Nicolas Gregoriades is a South African grappler who was the first jiu jitsu practitioner to have been promoted to black belt by the legendary Roger Gracie. Gregoriades is an accomplished competitor in the sport of BJJ, being also one of the founders of the “Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood”, a community/association with affiliates all around the globe. Nicolas Gregoriades was also part of “London Real,” a successful online podcast, having since left LR to join Digital Communion. Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes / Stitcher / Podbean / Overcast / Spotify Contact Info Website: www.coachnicg.com Podcast: Nicholas Gregoriades Show  Book: Aligned: The Modern Man's Guide to Health, Wealth & Freedom Most Influential Person Osho Effect On Emotions I'm very emotional and very passionate. It may not seem like it now because it's after lunch and my energies are dropping a little bit. But generally I'm extremely emotional. I love very intensely but I also hurt very intensely. And having a mindfulness practice is just the way to regulate and to cope with my emotions and to be able to separate myself from them. I realize that these feelings that I'm experiencing aren't necessarily me. I can create a bit of space between myself and them, and ultimately that will allow them to dissipate in the process. Thoughts on Breathing The breath is the bridge between the body and the mind and some say between the physical and the metaphysical, the finite and the infinite. I work with several breathwork practices. Every morning, I do a breathwork practice. I do the Kundalini Breath of Fire for 11 minutes, and I find that practice energizes my body and also changes my mental state. And I think that the key thing is that your breath and your mental state are inextricably linked. If one changes, then the other usually changes. So if you're in your head and panicking, if you slow your breath down, generally it changes that as well. So those are my thoughts on the importance of breathing. Self-Actualization  Suggested Resources Book: Aligned: The Modern Man's Guide to Health, Wealth & Freedom Book: Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously By Osho Book: UNSCRIPTED: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship Book: Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It App: Insight Timer Bullying Story I don't want to say there were many instances when I was bullied as a kid, there were a few instances where I was a bully. I did this very interesting exercise the other day in which I wrote down everything that I've held against myself or that I'm holding against myself. Everything as far back as I could go, starting with stealing this kid's pocket knife when I was six. There was a whole list of things all the way up until now. The thing that I found that was very interesting is, once I made that list, the next step in this exercise was to forgive myself one by one for all of these things. Self-Actualization  I realized there were a few things that I was holding quite a strong resentment for towards several people in my life. There were incidents that had transpired in our relationships. When I looked at this list, I saw that all three of those things were similar to other things I had done to other people in the past. And the reason that I was holding on to these resentments and was unable to forgive those people was because I was unable to forgive myself for the same thing. Self-Actualization  So I think if I had been a more mindful person when I was younger, I don't think I would have attracted that kind of energy from others. That is because I wouldn't have felt like a victim. Secondly, if I had attracted it, I would have been able to let it go more quickly; just to let that negative set of emotions go. I would have been able to process those emotions and let them dissipate. Self-Actualization  Related Episodes Rising Above Trauma With Dr. Lin Morel Myung Sung: The Korean Art of Living Meditation with Dr. Jenelle Kim Shadow Work To Nourish And Grow: Winn