How to fall safely

In a moment of crisis the heart is pounding a mile a minute, the mind is hammering a million thoughts with scenarios after scenarios that play out one after another and, all along, the body is rigid with fear, barely taking a breath.

To be able to be with a crisis, wikihow's tips on how to break a fall are a great guide:
1- keep your head up
2- avoid putting your palms on the ground to catch yourself
3- breathe out
4- fold your body like an accordion
5- if falling from a height, roll as you hit the ground
6- practice falling on soft surface when you aren't actually falling


It was rush hour on 287, 15 miles per hour kind of traffic. Cellphone rang. I picked up. Two minutes into the call, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a police car to my right. The guilty man's flashed thought is of course, "Damn it! Did he see me??" In the next half of that split second, the cop's eyes and mine met. As I looked away and drove past him a bit, his car went from being in the next lane nearly parallel to mine to right behind me.

1- Keep your head up
Seeing this, I moved from the middle lane onto the right most. He followed. Yeah, he's pulling me over. I signaled and got on the shoulder. I didn't bother giving him the chance to turn his lights and siren on.

This is a very, very bad situation. Nightmare, actually. This is my parents' truck. My car's starter is flaking, ready to die. Game plan: use their truck for two weeks till my brother can come and fix it. Plenty of time to do it. That was 6 months ago.

What's worst? The new registration is M.I.A. (parents' retired half way around the world, dunno where it is). That expired 5 months ago. This means the inspection is overdue. Five months ago. Finally, the coup de grace - cellphone usage while driving. In New Jersey.

Every muscle of my body was taut, waiting for the police officer to come to my window. This is always a special kind of hell. Interminable. What will I say? What will he? God, I should have tried to resolve the registration before this! I can't even imagine ALL the violations that'll be written on this ticket when he's done. And my premium! That'll jump in the next billing. That should be a nasty number.

My mind-panic is now completely ratcheted.

2- Avoid putting your hands on the ground to catch yourself
I took a moment to get present to my breathing. At first, I couldn't. Then, soon as I brought my attention to it, I felt a shallow, chest constricted kind of breathing. I then took a very deep, conscious breath and release. Followed it by another deep one, slower this time.

I leaned myself back into my seat and took my attention from the chaos going on my head. Still no officer. I gave up thinking because it felt pointless. I took more deep breaths as I waited and I let my senses capture the near perfect summer afternoon.

"License, registration and insurance card, please. Do you know why I pulled you over?" the soft spoken officer asked me. I told him, that I didn't know (I really didn't know but I did have an assumption). He said, "Cell phone usage while driving" I meekly admitted, "I had just picked it up, officer." He nodded and then proceeded back to his car telling me to wait.

Wait agony number 2 times 2.

Will he give me a break? If he doesn't, do I try to ask him to give me a second chance re the cellphone use? What can I say that might help me reduce my violations? Here we go: my mental dog chasing its tail.

3- Breathe out
I took my attention to my body again. Did a breath check. I'm barely breathing again. I go back to putting all my attention into taking one, very deep breath. There are thoughts swirling, seducing me to return my attention back into analyzing, planning and mentally yammering about what's happening.

As I took one deep breath after another, with great effort, I focused on my heart chakra and found myself breathing into it.

4- Fold your body like an accordion
Then, something I've never experienced before. As I was keeping all my energy and attention in my heart I felt a distinct awareness of the officer's heart chakra. It's as though the two were talking with each other. I had no idea what was being said or happening.

5- If falling from a height, roll as you hit the ground
It felt strange to feel this and I, for the tiniest fraction of a millisecond, was thinking of manipulating it for a desired result. I didn't. I stayed out of my head.

The police officer returns and peeks his head by the passenger window, "I'm only going to give you a moving ticket. It's $54. I'm not going to give you cellphone usage. That's $254 and 4 points on your insurance. You didn't lie to me about using your cellphone so this is what I'm doing for you. I've been doing this all day and people lie to me. You told me the truth and so this how I'm going to take care of you."

My eyes welled up in tears. I gave him a very sobered, quiet thank you officer. I was so moved and surprised that it's all I could say.