If you know me, lucky you, you will know how much I love Marvel, It’s my favourite thing ever, don’t ask me why, I just love make believe, I cannot watch anything that resembles real crime or real drama, frankly being in my 30s sleep is important to me and I haven’t the capacity with my anxiety for nightmares.
Sunday is a day I take with Chris, an equal Marvel lover, a marriage built on Marvel.
This week we watched Bruce Banner recreate his version of “the soldier serum”, originally formulated to enhance the body and mind and weaponise soldiers, but it was never successful, always with damaging side effects.
Banner substituted the original with gamma radiation, believing he was unlocking the original formula. Unaware that it was a recreated Super Soldier Serum, Banner injected himself with it and was doused with an overabundance of gamma radiation, causing Banner to transform into a large, green-skinned monster that soon became known as the "Hulk".
Now many of you know the “Hulk” 💚
When Banner transforms into the Hulk, he loses all awareness, all clarity, all sense of self, he is destructive and challenging…
The Hulk does things he later feels guilty about, frustrated with himself about, and he sits with shame, he isolates himself from his loved ones, he runs away to Brazil.
When in Brazil, after more development, he finds that he only turns into “The Hulk” when his Heart Rate elevates above 200bpm.
He discovers if he can maintain a manageable HR he can manage his condition and stop transforming into the monster.
Finding solace in a local Brazilian, Banner found that he was able to manage his heart rate in his breath, he learnt the skill of breath work to not only increase his heart rate but also DECREASE his heart rate. He discovered in times of distress, when HR was elevated, if he breathed he had more clarity, more awareness, understanding, and didn’t transform into The Hulk.
Banner used his breath to take him from his hyper-aroused state to his thriving optimal state.
It’s much like when you are overeating, binge eating, projecting at your loved ones, you have no clarity, no awareness, everything becomes fast paced and you are getting aggravated, your heart rate is elevated and you do things that leave you feeling frustrated, irritated, guilt and shame afterwards.
“Why did I eat that?”
”Why did I say those things?”
”Why did I stop at the shop for all the chocolate?”
You are in your hyper-aroused state, in times of distress you are dysregulated, you are in your fight or flight mode and the monster comes out - Not literally but you see where we are going with this. You’re running on ‘emotion pilot’ and likely those actions aren’t benefitting you right now, or true to your goals or values.
Like Banner, you can use your breath, you can use this to help strengthen your thriving state and bring you back down to a place of balance.
I know you’re reading this and thinking this is wild, but breath work supports the space between stimulus and response.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” - Vicktor Franklin
Freedom can be found in the breath, I use breath work personally and my clients do too, to bring the clarity and mental space to the situation, making the exhale longer than inhale, it is so powerful and can be used in many different situations.
When your boss frustrates you, your partner annoys you, your parents say something, you’re running late, take a breath, do this as a daily practise for the next month and let me know how you get on. It’ll change your life, and bring you that calming feeling you’ve longed for for so long.
And of course, if you want life changing support, that’s exactly what my coaching does. It takes you from existing to thriving.
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