooked and short changed. Diet is individual as everyone is a little different.
Good luck Flea and I hope that the changes are nothing major.
Regards
Brian King
