It would be best if you prepared yourself
mentally, emotionally and physically for the change. And
it doesn’t stop with that. You should also prepare
your surroundings. Get rid of any thing and every thing
that reminds you of smoking. This includes things like
ash trays, packets of cigarettes.
It would also be a good idea to put up signs and
reminders that smoking is injurious to health and that
you are trying to quit smoking so that you really get the
hang of it. Try to come up with original stuff if you
want. If you can make them funny then it is going to be
all the better but these signs should also be morale
boosters, they should make you feel good about what you
are trying to do and should make you feel that it is
worth the effort.
You could try messages like:
·
“Only the BRAVE HEARTS can quit smoking!”
· “I said YES to life today when I said NO to
Nicotine”
· “SMOKE has 5 letters...so does DEATH”
Or my personal favorite...
I
said NO to my daily SMOKE
‘Cos this life of mine is not a joke
I want to live on like an oak
Smokers’ lives end early in coughs and chokes
This last bit is something I penned when I was trying to
quit smoking. I’ll be the first to admit that
it’s corny, but it proved to be very useful for me.
I hope it will have the same effect on you. Now we have
another important task to do and that is preparing our
selves emotionally for the change that might take place.
The main thing is to get your mind of smoking and for
that you have to find a substitute for it. There are many
other things that you could practice when you get the
urge to smoke. I will list out the things that you could
do here. Then you could choose the ideal thing to do
according to your life style.
Music
Music is a wonderful way of getting your mind off that
urge to smoke. If you have fixed times for getting a
smoke like after meals or during the coffee break you
could try playing something very soothing using a walk
man and head phones so that you do not disturb others
though you might attract attention. Another thing you
could do is that you could play music on your computer if
you have a work station all to your self.
Music is a wonderful stress reliever. I do not want to
emphasize on any particular type of music because tastes
differ.
Meditation
Meditation is also an excellent way of helping you to get
better control over your mind. It is not a very great
thing too. Any body can learn the art with a little bit
of practice. Now I hope you will pardon me if I digress a
bit from our topic and give you a few essential points on
how to meditate because this as I see it is the best
method of helping you to gain better control over you
mind and there by get over that urge to take in that puff
of smoke.
The simplest method of mediation that you could practice
by yourself would be to sit in a very comfortable
position with your eyes closed. In the initial stages you
may find your mind drifting but gradually you will learn
to focus more and more. The idea behind meditation is not
to cut out all the forces around you but to become one
with them. I have seen people plug their ears with cotton
to shut out sounds. But that is not the purpose that we
wish to achieve. On the contrary we should focus on the
sounds around us.
Be aware of them, listen to them. First listen to the
bigger sounds around you like the traffic or machines or
even loud music from your neighbor’s apartment. Then
listen to the softer sounds like the drone of the
refrigerator, or the A/C. And then bring your attention
to the sound of your own breathing. If you can actually
hear yourself breathing then you have arrived and this is
what you have to keep doing.
It would be useful if you could try to focus on some
inner picture that you could conjure up in your mind. By
inner picture I mean an image that you can concentrate on
for example the flame of a lighted candle or a single
flower on a plant. Try and see how long you can keep your
mind focused on such an image. If the image blurs
immediately and is replaced by something else, then you
need to work on it. Gradually you will see that you can
keep your mind focused on the same thing for more than
ten minutes.
That means that you have arrived. Once you have reached
this stage and have begun to practice it without fail,
you will see that it can give you immense mental
strength. Then the next time you get an urge to smoke,
all you have to do is sit put where ever you are, close
your eyes and meditate. The urge will have vanished by
the time you open your eyes. Meditation not only drives
away the urge but gives you control over your mind.
Breathing
Exercises
Breathing exercises too can prove to be useful in
controlling the urge to smoke. It is common knowledge
that the human body takes in a lot of toxic substances,
both through the air and through food and drink. Apart
from this, various toxins are also released in the body
as a result of the various processes that are going on.
These toxins have to be released on a continuous basis or
else they will accumulate in the body with serious
results.
One of the best ways of releasing these toxins is by
means of exhaling while breathing. One funny fact is that
most of do not breathe properly. Just take a look at the
picture like this. With each breath that we take, we take
in oxygen. This oxygen is carried by the blood to every
cell of the body and every cell must indeed get enough
oxygen not just to survive but to remain healthy as well.
So it is imperative that we make an honest attempt to
breathe properly. But first of course we have to make
sure that we are breathing in unpolluted air. The time
best for breathing exercises is early in the morning when
the air is comparatively unpolluted. Now what you have to
do is this. Again, sit comfortably so that there is no
strain to any part of your body. It is not imperative
that you close your eyes, but I have always noticed that
the exercise works better when the eyes are closed.
When you are ready, what you have to do is to breathe in
deeply and slowly, and feel the fresh air filling up your
lungs until it just can’t take any more. Conjure up
images of the air encircling throughout your body and
reaching every cell, literally bathing it with oxygen. Of
course it doesn’t happen that way but the image
helps a lot. Then hold your breath for a few seconds and
then very slowly exhale letting out all that foul air.
Again conjure up an image of all the toxins being
released from your body. Every cell has become free of
the burden it was carrying. Now pause for a second or two
and again breathe in deeply, slowly letting your lungs
fill up with all that good, clean, rejuvenating air.
Repeat this exercise at least ten times and take your
time for it taking care not to rush through.
When you have done that part of the exercise it is time
for the second part. Again sit with your eyes closed, but
this time, keep one nostril closed with the help of your
index finger. It is best to close the right nostril first
and that too with your right index finger. Now breathe in
deeply and slowly through your left nostril keeping the
right nostril closed. When you have held air for a second
or two, release your right nostril and breathe out
through it.
While you are breathing out conjure up an image of all
the toxins being released form your head and the brain
especially. And as you breathe in conjure up images of
the clean air circulating though out your brain freeing
it of all the worries and trouble and lightening it.
Repeat this exercise with the other nostril closed and in
this way alternate between the nostrils at least ten
times. The entire breathing exercise need not take more
than ten minutes. But you will be surprised at how light
hearted and free you will feel after the exercise. Once
you have practiced it for three or four mornings, you
will be in a position to do the exercise each time you
get the urge to smoke. The breathing exercise can easily
become a substitute for the urge to take in that hourly
doze of nicotine.