The Dog Cancer Survival Guide by Susan Ettinger Demian Dressler Page A

up,” this exercise can help. Here are the steps:
Breathe in and out rapidly through your nose, with your mouth closed and your jaw relaxed. Placing the tip of your tongue just behind your front top teeth can help to relax the jaw. This will feel like controlled hyperventilation. Keep your breaths as short as possible, and don’t worry about the snorting noise you’re making.
The optimal rhythm is three breath cycles per second: in, out, in, out, in, out. Make each in-breath as long as each out-breath. You will find your belly and chest moving in and out, like a bellows.
On your first try, continue for fifteen seconds, if you can. Each time you do this increase your time a little, until you reach a full minute.
After you are finished, breathe normally.
    It can be difficult to do this if your nose is stuffed up; although some find that it clears nasal passages quickly (have a tissue handy, if you need one). You may want to do this exercise in private, because you must make noise to get its full benefit.
     
    MEDITATION
    Duration : 5 minutes
    Frequency : preferably daily
    A daily meditation practice is a great way to connect to your dog, even if you can manage only five minutes. Depending upon your background, you might think of meditation as an esoteric or foreign practice. It’s not. Some form of meditation is used in every culture and in every religion on the planet (in Christianity it’s sometimes called “contemplative prayer”). Meditation is also used in stress management programs, although it may be called “breathing exercises” to make it sound more familiar.
    My friend and business partner, James Jacobson, introduced me to the concept of meditating with your dog when he wrote an entire book about it. I must admit that, at first, I thought it was pretty silly. After reading his book (
How to Meditate with Your Dog: An Introduction to Meditation for Dog Lovers
), however, I realized there was a good argument for meditating with your dog.
    There are many forms of meditation. For our purposes I’m going to recommend a very simple practice: pay attention to the breath. Observing the breath as it naturally occurs helps the mind to develop focus, increase patience, and learn quickly.
    Here’s a quick dog meditation:
    Set aside five minutes to sit quietly with your dog. Sit in a comfortable position, with plenty of support for your back. Make physical contact with your dog, even if it is just your hand on her head.
    Focus on your own breath. Take a deep breath or two, and then let the breaths fall into your natural rhythm. Keep your attention lightly focused on your breath. If your attention wanders, gently bring it back. It may help to think, “I am inhaling” as you inhale and “I am exhaling” as you exhale.
    Now focus on your dog’s breath for a few breaths. To keep your focus, it may help to think, “My dog is inhaling,” as he breathes in and, as he breathes out, think, “My dog is exhaling.”
    Stay focused on the breath (yours or your dog’s) for five minutes (longer if you like). Other thoughts may crowd in and emotions might come up; this is normal. However, since you have chosen to focus on the breath, not on thoughts or emotions, simply return your attention to the breath. No matter how many times you lose focus, you are still meditating, as long as you remember to re-focus on the breath.
    Most dogs enjoy sitting in calm with their guardians. If your dog is restless and moves away, you can choose to go get him and continue, or let him go and sit on your own, feeling your connection to him from afar.
Sitting in meditation with your dog can remind you of several important facts:
Your dog is still breathing. She is alive.
You are still breathing. You are alive.
You can connect to your dog.
You can manage your emotions, which helps your dog.
    I recommend regular meditation practice to help cultivate a good mindset for dealing with dog cancer. As in most things, consistency is helpful to get the