Separate tension from force. Developing strength does not imply generating tension. If we lift a heavy box without having strength, if we are stressed by a situation, or if we spend the whole day in front of the computer without moving with our head sunk between our shoulders, it is likely that we generate tension and therefore wear at a muscular level, but also at an energetic level. We accumulate fatigue.

When we practice, the idea is to accumulate strength, not fatigue. Collect practice after practice a little more body awareness, breathing capacity, muscle strength, joint flexibility, ability to focus, communication with our body. We could say that the combination of all of these in the right proportions results in strength.

If the joints are stiff, the muscles are tense and we breathe badly, we need a much greater effort to do anything. That's why when I think of strength I like to imagine not only the development of muscles, but a combination of resources that work intelligently, a sum that results in strength.

And what I find even more interesting is that, if we take strength in this integrated way, we can think of it not only as muscular, but also as a capacity for focus, or emotional support, or tenacity. And, depending on what we want to underpin, the rest becomes available. For example, if we are in fact looking to develop more muscular strength, our breathing, capacity of focus, emotional energy, joint flexibility will be fundamental tools to go where we want to go. Bring strength and sensitivity closer together, not further apart.

Have you registered which part of your body has more strength? Would you say that your emotional structure is strong without detracting from your sensitivity? And your thinking? How do all these variables interact in you? Let's practice! To perceive ourselves, to support what is necessary, to think of strength as the development of our potential.

When we talk about energy, we are referring to biological energy: the energy generated by cells through the combustion process. Although it is not the same thing, we can compare this process to lighting a fire: a fuel and a combustion agent, wood and air, are needed. In the case of cells, these would be oxygen and nutrients. In the same way that the fire lights up more when we fan it, if we fan the lungs, the cells will produce more energy. How much more? The difference can be enormous.

Cells produce a type of molecule called ATP. These molecules are responsible for storing and releasing energy as the body needs it. They are like a telephone battery: they charge and store energy, which is consumed as the body needs it. When a cell receives oxygen, it can produce up to thirty-two ATP molecules with one molecule of glucose, i.e. nutrients. Without oxygen, it produces only two. But not only oxygen produces combustion: a good elimination of carbon dioxide is also needed. If we go back to the image of lighting a fire, it means having a good chimney to release the combustion gases. If the carbon dioxide is not eliminated, the fire suffocates and, in a similar way, our cells suffocate as the blood acidifies. This is why training breathing techniques is so efficient in producing cellular energy.

Extending the scientific definition, we can consider as biological energy any energy of nature that manifests itself in the body. For example, heat is a biological manifestation of thermal energy: where there is heat, there is energy. Electromagnetism is also a form of energy that we encounter; our nervous system transmits electrical impulses. In all cases, these are energies that have their physical laws and that our body, like all living beings, generates, stores and uses for all its biological processes.

Adaptation, habit, learning, plasticity allow us to reinvent ourselves for survival, whether biological or intellectual in a broad sense (I am referring to the capacity to make our thoughts, points of view or decisions more flexible when we seek agreement with other people).

We can see adaptation in how we become accustomed to the weight of clothing on the body, in the way we incorporate new cultures or routines. These are changes that can occur unconsciously or consciously; sometimes to keep up with the times, and sometimes to achieve what we want to do or to become who we want to be.

First it is learned, then it is repeated and becomes a habit. By sustaining it over time, that profound change takes place: plasticity, transformation. Once something has been learned, it remains available as a resource, ready to be activated when we need it. Think, for example, of the ability to concentrate.

There are tasks that require very little attention, but others require 100%. If we do not invest that energy, we may not achieve the expected result, or we may take much longer to achieve it and spend more resources than necessary.

Habit and learning also apply to concentration. We can learn to focus the mind when we wish and to abstract ourselves from what is happening around us, to generate a state of full concentration.

You can start training your concentration without the need for it to be useful at that moment. As a game. Choose a moment of the day, it can be at your desk at work, and fix your gaze on a point in front of you -an image, a mark on the wall or an object on the table-. If you see that you get scattered, change the object on which you are focusing. Hold the exercise for a couple of minutes. You will notice how the environment begins to blur. Once you have trained your abstraction capacity, it is time to keep your attention on the chosen point.

In this way we train our mind and thinking. And when the time comes when you need more attention and concentration, the habit will already be in you: your head will know what you are proposing and will follow your game ;)

Think of a magnifying glass directing sunlight. ☀️🔍

The light, when scattered, illuminates softly but without much impact. When it is concentrated through the magnifying glass, the energy becomes so intense that it can generate fire.

This is also how our attention works. When it is dispersed, it is diluted by a thousand stimuli and loses its power. When it is trained to concentrate voluntarily, it becomes a force capable of transforming not only the reality around us, but also our internal world.

We live in an age of information overload, where the ability to stay focused is increasingly rare and, precisely because of this, increasingly valuable.

To have focused consciousness is to be present in what matters, without getting lost in distractions, without wasting energy on what is not relevant to your goals.

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How do you know if you're distracted?

Some signs are quite obvious, others go unnoticed:

• Constantly changing tasks without completing any.
• Starting to read something and, a few minutes later, not remembering what you read.
• Interrupting what you're doing to check messages or social media just a minute and losing half an hour.
• Finding it difficult to keep your mind in the present, even at important moments.
• Reaching the end of the day with a feeling of mental fatigue, but without having made any progress on what really mattered.

Recognizing these signs is the first step towards reversing the situation.

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How to train focused awareness

Focus is not a gift you are born with, but a skill that can (and should) be trained:

1. **Define what is a priority. You can't focus on everything at once; choose what really deserves your attention now.
2. **Establish blocks of time without interruptions: silence notifications, close unnecessary tabs, create an environment that favors concentration.
3. **Use focus techniques. Breathe deeply before starting a task and bring your mind to the present moment.
4. **Take conscious breaks. Focus also needs rest. Short breaks help maintain mental clarity.
5. **Train daily. Just as the body gains strength through regular exercise, attention is strengthened through constant practice.

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Now imagine what it would be like to live a whole day with this directed strength:

✔️ More productive: you end the day with the real feeling of mission accomplished.

✔️ Less dispersed: what once seemed urgent loses ground to what is really important.

✔️ With your mind aligned with what matters: you stop reacting automatically and start acting with clarity and intention.

Training focused awareness is not just a matter of productivity. It's a path to more presence, more self-control and more quality in every experience of your life.

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How the DeRose Method helps in this process

Within the DeRose Method, focused awareness is trained through body and mind techniques that train the body, emotions and mind in an integrated way. These include:

• ásanas (body techniques) that develop physical and mental stability.
• pránáyámas (breathing techniques) to expand energy and mental clarity.
• Mudras (gestures) that direct attention.
• Concentration and meditation to deepen self-knowledge.
• Mindfulness training in everyday life, applying the concepts outside of formal practice.

The result is a more natural, stable and available state of focus for any situation, be it work, study, sport or personal life.

**If your attention is the fuel of your life, the DeRose Method is the workshop where you learn to refine it, enhance it and use it to create the reality you want.

Good practice!

Fragment from the book Welcome Yôga by Edgardo Caramella

Chapter on Organic Cleansing Techniques (Kriyás)

Nature has distributed remedies everywhere.

PLINY THE ELDER

Talking about organic cleansing implicitly means affirming that we need to eliminate waste and toxins from our organism in some way.

Until the beginning of the industrial era, man only had to face the natural aggressions of the external environment. Toxic fruits, poisonous mushrooms, plants that produced allergies, microbes, bacteria, poisonous animals, etc., were its main enemies. But today, as a consequence of progress and great industrialization, the human being is increasingly disturbed in his biological balance, by his life habits and also by the chemical invasion of the environment that surrounds him, which does not stop increasing.

Since we cannot change the world, the most intelligent, feasible and effective thing is to change ourselves.

In ancient times, the yôgis developed a series of very effective techniques, called kriyás, to stimulate organic detoxification.

In our body there is an accumulation of undesirable substances, either due to the entry of foreign substances or due to the excessive accumulation of toxins. Toxins are waste products from cellular metabolism. A part of them comes from the wear and tear of the organism in its biological life; others are generated as a consequence of the degradation and transformation of food substances. In small quantities, their presence is perfectly normal since the organism is prepared to get rid of them.

This clearly shows us that we must adapt our diet to our needs, since, if we eat more than we can burn, the body is faced with an excess of substances that it does not know what to do with.

Scientists affirm that each person consumes an average of three kilos per year of additives, such as colorants, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives, etc., which are currently present in almost all foods. But we not only assimilate toxins through the digestive tract; harmful substances also reach us through the skin, which is extremely permeable. When we breathe, we incorporate tobacco smoke, hydrocarbon gases and many other substances that are present in the air even if we ignore it.

It seems a polar wave is coming. Yesterday winter began. Today it rained, the sun came out, it got cloudy, it was cold, it was nice. A lot of diversity throughout the same day. If my decisions / plans had depended on the weather, I would have been a kite at the total mercy of stimuli. And if I had ignored my surroundings, I would definitely have had a bad time.

July, which is approaching, brings multiple themes, such as the weather today. It is my turn to write about freedom and discipline; Meanwhile, the furious wind of the beginning of winter blows, gets between the trees and to that clear climate of unease, which is sometimes experienced on Sundays, is added that of the restlessness of the wind, of what can apparently be, in the same way, kind and hostile.

I feel before this subject as one who sits before a small fire that shelters. In part it was because of this sometimes unthinkable duo —freedom and discipline— that years ago, one day, I decided that I wanted to teach the DeRose Method. It was the combination of those two things that I didn't know it was possible to put together. I call discipline, in my case, the ability to build anything: paint a picture, run a school, write a book of poems, sustain a bond, train something consistently (beyond the weather). I call discipline the sum of little bricks that give existence to what we want to carry out. And freedom, the way we build it. Without that reaching the point of subduing us. Being able to build, create, carry out projects, relationships, life itself without it being at our expense. It seems obvious, but it is not. That is why it often happens to us that, even doing what we like, something is not being as we wanted. And not because everything has to be as we want, far from it. But sometimes we have that clear feeling of being aware of more, that what we want to do so much is occupying places that belong to other things, even that it has lost its course and overflows everywhere.

I thought that freedom and discipline permeate the way we train in schools, but also our way of teaching, working and building. Not because we always do well, but because it is a variable that we take into account when making decisions, I would almost say when doing anything.

Discipline brings us the possibility of building. Freedom, to establish a bond with what we are creating, whether individually or collectively; a loving, considerate, powerful, channeled and therefore lasting bond. I don't know if you've ever wondered how freedom and discipline coexist in you, but know that they are a great duo and, when they go hand in hand in a project, they unleash unexpected potential.

Do you really master your breathing?

Breathing is one of the only physiological processes that happens automatically, but which we can control. And that has powerful implications.

Conscious breathing is much more than calming the mind. It's a skill that boosts your performance - physically, emotionally and even professionally.

But the question is: do you use your breathing to your advantage on a daily basis?

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Where to start

A good practice is to take a few minutes in the morning to breathe with intention before starting your routine.

**Simple example

Sit quietly with your spine erect. Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your abdominal region. As you exhale, let your abdomen return naturally.

This pattern is called diaphragmatic breathing, and is the opposite of the accelerated, thoracic pattern that many people maintain without realizing it.

When the air enters, the abdomen protrudes outwards.

When the air comes out, it collects.

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Rhythmic breathing for pressure situations

Before an important meeting, a test or any moment that requires presence, a well-dosed breath can redefine your internal state.

**Start with a 1-1-1 rhythm

Example: inhale in 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale in 4.

Simple. Practical. And effective.

There are more advanced variations, but these should be taught directly by a trained instructor.

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Integrate into your day, wherever you go

You can use conscious breathing in physical activities, in traffic, at work. The result is clear: more focus, more control, more clarity.

Start today. Try it out. Write down what changed. And then tell us how it went.

The high percentage of automatism in our reactions has a reason: our brain at rest is responsible for consuming 20% of the body's energy. If we have to do a lot of thinking, this percentage rises considerably.

In other words, a certain mental law of least effort is important in order to save energy. However, this sometimes leads to automatic behaviors that prevent us from achieving our desired goals.

That's why it's important to have practices that maximize the use of our mind, such as mindfulness and meditation.

**CONDITIONING: STAY ALERT!

Conditioning can create some obstacles that make it difficult to achieve your goals:

1. ADDICTED MENTAL MODELS

for example, if you have the mental model of always maintaining a frown, this will prevent new people from contacting you, because the message they receive is that you are unfriendly, hostile.

2. LACK OF FOCUS

A scattered mind is one that doesn't use its full potential for achievement. We all have a superlative capacity for achievement, but if we don't manage to concentrate this energy on achieving our goals, we will have wasted a considerable portion of our potential.

3. EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY

this is responsible for the loss of clients, the dilapidation of partnerships, the destruction of careers, the compromising of friendships and the collapse of emotional relationships.

4. LOW BODY AWARENESS

We have little awareness of our internal processes and our physiology, which means we don't realize when an organ isn't working properly. In our training sessions, we then pay attention to the internal feel of our blood circulation and then to awareness of the functioning of the organs.

When we have negative automatic conditioning, we end up not achieving what we want. When we break them, we make room for new behaviors that will trigger success and, with it, new experiences that feed back into that virtuous circle.

EXERCISE TIP: Reinforcement for a productive day

When you wake up, stretch one leg and then the other, as if you wanted to stretch and grow one side at a time. Then both at the same time, stretching and extending your legs and arms at the same time.

Then sit down without putting too much strain on your spine and abdominals, supporting yourself with your arms and lifting yourself up without any sudden movements. This also applies to sportspeople. Preserve your spine.

Sit as you like, but remember to keep your spine upright. Then take a few deep, nasal breaths and concentrate on the exercise ahead. Close your eyes and visualize on your mental screen a clear, objective image that represents exactly what you want to achieve this coming day. Concentrate on this image for at least 5 and no more than 10 minutes.

Text inspired by Professor DeRose's book Meditation.

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Do you have any questions or need help getting started? Call us.

Learn breathing techniques to better deal with emotions:

There are several breathing techniques we can use to regulate our emotions and improve our emotional well-being. Here are some of them:

Diaphragmatic breathing:

This technique consists of breathing deeply through the nose, filling the lungs with air and expanding the abdomen. Then, slowly release the air through the nostrils, while the abdomen goes in. When air enters, the abdomen projects outwards, when air exits, the abdomen goes in. This technique can help manage anxiety and stress.

Rhythmic breathing:

This technique initially consists of applying a time to inhale and exhale. You can add retention time with and/or without air. However, these are more advanced variations, and it is advisable to learn with a properly trained teacher. Rhythmic breathing brings mental stability and contributes to improving sleep.

Start using the 1-1-1 rhythm. This means that you will inhale, hold the air in your lungs, and exhale in the same time, which can be 3, 4, 5 seconds, depending on your breathing capacity.

If this rhythm is very comfortable for you, switch to 1-2-1. That is, doubling the retention time with air.

No technique should cause discomfort or accelerate the heart.

Alternate breathing:

This technique, as the name suggests, consists of alternating the nostril through which you breathe. Excellent for stabilizing emotions and improving concentration. You should alternate the nostril in activity whenever the lungs are full of air.

Accelerated breathing:

Do this technique ALWAYS SITTING. IF YOU FEEL DIZZY, STOP. It can be useful for increasing energy and motivation. Breathe quickly and deeply through your nose at an accelerated rate, keeping your mouth closed and your expression relaxed.

Accelerated breathing activates the sympathetic nervous system and is excellent for times when we need an extra boost of energy and more lucidity.

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Consult your doctor before performing any of these techniques. They do not serve as therapy, although they greatly improve the quality of life.

In addition to the techniques mentioned, it is important to remember that simple conscious and focused breathing helps to regulate emotions and promote greater emotional balance in times of stress or anxiety.

Therefore, start observing yourself in your daily life: notice how your breathing is, especially in moments of greater challenge or difficulty.

**I am one of those people who always try to go further, who accept challenges with enthusiasm and who believe that there is always a solution. Maybe both. But the reality is that, sometimes, you just can't.

This is not just something that happens to me. **We live in a world of excess: too many stimuli, distractions, challenges and demands imposed by life itself.

This is reflected in the increasing cases of burnout, a term that has become a globalized term to describe the **result of an unsustainable lifestyle.

Sure, sometimes the feeling of being exhausted arises from lack of discipline, poor time management or falling into daily distractions. But this is not always the case. Many times, in our eagerness to be the best version of ourselves, we ignore the signals our body sends us. This body, which has evolved over thousands of years, gives us clear signals (sometimes not very subtle) that it's time to stop, to slow down the pace of life for a moment....

At a time when we talk about self-discipline and perseverance, this reflection is not a counterpoint, but a reinforcement: listening to and respecting our body is a profound act of discipline, focus and self-knowledge.

There are times when true perseverance is about prioritizing rest, introspection and recovery. Rather than seeing the pause as a waste of time, I invite you to consider it as a strategic investment in our future ability to achieve our goals. Instead of viewing **the pause as a waste of time, I invite you to view it as a strategic investment in our future ability to achieve our goals.

**Without energy, there is no progress, no change, no evolution.

A hug,
Juan