Saturday, February 11, 2017

From the Barber's Chair: A True Life Application of Tactical Breathing

Wednesday afternoon, I received a phone call from my barber that caused deep concern. "I crushed my hands this morning, and I'm checking in to the hospital right now for emergency surgery." He did not have time to explain, but did ask for prayer. You may wonder what this has to do with tactical breathing.

Well, the next day I spoke to him again on the phone and found out that although he suffered a lot of painful soft tissue damage in both hands, the only bone fractures occurred in one finger of his left hand. He then related to me the story of his hospital visit.

"You took away my gun and pants and made me wear a dress," he joked with hospital staff, "and you wonder why men don't want to come here." He underwent surgery with only local anesthesia, and as he lay in his "dress," his legs began to shake uncontrollably and his blood pressure went up -- signs of adrenaline stress.

It was then he began to concentrate on tactical breathing, because he knows that breathing and heart rate go together. As he slowed his breathing, one of team commented, "Your blood pressure is going down." Adrenaline dump managed.

He should be back to cutting hair by the first week of March with a renewed sense of God's providence in good and bad life experiences and a cracker-jack story about tactical breathing for adrenaline stress management.

So, stop by his shop in few weeks. The story is a lot better when he tells it.