Biking Kanchanaburi Thailand Round 2

After the trip earlier this year when my derailed broke on my bike, Ron and I decided to bike Kanchanabur round 2.  Waking up early on a Saturday morning to drive a few hours to our starting spot was the most boring part of our day together.  

Cemeteries, red clay roads and a lot of sunshine on our backs made for a beautiful day of riding!



A day on Thailand's backroads never cease to remind me that I am living in a country that is very different to my AMERICA.  I enjoy emerging myself in the culture of the Thai people and have come to never be surprised by what I see.  Thailand is a place that you experience using your five senses.



Small gas station... the gas pumps are glass and you actually pump the gas with a handle.  Thai people love to take care of their rosters...I am sure it is for cock fighting but then that is illegal..right? This is a home with dozens of roster cages that are nicely covered up to keep them quiet...  oh and MONKEY school really?  Not sure what that is all about but I am sure that my grandsons would love it.




I have a small project that I am working on with my friend, Diana Nelson and these are some of the photos that I was able to take for our Back Road Studio.  I love the Thai children.  Happy with just the freedom to roam, play and be with family.  Poor is a way of life but it is not the attitude here.

Weekend Getaway - Koh Lanta Style

Weekend getaways are fabulous in Thailand.  Since Ron and I have become empty nesters and if his work schedule permits we can take an extra Friday off and get outside our Nichada Bubble, the expat neighborhood in which we live.  This weekend it was a quick flight to Krabi and then a van ride and boat trip to one of our favorite Islands, Koh Lanta.  The beaches are great, the street food fantastic and the sunsets are worth the wait!!  Not enough weekends!

SIGH...

Lately I have become aware that I am sighing. It seems to be that others are noticing that I am sighing too.  According to Mr. Webster a sigh is a verb, it means to emit a long deep, audible breath expressing sadness, relief, tiredness or similar feelings.  I searched the WWW to see what I could find out... 

What is a Sigh?

"Researchers define a sigh at least two times as large as the mean breath volume, and it plays an equivalent part in our breathing system since, it is an abruption in the normal breathing mechanism.  A sigh is a pattern of breathing with a spontaneous deep inhalation and exhalation that enhances the amount of air entering the lungs. This process usually occurs during stress or when there is a relief over something that ended well.  Scientists in Belgium who studied the mechanism of a sigh report it as a re-boot button. They found the mechanism of lungs differ before and after a sigh.  If breathing in one state for long, the lungs tend to become stiff and less efficient in exchange for oxygen. Thus, a sigh helps in keeping our respiratory system flexible by resetting our breathing pattern each time we sigh." (bubble.com)

Okay that is all great - but why is that I need to re-boot my breathing so often.

Some people sigh when stressed – Okay now you are talking to ME...
”The impact of stress can choke a person if sigh did not exist. Researchers have concluded that when a person is undergoing stress, the breathing tends to change, however; a sigh tends to reboot the respiratory system while helping to loosen the lung’s air sacs, which tends to bring in a sensation of relief and helps to be a savior.” 

Signs of stress:I should know all of these signs of stress, as they have become my closest friends the past few years.Physical or emotional tensions lead to stress. Stress can be positive or negative. Some examples of stress when a sigh becomes precious are:


Tension over an issue-What kind of issue, like whether or not to give up SODA? YES


Irritability - Like easily bothered by irrational people?  YES


Anger - Like the kind that happens when Dr. tells you to drop 10lbs ? YES


Shock - Like reading the number on the Bathroom scale?  YES


Crying - Like because of no matter what you do those pounds are cemented to you? YES


Feeling powerless-Like because of chemo and cancer your metabolism is "0"? YES


Loss of appetite - Not sure I know what that one is really like yet -wish I could try it. NO


Aches and pains- I am 54 of course I have aches and pains, get real. 


Trouble concentrating- Like when I am trying to do my Venn Diagrams for math class? YES

"Researchers do not recommend sighing a lot since it tends to add too much noise to the system and could throw the system out of order." Really it adds to much NOISE to the system...you mean one should not be re-booting the system very often!! What happens if you do?

But wait here is the bright spot in all of this sighing...

"Sighing when happy is also helpful for the respiratory system since the re-setter hypothesis concluded by researchers in Belgium help showcase that it is good for the lungs especially when humans tend to forget to breathe when amused over something. This brings relief to the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles.  A clinical psychologist in Switzerland has stated that adding a few sigh breaths during mechanical ventilation of various lung patients have positive effects on oxygenation of their arterial blood thus, helping make people feel better. Thus, reiterating that sighing frequently has a bonus to our lungs and indirectly to our longevity.

To sigh or not to sigh that is my question?  So is sighing good or bad - and how do I avoid it or produce it...I just know that Life must be filled with a lot of STRESS and HAPPINESS with all the sighing that I am doing!