Who hasn’t heard, “Just breathe!” or “Take a breath!” Telling you to slow down, calm down, take it easy, relax.
It’s important to know how to breathe because breath is life. To breathe is to live.
Now I’m alive. I’m in the land of the living. But I catch myself holding my breath. 
I first became conscious of this in an aerobics class where the instructor pointed out that often when we are concentrating on doing something – like following her moves, we stop breathing.
I do this. I stop breathing – when I’m eating, writing, driving. I catch myself and then I pause and I start to breathe. I’m so engaged in what I’m doing, I become disconnected with myself.
My naturopath, Dr. Sarah Millar, encouraged me to take the time to ‘check in’ with myself’ and do some deep belly breathing. When I’m driving, stopped at a traffic light, standing in the line at the grocery store, at my desk.
I began checking in, but I have to tell you, at first all I did was breathe, I didn’t get much further. I began to breathe more, but what I was checking into was not clicking with me.
I could have stopped there and just went with the easy way out of, “This doesn’t work for me.” But, I knew better. I wasn’t getting anything because I was blocking.
The more I asked myself throughout my day to take the time to breathe deeply from my belly, I got closer to me and I began to receive. The checking in began to communicate with me.
I realized that in my day to day activities I tend to go into, “Okay I’m here, when this is over, I’ll go on to…” I think I’m conscious of where I am, but my focus slides to, this is over in fifteen minutes and then I’ll do…
Checking in, had me facing that all too often I’m just going through the motions until my next task, where I’ll repeat and go through the motions till my next task over and over. I rush my experiences – the racing through ones day, squeezing in as much as possible without taking a breath to truly absorb, enjoy, live.
I also noticed when I’m anxious about something, I don’t breathe. I’m consumed with what I believe is taking place and I get worked up. Breathing, I slow down, step back and allow myself to pause and hear and feel what is really taking place.
I’m not living it – breathing it in. I’m just reacting when I’m holding my breath.
When we don’t breathe fully, it is our physical self telling us that we don’t feel safe in this world, that we don’t feel worthy of taking up space, of being loved and supported, nurtured.
To Breathe gives us life. How you breathe determines your quality of life.
May we all decide to experience the quality of life and know that we are worthy of being here, being loved, supported and nurtured. So start breathing, because it’s true!
Instruction:
Place your hands on your lower abdomen.
Breathe in through your nose and push your abdomen out.
Exhale through your mouth and allow your abdomen to go in.
Do from 10 to 15 breaths several times a day.
I encourage you to watch these two videos. Fun and informative – a perfect balance, to help you breathe.
Photo by: Sharon Cooke